Lessons From the Bumpy Ride of a Career in Screenwriting
When you love a career that doesn’t love you back
Remember that old joke about the kid who, when he sees a massive pile of shit gets super excited because, “With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere!” If you are planning on a career as a screenwriter, you (like me) are one of those kids. If you’re a practical, rational person, you might want to do something (anything) else.
I wrote my first tv script in a class in UCLA extension a few months after my then boyfriend and I drove across the country and rented a bungalow in West L.A. Through a series of unintentional networking accidents, my script landed in the hands of Norman Lear, who absolutely loved it. He wanted to meet with 25-year-old nubie me — it was like something out of the Rebecca goes to Hollywood fantasy reel that often played in my wild imagination. My dad and I had a bi-coastal jumping up and down screaming moment. I might as well quit my data-entry job right now, I thought. I’m movin on up!
When I wrote one of my half-hour pilots, I read the 30 Rock pilot dozens of times. It was brilliant, and structurally, I knew if I could emulate this I’d have something. Maybe you can’t write like Cameron Crowe or Norah Ephron…but maybe you can! You won’t know unless you aim to be great.
Over the years I optioned a few things, had an actress attached to one project, and my ex and I sold a pilot to ABC and got hired to write a special for FOX. My story is long and gets a bit draggy in Act II, but after taking a career break and then getting divorced, I’m getting back in the game. Toward the end of the marriage, I got an agent, a manager, got chosen as a finalist for an HBO Diversity Fellowship, and started taking meetings up the wazoo. I write on my own, and I also write screenplays with one of my best friends, Katie.
The meetings (for the moment) have slowed down, and I have yet to land the plum job, but Katie and I have a TV movie optioned to a producer who makes movies for Hallmark, and a few weeks ago I was notified that I was chosen as a quarter-finalist for Final Draft’s “Big Break” contest for a TV script I had submitted. Definitely another jumping up and down screaming moment! And even though I knew being put into the “diversity” category would be the kiss of death for me, I just wanted to bask in the glow of that hope for a few weeks, whether I wound up winning or not, this felt so damn good.
So this is my advice to impart to anyone who is on (or thinking of getting on) this rocky road of a career path.
Shoot for the moon
When Paul McCartney and John Lennon first met as teenagers in Liverpool, they desperately wanted to be like Elvis. They obsessed over all the amazing American blues singers and stayed up late every night breaking their songs down to get the chords and rhythms and style.
You’ve got to be equally obsessive in your approach to screenwriting. Watch your favorite movies and shows over and over. Read the scripts. Analyze what moments got you in the gut. Find your blueprint and dissect every scene, every moment. Get the rhythm down so that you have inspiration and a road map.
When I wrote one of my half-hour pilots, I read the 30 Rock pilot dozens of times. It was brilliant, and structurally, I knew if I could emulate this I’d have something. Maybe you can’t write like Cameron Crowe or Norah Ephron…but maybe you can. You won’t know unless you aim to be great.
Would you watch this? Does it make you laugh? Does it make you cry?
If so, chances are it will resonate with someone else, maybe many people. If you don’t feel something when you’re writing it, no one is going to feel anything when they’re reading it.
Enter contests
There are a lot of film festivals, fellowships, contests, and programs you can submit to that are a great conduit to high-level networking and squeezing a foot in the door. Google and vet these contests and programs to make sure they are legit, and not just out to make a quick buck off you. If you enter and you don’t end up winning, work your new connections. Several of the Final Draft judges are talent managers. I noticed last year’s winner signed with one of the judges, so that’s an excellent way to get yourself representation.
Learn the business
Subscribe to trades like Deadline and Variety. See who is developing, find out what TV shows are being picked up. Look for trends.
Work in the industry
If you love TV and film, get a job at a production company or a studio. If you get a job on a show as a writer’s assistant, this can be a great way to experience the writer’s room, get comfortable in the environment and worm your way in. Ask to sit in on punch-up sessions and go above and beyond in whatever position you’re in. No matter what the job is that you’re doing, do a great job and have a great attitude. If the show sticks around and you put your time in, it is actually quite possible for writers’ assistants to get a shot at writing on staff.
