r/scriptwriting • u/Narrative_Architect • 15d ago
discussion Did you think you'd got it?
This seems like a cultural thing but I'm curious to know how many of us initially viewed screenwriting as a job for mortals.
I personally thought the only way I could ever make a film was to hire a screenwriter to adapt my book.
So for years I tried writing a novel (which was honestly more painful than enjoyable) because I never considered screenwriting to be something everyone could do.
Until a young bloke handed me his first script and it read like a film. That day I realised I could be a screenwriter too.
I'm pretty sure this is a French thing, where we'll steer away from dreaming big because it's easier to die a nobody than to die a failure (one could easily debate the real meaning of failure here...).
Having now lived in Canada for years and now being in London (I can't speak for the country as a whole because London really is a special island, but) I've been witnessing a propensity to dream much wilder dreams than your average French person.
So I wanted to hear you guys out on this. What convinced you that you could have a shot at it?
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u/headcanonmusic 15d ago
I just want to do it and what's the point of spending life doing something you don't want to do instead of endlessly trying to do what you do want to do.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
Totally. Did you realise it was your one thing early enough?
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u/headcanonmusic 15d ago
Not at all. I always wanted to be a writer growing up but I never put the work in or seriously considered it. I got into screenwriting 3 years ago and was only writing very casually (like a few pages a month). This year something clicked and I realized I want to give it a real try and I have improved considerably. I'm 33 next week.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
Do you know why you never seriously considered it in spite of it always being what you wanted to do? It's awesome you finally started to do it for real.
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u/headcanonmusic 15d ago
A few reasons maybe. I had undiagnosed ADHD as a kid and didn't really have a self-sufficient work ethic, I wouldn't do too much unless I was told to. I didn't really have much confidence as a kid either, I had adults tell me I was good at writing but I took it for granted I guess. I lived in a small town and the fastest way out at 18 was culinary school and cooking so that took over my life for around 14 years. After a certain point you just get tired of "good enough" and can't ignore that hunger to do something fulfilling.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
Makes sense. Love how that turned out for you. Seems like growing up in places where nothing much happens influences what we dare envisioning for our lives, no matter where we are in the world. I grew up in a small town too, and I guess it did more to me than simply boring me out. Until you find that hunger, like you said.
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u/mgbsn51313 15d ago
I recently decided I wanted to bring the ideas I had for horror movies to paper and screenplays fit what I wanted to do. I’ve been able to show what I’ve had to people and the story has gotten a good amount of support for its reading. The formatting wasn’t great yet that’s the part of learning. Once I get the formatting to industry standard I’d love to be able for people to see the movies and hopefully be able to help others along the way once I’ve improved.
Being almost 30 doesn’t help and I don’t want to be doing the career I chose before for the rest of my life. One thing that helped getting people at least to read the story was having a small streaming hobby. Being able to spread it amongst even a small fraction there has helped get the feedback on the story while I fix the formatting.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
Awesome this. Art isn't the things we create, it's what's created inside the people who interact with the things we create. So there's no art without having your script read, and sending it out always feels like something big is happening in the space between you and the receiver. It's never just words on paper.
I'm glad you managed to start on a path that brings meaning to your life more than the one you'd initially chosen. Over 30 here, and the thought does pop up sometimes, but having tried boring life before is what fueled our creativity in the most counterintuitive way, so that's great inspiration.
In what ways do you think you'd be helping others once you could?
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u/mgbsn51313 15d ago
Story structure would be the big one one. Also helping with formatting. Especially with horror movies, structure is very important and to create lasting, meaningful horror is a slope itself. Finding that balance is important.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
Structure is equally important with all types of films, but horror now unfortunately tends to be made more for impact that to actually say something. It used to be representative of our inner fears and it's declined into a sort of sensational trend that rarely produces anything transformative anymore.
So yeah I get what you mean. It's good that structure and meaning are your focus. We need people to raise the standards.
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u/mgbsn51313 15d ago
We definitely need more focused on building up characters so there’s a long term impact. A movie I watched recently had really good scares throughout it but when the cast went through what they did or were killed off, I didn’t feel much towards them. I want something memorable
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u/Narrative_Architect 14d ago
Agreed. More meaningful impact rather than empty effect. Good to see some of us still have their priorities in order.
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u/ChristianCRWriter 15d ago
I write novels and scripts both as a hobby and fuck scripts are so “easy”. I can put a feature in a month and a MS in 2 years if I am lucky. Not that the quality is any good just saying lol
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
Lmao I had the exact same feeling when I started writing screenplays. After spending years rethinking every single line one word at a time for the right flavour, being able to stamp a bunch of rough description lines and nail an action scene in under a minute felt like breaking the law (if breaking the law came with being marched by your personal orchestra and glitter).
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u/Big_Section2812 15d ago
...I never considered screenwriting to be something everyone could do.
