Waiting for a Big Break? Let’s Change the Narrative.
Let's talk about how people diminish us with their verbs, then let's take back our power.
“Thanks for Finding the Time.”
My problematic friend would say this after every meeting near the end of our friendship. It was part gratitude, part criticism.
It never made sense to him that I was so busy all the time, so he made a point to bring it up at least once a visit.
But whenever he said this, I always corrected him. I didn’t just find time lying around. I made time for him. Like I made time for my other connections, and for writing, and for errands, and for everything else.
I made the time. Finding it implies that I searched for it and it was under the couch or lost on a shelf. Making it? That implies I rolled up my sleeves and actually created time where there was none before - and if I hadn’t made time, we wouldn’t have hung out. I had to prioritize it. As did he. The difference was my time was pulled in a lot more directions.
This subtle mindset shift was lost on Melvin. But it made a major difference to me.
I find time to watch YouTube videos (edutainment for me, can’t let the brain rot!). I make time for things I value. The difference is huge.
People Diminish without Thought
People who want to position themselves as a leader will state that while others wait to make things happen, these people have already made things happen! (Don’t be these people, it’s so performative and cringe.)
“Don’t wait for your big break,” they say.
I don’t know about you, but no writer is in a position where they’re sitting around waiting. How do I know? Because they had to write something to call themselves a writer.
They’re already being active in their goals. If you’re writing, you’re active. Don’t let anyone diminish how much work and discipline that takes.
Many writers get stuck once they have a script, or a manuscript, because now they have a brand new problem that requires a new world of knowledge. “What now?”
I don’t know about you, but once I have a script done, I try to get it out into the world. Maybe that’s through pitch on demand services, or connections.
DON’T DO IT!
At least not yet.
Step Two: Professionalism
You have to make sure that script is professional. You have to get it looked at by professionals.
I met a writer at a film festival once who was strategizing about how he’d get a manager now that his script was a quarter-finalist. He’d get notes from the readers, address them, and march on bravely.
This left me scratching my head. “You don’t seek out professional feedback?” I asked. He reasoned he didn’t need to.
What?!
No shade to contest readers, but unless you, the writer, is a finalist in a major contest, odds are your readers are not professional screenwriters who have broken into the industry. Why would a pro be reading for Page, or Austin, or the Big Break, if they’re getting paid handsomely to write commercial scripts?
Contest readers are anonymous. You don’t know anything about your reader. Sure, they’re good enough to be a reader, but readers en masse are hard to get, and the bar isn’t exactly out-of-reach high.
Like, if the contest said, “only writers who have sold scripts read for this competition,” that’d be one thing. But that’s one hell of a lift. Instead, a first and second round reader need some great competencies, and a willing attitude. They aren’t professional writers though, and the difference is vast.
All feedback is worth taking, but it is not equal. Do yourself a favor, save up some pennies, and get someone who has mastered craft to analyze your work.
You’ll realize you likely have a lot more to do.
Don’t Skip Step Two
This is the most crucial lesson I had to learn on my journey. It held me back for years. Go and make your script professional.
Learning, Building, Connecting, and Pitching are not Waiting
Once you have a professional script, your next job is to write another one. Seriously. Prove you can do it twice.
But also… you need to learn how to get your amazing script into the correct hands.
This is murky waters for most, and this is where people try to trap you into thinking you’re being lazy.
You’re not waiting to be discovered here, but you are learning how to communicate in this industry, how to pitch your work, how to be useful to others, and how to knock on the correct doors the correct ways.
This is all hard work.
Cozy Hugs and Soft Fuzzy Blankets
Listen, I know this is very difficult. That’s why I started this blog. To help you learn from my path, to understand the road ahead, to help you succeed.
Writing a professional script is way harder than anyone realized. There’s a reason AI couldn’t crack it (yet), and why there’s such a massive cottage industry dedicated to helping screenwriters.
You don’t need a bunch of blowhards trying to profit by diminishing your work, but they’re here to stay.
What you do need is to remember that learning is being active. Improving your work is active. Researching how to place your script within this industry is being active.
Writers do want their scripts to get “discovered” by “gatekeepers,” (I have a blog on this), but they’re not sitting around with those scripts in a drawer, their fingers crossed.
You have to send it somewhere. You have to do something, and that something is active. Don’t let anyone pretend it isn’t. You’re working hard and the point of this article is to acknowledge that!
It’s to help you remember how hard you’ve worked to get where you are.
At the same time, to provide insight in how to get where you want to be.
On the one hand, the road ahead is long and challenging. I hope you’re excited for it. I hope you look at that challenge like a tower of delicious nachos you can’t wait to devour.
Because that path is challenging, we need not be diminished while on it. The other hand requires us to remind ourselves of the hard work and to be proud of where we find ourselves.
Everyone will try to paint your efforts to suit their narrative. We control our own words.
We’re writers, after all.
