Marvin V. Acuna

Recently, I attended a festival and was invited to participate in a round table discussion with various screenwriters. It felt a tad like speed dating. Every so often a festival volunteer would ring a bell and I would be relocated to yet another table.

We were not provided with an agenda and I was given no advance notice as to the purpose of this encounter.

Among the sea of screenwriters that I met one asked a very KEY question “What is the key difference between a successful screenwriter and a screenwriter who is not successful?”

I’ll offer the same answer to you that I did to that particular table of screenwriters. Ready?

THE SUCCESSFUL SCREENWRITER RECOGNIZES IT’S BUSINESS.

In my humble opinion, there are three pillars to a successful screenwriting business. And make no mistake… this IS a business.

Pillar #1: The Craft

Outliers, written by Malcolm Gladwell (gladwell.com), notes the following:

“The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.”

I feel screenwriters Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott offer some valuable wisdom in their blog (Theartfulwriter.com)

“Let’s be clear. Writing is a skill. Talent is a huge part of it, but there’s also a practice part. A science part. A “read yer freakin’ Campbell” part of it. There’s hard work. Self-criticism. Structure. Vocabulary. A memory for movies. Grammar. Story analysis. Philosophy.”

To further simplify — a writer writes. There are tremendous benefits derived from consistently honing your craft. I’ll focus your attention on just three: A) Refine your voice; B) Isolate your strengths and weaknesses; and C) Create an inventory of material.

In a video presentation I heard sometime ago uber-successsful screenwriter John August (johnaugust.com) mentioned he had roughly 50 unproduced screenplays on his shelf.

How many do you have?

John August on Screenwriting: Rancho Mirage Library, 04/14/09

from Synthian Sharp on Vimeo.

John August is one of the most successful screenwriter’s working today. Beyond writing two of my all time favorite films Go and Big Fish (I watched Big Fish at the Sherman Oaks Galleria opening weekend. It reminded me why I chose to pursue a career in film), he wrote the blockbuster franchise Charlie’s Angels.

This is a lengthy interview, but well worth every minute of your time. There are valuable insights and lessons you can glean from his experience in the Hollywood system. He addresses: How screenwriting credits are established? How to choose the “Gorilla’s” you want to work with? Should you attend film school or not? The best advice he ever received? Screenwriter versus novelist? The difference between an amateur and a professional? I strongly encourage you to check out the ENTIRE video so you may absorb these nuggets of wisdom.

An invaluable and important insight I felt compelled to highlight here for you, specifically, because it is in alignment with all that we have discussed on this blog, the video tips, Q&A’s, etc. is this:

The responsibility of a screenwriter has evolved from merely providing a script that serves as the blue print for a movie to delivering a script that serves as the marketing document for a movie… as a screenwriter your role has morphed into salesman.

Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough video

Enjoy the video. Apply the knowledge!

May Your Life Be Extraordinary,

Marvin V. Acuna