The Mind of a Madman | |
Balancing the Rat Race
09:11, 24.7.2006
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Someone wrote this as a comment on one of my earlier blogs...in reference to screenwriters. "We're the cutting edge of economic natural selection when it comes to surviving in dollar land (USA) with a suckling dream keeping us from their rat race." - Anonymous I'd like to offer my take on this. Keep in mind this is coming from the consummate artist. I used to think this way. "F" the establishment, and all that smack. It took me a very long time to realize that the establishment is in fact not the enemy. (shocker) In a profession like screenwriting, we have to ask ourselves, what is it we are looking to accomplish? Recognition? Praise? Financial gain? No one would be toiling away, trying to master the craft if they answered "no" to any of these. I used to lie and tell myself "I just want to tell good stories." But that's bullsh*t. I can tell good stories, possibly even great ones, but what good will it do if they just sit there on my computer, or in a drawer for no one to ever see? The point of embracing your calling as a storyteller is to share your stories with others. Whatever the motivation may be, the purpose remains the same. We share a piece of ourselves, and because of that, our writing becomes intensely personal. Sometimes painful. Often times therapeutic. But in the end, we want to reach as many people as we can. We want to be told that our writing has moved someone. We want validation for what we are doing. Hollywood is the machine. Hollywood is in essence, the rat race. Distributing our stories to a larger demographic requires the very thing that we are hoping to attain, whether we are aware of it or not. MONEY. Where there is money to be made, the rats will follow. The sooner we as writers embrace that concept, the more stable we will be in our pursuit of the cheese. You want to write a killer spec script? Better have that hook! Without it? You will undoubtedly have a great story...having read numerous books on the art of storytelling and screenwriting. Some of you have gone so far as to pay for seminars and workshops and classes...bachelors degrees, and masters degrees...and student loans...and...get the picture? The point is, the rat race is all around us. The question is, how involved can we be while trying to maintain as much of our dignity as possible along the way? My advice to the anonymous writer above is to embrace this rat race that you are seemingly trying to avoid. Maintain as much of your dignity as you can in the process. But understand this: A screenplay is the blueprint for a product that will be manufactured, promoted, displayed, and distributed for consumption amongst the masses. You can bet that it won't be done for free. SO keeping that in mind...think of your hook, your marketing concept, your theme, before you even begin to sacrifice 6 months to a year of your life creating something so precious as a reflection of your innermost soul. Balance is the key. As with anything in life. Finding that balance...that will be the perennial battle until the day we no longer write. - J. Leave a Comment { Last Page } { Page 7 of 10 } { Next Page } |
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