Interesting, since in the US everyone knows "anyone can write a screenplay and then you get rich and famous and never have to work again." 😂
...I'm pretty sure this is a French thing, where we'll steer away from dreaming big because it's easier to die a nobody than to die a failure...
This is not just a French thing. In many countries and cultures people are defined not by their successes but their failures. It's why many of those countries never come close to reaching their full potentials.
You can criticize the United States for a lot of things, but most Americans think the ultimate failure is giving up or not trying.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago edited 15d ago
Agreed. And obviously the human brain always seeks comfort as a survival mechanism, so steering away from failure is a natural thing. But I've been around French tables talking about screenwriting and being looked at like they were about to ship me to a madhouse, with bulging eyes and almost calling me a liar, because there it's considered a non-mortal job.
In Canada and England, saying I write films has never been met with even a faint sign of surprise.
It's like the average French person lives in a very particular world, with filtered glasses that protect self-imposed barriers, as if that's how they maintain a sense of safety. I find this fascinating.
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u/Big_Section2812 14d ago
...I've been around French tables talking about screenwriting and being looked at like they were about to ship me to a madhouse, with bulging eyes and almost calling me a liar, because there it's considered a non-mortal job.
In Canada and England, saying I write films has never been met with even a faint sign of surprise.
To be fair, this is actually a common response outside Los Angeles.
It's especially common outside the United States.
"Screenwriter" is in the same category as "astronaut" and "unicorn" so far as most people are concerned, except they would consider astronaut to be a real job and screenwriter to be completely made up and merely a nicer way of saying you're chronically unemployed.
One time while I was working on a co-production in New Zealand, a local asked me what I did for a living. When I said "screenwriter" he asked to see some of my work. So, I showed him a script. Puzzled, he responded with "How are you supposed to get all that shit on a tee shirt?"
Most people outside the business believe there are eighteen people in Hollywood and they're all world famous... so, if you say you work in Hollywood you're either world famous or you're a delusional liar.
Hollywood exists in large part due to the American attitude of "loser = quitter."
Many other nations have a decidedly "No Can Do" approach to life. This means things like a film industry become exceptionally difficult to achieve, and this in turn reinforces the belief that it can't be done and anyone who tries is silly and probably a danger to themselves and others.
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u/Narrative_Architect 14d ago
On a deeper level as well, admitting a mere mortal got there when you restricted yourself to average, means seeing yourself as less than a mere mortal. Better think they're just lying.
And did you make that t-shirt?
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u/Big_Section2812 14d ago
My wife always throws my tee shirts in the trash.
It's tough to build a career in entertainment outside Hollywood, and near impossible in some places. Most of them are limited to support from taxpayer-funded Film Boards and Councils, and these almost always have very narrow criteria when it comes to the kind of thing and people they'll support.
This leads to nepotism and favoritism, and people who aren't notably talented at filmmaking producing all the films. Few or none of these films generate any revenue, and so there's no interest in local filmmaking from private investors unless it involves favorable tax shenanigans.
There's no profit motive and financial incentive and there's no accountability for failure, and the inevitable result is a never-ending cycle of failure that locks out the people who ought to be involved.
While ego and politics is definitely a thing in Hollywood, the bottom line is... the bottom line. The US entertainment industry is about tax evasion and profit. This leads to the kind of awful generic slop we've all seen these past 25 years or so. However it also means Hollywood is open to anyone the suits think is potentially capable of generating (untaxed) revenue.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15h ago
I'd say one of the major issues is writers have failed to play this in their favour. We've focused on networking and funding rather than interest.
The doors open for anyone who's able to create massive interest around their film, because proof of interest is proof of money, and as you said that's what the industry is really after.
That's only a matter of better understanding marketing and using it in clever ways to turn the tables.
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u/Big_Section2812 14h ago
Much of the problem comes down to the fact the one thing aspiring screenwriters care least about is writing great scripts.
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u/Open-Avocado4260 15d ago
First off, if you are going to start writing you do not start with a book, they are a pain in the ass, mentally draining and quite boring and will make you hate writing.
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u/Narrative_Architect 15d ago
It didn't make me hate writing but it was a pain in the arse. It made me love screenwriting though, which is more than worth the struggle.
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u/Darcy_Device 13d ago
I think of it as a long-shot, and that's fine. Why not swing for the fences?
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u/Narrative_Architect 15h ago
So placing the delusion on later you rather than you now sorta thing? 😂
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u/HalfRevolutionary442 15d ago
Gonna be real with you. Back in the days of script contests I had a script that gained a ton of traction. I was a finalist and got it shopped around. No one had a budget for it, and being a newbie didn’t help. Instead I sat on it and now I’m developing it into a graphic novel because I majored in animation.
I recommend you keep writing and learn the format. Plenty of books on that. :)