Look for mentors
Mentoring is a longstanding tradition in the world of writers. If you have someone with connections who takes an interest in you, it can be gratifying for them to help you with your craft. Remember that mentoring is not transactional — come to the table willing to offer the courtesy of being grateful, respectful, on time, and appreciative of your mentor’s time and experience.
They say all writing is rewriting — this is true, at every stage of your career. Never be resistant to hearing notes. If the people giving you notes know their craft, they are helping push you to make the work better. If they believe in your talent, they may be able to open some doors for you. Submitting cold to an agent or manager isn’t usually as successful as getting in the door through a warm introduction. You will need an agent or a manager (or both) because they will help get you work and steer your career.
Don’t be shy
If your upstairs neighbor is a producer or your brother’s girlfriend is an agent, don’t be shy in politely expressing an ask (within reason). Of course, you’ve got to walk that fine line of being pushy and obnoxious vs. letting someone know you have a talent and you’d love to get your script to the right person, if they happen to have a connection that could help you out. Remember, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know!
Have a theme song. Like Ally McBeal
My Spotify is littered with bitchin’ jams to keep me going. I play them at the communal office, at home, or when I’m out walking. I have a soundtrack I created for the one-hour drama set in 1973 that made it to the semi-finals for this latest screenwriting contest, and when I hear Donovan sing,
In the chilly hours and minutes Of uncertainty, I want to be In the warm hold of your loving mind
To feel you all around me And to take your hand, along the sand Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
It feels very personal. It takes me back to how I felt when I was writing that script — it was a joy, and hearing the soundtrack I curated makes me smile. Music has that kind of visceral effect that takes hold of our state and if you curate the songs that make you happy and keep you Workin’ on a Dream, then hold onto that passion. Having these devices makes you your own coach who gives herself her own pep talks. And if it’s Bruce Springsteen talking in your ear, all the better.
Enjoy the journey
The great, curmudgeonly Andy Rooney once said, “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”
Now, I’m not guaranteeing you that all the markers of your journey will feel good. And if they don’t, changing course and abandoning the screenwriting may at some point make sense. But, if you feel like you’ve got some forward momentum and positive things are happening, and you feel like your work is getting stronger and stronger, you should feel good about that. You should enjoy the process — the feeling of writing a great line or an awesome character. The feeling of putting down a story well-told. When you sit down in your favorite writing spot, it should feel like your happy place.
Of course, we all want to sign with a big agent who lands us a fat deal so that we can be Diane Katon in Something’s Gotta Give in her black turtleneck and her shabby chic house on the beach in Sag Harbor typing away on her laptop — you know, all those lavish, externally validating rewards! BUT, you’ve got to learn to savor the little victories along the way. And you’ve got to accept that if you never make a million bucks doing this, you at least had some interesting and enriching experiences along the way.
A few years ago my agent told me that the guys who wrote The Hangover wanted to meet with me. They had a short-lived TV show called Mixology on ABC and though he warned me before the meeting that the show was likely on the chopping block, I was ecstatic at the chance to meet these guys. When I did, I told them that I was completely obsessed with The Hangover and I had read the script dozens of times. They laughed, and asked, “You read it? Really read the script?!” They were tickled that I bothered to actually read the script and we ended up having a great chat. We talked about The Odd Couple and Mary Tyler Moore and life and movies and the state of network television. Hearing from these two that my script rose to the top of the pile on their desk and they really liked my voice and loved the spec script I wrote…what can I say? Job or no job, in the words of Cameron Crowe, they had me at hello. I mean, aren’t those jumping-up-and-down screaming moments what life is all about anyway?
Which brings me to the last point…
Be proud of those calling cards
Every script you write is an opportunity. You may be disappointed if you don’t sell it, but if you write an original screenplay or TV script, that property is yours, and if it’s good, it will open doors for you.
I’m not here to blow smoke up your ass and tell you that this has been an easy path, or a super-rewarding experience financially, but I don’t regret pursuing this career. I make money writing books, articles, web content, and blogs, but screenwriting is a craft I love — it’s where my heart is. It’s a craft I have mastered, and that is something no one can take away from me. Every time I have an inspiring meeting or I get close to winning a fellowship or a contest it gets me excited. There must be a pony in here somewhere!
Hey, I would be absolutely thrilled if you sign up for my newsletter! Let’s quit comparing ourselves to others (but do it better & faster than everyone else).