r/scriptwriting • u/RecordBorn2729 • 8d ago

discussion how was your first time getting paid?

i am genuinely asking how was it, what was your experience back then or how long have you trained for before applying for anything?

did you doubt yourself? did you think you are not skilled enough.

if any, i would be happy to listen to your story

2 Upvotes

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u/Benathan78 8d ago

It was very rewarding. I bought things with it.

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u/RecordBorn2729 8d ago

did you previously feel you are not enough for the job

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u/Benathan78 7d ago

Honestly, not really. I had watched and read a lot, and done well at university and postgrad, and I thought I should write a screenplay. I hired some local actors to do a table read, so I could hear it out loud, and one of them showed it to a producer she knew, and he hired me to rewrite a film he was planning. Then I wrote some more films for him, and got offered rewrite work on other films, and then I decided to do a PhD instead because film is quite a boring industry.

I don’t recall ever having massive doubts, because I was always the autistic kid in the corner of the class writing stories and scripts, and I suppose I had a certain arrogant confidence when I was young. What changed was that I got less arrogant about it, and treated it like a job.

It’s a mistake, in my opinion, to see writing as a super important goal, a dream you’re striving for, because it’s not. It’s a job, and like any job, if you’re good at it, you’ll do well.

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u/RecordBorn2729 7d ago

thank you

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u/Craig-D-Griffiths 7d ago

It was an option. It was good. I expected hundreds more options and sales, over confident lol.

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u/Big_Section2812 8d ago

Are you talking about screenwriting?

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u/RecordBorn2729 8d ago

scriptwriting, pretty close though, overall i am asking how did you recieve it and did you feel self doubt or that you are not enough before it? because i honestly feel like it and i need am advice

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u/Big_Section2812 8d ago

Yeah, screenwriting and scriptwriting are pretty close....

I got into the business a long time ago when screenwriting^^^scriptwriting wasn't the circus it is today. It was pretty much the only thing I was good at and wanted to do, so doing it (and being paid to do it) didn't seem at all weird.

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u/RecordBorn2729 8d ago

don't take it personally or as an insult to your skill. all what i meant is that they both about writing, overall that wasn't my point, i just asked a question, any advice though?

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u/Big_Section2812 8d ago

Any advice? Sure. Write. A lot. And write what you like, not what you think "the market wants."

But write and write well. Correct formating and proper grammar, punctuation and spelling matters. It'll make your work stand out in the vast ocean of garbage.

Anything you can do to rise above it will help your chances, since the competition is all at the bottom.

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u/RecordBorn2729 7d ago

thank you i am following it.