All screenwriters have the judgment to see unfavorable or unfair situations coming a mile away. But how might our own personal attitudes towards the practice of our writing craft derail us from a genuinely successful and profitable career?

 

Here are 7 things to consider as a developing screenwriter to ensure you take the ideal route to professional and creative happiness.

 

Writing Stories Is Free

 

Your imagination is a gift. You own it. Your vision for your movie lives inside you. It arrived free of charge. Sharing the story which springs from your idea should not cost you any money. Whether you own a computer or a pen and paper, you can create a screenplay as a gift, and it can and will become eternal on the screen for audiences to love forever.

Focus on your writing as an act of generosity for others. Your detachment from selfish concerns will help support you more effectively as you tackle every story issue that arises.

 

Your Favorite Ideas Are Good Business

 

If you think your idea for a movie is incredible, it is. Your belief in your idea and how infatuated you are with your concept will always lead to the most profitable result. Developing ideas based on what you perceive others will approve of will lead to failure. Your fire for an idea must burn forever. Completely dedicate yourself to your own idea which you think is world class and this will lead you to the summit.

 

Write For You Too

 

Why are you writing? What is your goal? To win Oscars? Be rich? Be cool? Well, those are nice things, but most of the time you will be trying to write a stronger scene, or solving a problem with your ending, or devising a better source of conflict. Does writing make you happy? Well, write for your happiness, and let the results be what they are. If you write for your own emotional welfare, the results will take care of themselves.

 

Be A Great Colleague

 

Be the help you seek in other writers. Offer to read their scripts. Encourage fellow writers you meet on social media. Join friends in open discussions over the terrible movie you just saw together. Help others with their passion for storytelling and you will have plenty of support when you need it to finally take your screenplay into production.

 

Take All Feedback

 

It’s not uncommon for screenwriters to make quick judgments on the feedback they receive. Do not spend any time weighing whether your screenplay is worthy of the notes you might receive. Look for value in all feedback. Every bit of it. If you finally got someone to read your script — you might have paid for it — do not discard it. You received it for a reason, and it’s profitable not to waste time and money because you’re sad over what they said. It’s a true scam to reject feedback because it insults you.

 

Rewriting Your Script Is Freedom

 

Show respect for your dream by rewriting the hell out of your script with complete humility. Take all notes and start over. Let every instinct blossom on the page, even if it means a lot of work. The better you surrender to the long slog of rewriting, the better the deal you will deliver for project. Don’t lie to yourself when you know it’s not good enough. That’s a rip-off.

 

Have A Good Trip

 

Make the script you’re working on the best screenplay of your life. Write it like it’s your last one. Hold fast to the idea that anything can happen. There is no limit to where you can take the script you have before you. If you let yourself or others discourage you in any way, you have cheated yourself out of what can be possible, and what is possible when we write is every great piece of cinema that has every been made, and every bit to come. If you keep your eye on the horizon, be patient for when it will clear — there is nothing beyond your desk that can stop you.

 

 

 SUBMIT YOUR SCRIPT