Hey guys! It's me again with another edition of "Career Paths" where I discuss some ways you can get started with a career, and start developing your portfolio to prepare yourself for the professional world.  If you haven't seen the previous articles, check out the Career Paths on Directing and Editing, you might find them useful. 

 

But this week I am covering possibly one of the hardest career paths - that of the writer. Becoming a professional Screenwriter can be one of the most difficult prospects for the unprepared. Some things that you MUST MUST understand is that Screenwriting is probably one of the most competitive sections of the film industry, there are simply far far to many people wanting to be writers, and not enough writing positions. Also, there is not a lot of room for new writers to really move in, because once you become established, you get more work. So a relatively small amount of writers (a few thousand) really get the majority of the opportunities. 

 

This isn't really a terrible way to operate, because you know since once a person proves they can write, it's logical to assume they are capable of continuing to write. While it's not an illogical way to operate, it is unfortunately not a system that is particularly kind to younger, less experienced writers trying to work their way up. 

 

So my advice is, DO NOT go straight to Hollywood, and try to work your way up in the rat race, that's not the way to do it if you want to succeed. Too many writers fail attempting the direct route, and that trace is clogged deep with crushed souls and abandoned dreams. Most of the writers who head out never even finish their "dream project" that they had an idea for, for years, but were always to afraid to write it down, they just keep on putting it off, and putting it off, lying to themselves that their table cleaning job is only temporary, and never doing what they truly WANT to do because they are to afraid. 

 

The first thing you've got to do is shed this fear. You have to be totally confident in your writing, and your voice. This doesn't mean that you think everything you write is perfect, because it's not going to be, NO ONE is perfect every time with everything they write. The real writer ACCEPTS their writing isn't perfect, but doesn't let this stop them, because they understand the concept of a first draft, and you must as well. 

 

You just have to accept that what you've written is competent, and that you CAN improve on it. You're an artist forming a picture out of words instead of lines, and just like a painter, before you start tossing down the final brush strokes, YOU MAKE A SKETCH. Being unafraid to make the sketch is the first step to becoming a writer. You can't be afraid of your ideas, or what people are going to think of them, because FIRST you've got to learn out to write, making what you write BETTER is the next step. 

 

To be a writer, you've GOT to write, and you've GOT to read, you have to internalize how to describe and detail with words rather than pictures, you have to develop a real understanding of words to become someone who works with words. Now, does this mean you've got to be a book worm? Not at all. 

 

Personally, I think it definitely HELPS, I read a lot, and I write a lot, and I feel like it tends to flow easier, once you exercise those parts of your brain, but things might work a bit differently for you. I tend to find that reading a lot has helped me develop my own unique voice, and freed up some of my inhibitions, because while I try to read very good books, I also read a lot of weakly written things, and being able to stand back and go, "Wow, I could have written this! AND gotten it published!" is a big inspiration for me. That's why I suggest that everyone, instead of just reading the highly recommended classics, and the books on your required reading list in school, stop by your local drugstore, find their books, and find the cheapest novel with the more cliched title you can find, and DEVOUR it. Reading a trashy dime-store novel every now and again helps put your own writing into perspective, and helps remind you that not all writing is beautiful, or beyond your skill range. 

 

After you've developed your writing skills, (you'll want to have read a lot of screenplays by now, and learned basic formatting for screenwriting by this point), you'll be able to start developing your own talent. 

 

Going the "Writer/Director" route is probably the easiest, and you can go back to the Directing article for that, but perhaps you're a internal person, and you can express the visuals well with your words, but the idea of working visually doesn't appeal to you? Well you'll want to start attempting to assemble a creative crew, just like you would if you were working towards becoming a Director. 

 

Start posting wanted ad's at local Universities film and drama departments, try to keep your pulse on local film projects, and you can begin to try to make contacts. It's much much easier to pitch an idea to a Indie crew, than it is to an executive, and you will find it far easier to actually get your idea MADE than you would working with a larger team with more at stake (like a studio). Unless you're going the Writer/Director route, you'll need to integrate yourself as PART of a creative team, rather than the LEADER of a Creative team (as would a director). 

 

You're a progenitor of ideas, but you will have to be content with not having final control over your ideas most of the time (especially in the professional world), you're going to learn to have to be part of a TEAM, and accept new ideas, and be able to integrate yourself into the team as a collaborative member. This is all good training for working within a professional system, where many projects are oftentimes written "by committee", with many members of the team are offering criticism and contributing new ideas that could take the project into a totally different direction. As a writer you've got to be ready for, and accept this, if you are going to merely be a writer, and not also a Director. 

 

Having people to write with (or even just a single partner) can make a projects development so much easier, once you learn to let go of your idea a little, and let it grow. 

 

Once you've integrated yourself into a creative team, you can begin working on films, posting them on the internet and sending them off to festivals. This not only allows your to get your name out there, but it allows you to begin to network, and develop your portfolio. 

 

When you have work in your portfolio, it's drastically easier to talk to fellow filmmakers and writers, and possibly contribute, because you're no longer just some random guy, but you're the guy whose work they have seen, they now know you're capable of creation just like they are, and begin to relate to you. 

 

So developing a portfolio now, not only of your scripts, but of finished projects, makes your work far more appealing to prospective parties later on. Being able to say when you're talking to someone, "Here is my Screenplay, and here is a Short Film based on my screenplay that could give you some idea of how it could work, and some of the visuals i'm aiming for in the final project", can really streamline the process and make you stand out. 

Don't be afraid to do things on your own, most of the time you can find local filmmakers (or even yourself!) that would be willing to help you realize some of your ideas, you don't need to go straight to Hollywood and start trying to sell your ideas, and if you do that without any portfolio, or preparation for all of the intricacies of working on a team, and developing your ideas, you're going to be swept aside like the vast majority of Writers are. 

 

More Writers are noticed by working as part of a team that creates Independent Films and who sends them off to Festivals, than those who have no previous credentials and merely send their scripts in on spec. So working from the bottom up, rather than trying to break straight to the top can be very beneficial for you. Not only because it lets you begin to sharpen your skills, but because it also lets you begin to network with other filmmakers, who know other filmmakers, once you start meeting and working with other filmmakers you begin to integrate yourself into the system, which makes it more likely you'll meet someone who could either look at one of your scripts, or knows someone they could possible give it to. 

 

Once you network yourself, and start CREATING, it becomes a lot easier to find people to sell your ideas to, because you become a human face, rather than a number in a pile of scripts. 

 

Being a writer can be hard, very very hard, you can face even more loneliness than you would in other filmmaking professions, because you have to spend so much time living within your own head, but if you want to be a writer, it's something you have to begin to prepare yourself for. But if it's what you want to do, you can't let anything stop you, and you've got to keep at it rather than allowing yourself to be sidetracked. 

 

CREATE, develop a portfolio, network, and start turning your ideas into smaller independent projects, send them off to festivals and begin to get yourself and your work noticed, these are much better plans than going to LA without any preparation. 

 

For more fundamentals check out the Screenwriting Portal in the Suggestions and Tips section on the forums. You'll find scripts to read, formatting instructions, and other information to help yourself in the process of developing your writing skills.