Screenwriting: Career or Hobby? [Adrian Mead's Career Guide]

What a fab day!

Not only did I meet the lovely Lucy Vee, David Bishop and Laurence Timms in person, I also got to network with other screenwriters, pass out my unique (improvised/temporary) business cards and learn exactly what I should be and need to be doing to get into the industry.

Here's a couple of pics of my unique business cards (my sculpture degree show postcards with details written on in coloured pens) which will soon be replaced with proper snazzy business cards from www.moo.com.

In my blog title I ask the question whether screenwriting is, to you, a career or a hobby? This was something we addressed today in the course. There's a clear difference between those who want to make it professionally as a screenwriter and those who do it simply because they enjoy doing it.

• The main question is: Are you willing to take the next steps - send work into prod co's, make contacts, go to meetings, pitch ideas and so forth? If you're not, then screenwriting, for you, is just a hobby. 
• If you do want to do all these things but can't for some reason, then what is it that is holding you back? You need to identify what it is and work through it so that you can take the next steps to becoming a professional screenwriter.

It's important to understand why you want to be a screenwriter:

• Are you doing it for the money, the fame/glamour, the validation (being told you're good at writing), through the need to communicate or through love of the process of screenwriting? If it's just for the money, the fame or the validation, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. If it's for the love of the process and the need to communicate then that's brilliant - you're ahead of the pack! Of course, good money comes as a bonus! ;)

Are you doing enough writing? There's really no excuse...

• There's no such thing as writer's block. There's depression and personal issues, but never writer's block.
• You can make time to write no matter how busy you are (even if you jot things down for 5 mins whilst sitting on the toilet). No excuses!

How much does hope play a part in your career strategy?

• Don't hope things will turn out alright, make them turn out alright!

Distractions

• When you are on your computer or watching the television, ask yourself: "Am I wasting time or am I investing it?" 
• Allocate time for social networking, but don't let the internet distract you from your writing at other times (hard, I know!)

Networking

• Get in there and introduce yourself to people. It's just a friendly chat: You need only say your name, what you do and what you're working on at the moment. Take an interest in what the other person is saying and swap business cards!
• Business cards are pretty essential. I knew they would be so I improvised mine, but I shall be making some of my own using www.moo.com. Adrian Mead tells us that business cards should be smart, simple and to the point. No wackiness.

Getting an agent; Are you ready?

• You need to have something to sell; the product.
• Agents not only need to sell the work but you, too. 
• Are you ready to step up to the next level?
• Can you hold your own in a meeting?
• Can you articulate yourself regarding your script?

Pitching

• You need to contextualise your script.
• Ownership - make it your story. No boring "It's about a girl who meets a guy who is struck by lightening"... They'll be much more interested if you tell them about the inspiration.
• You can slightly stretch the truth.
• Unique access - you need a unique selling point (a USP - see next point). 
• What does your script say about the world right now?
• Put some energy into your pitch.
• Believe in it.
• Clarity - be really simple/concise.
• If you are pitching to a group of people, it is a good idea to bring something visual in to support your pitch, such as a mood board, photos and handouts, too.
• Producers often want to see a 1-page pitch on paper, although verbal pitching is becoming far more popular as it is quicker. You must make a 1-page script as good as can be. There's more information in this in Adrian's e-book, "Making it As A Screenwriter"

USP

• Why should anyone pay you to write scripts rather than someone who's just finished a screenwriting degree, or someone who's already an established writer?
• What's going to make you stand out?
• Adrian has worked as a hairdresser and a bouncer before, so he's got a good working knowledge of nightclub activity and life in the salon. 
• What's yours? We discussed our USP's in the course. One person said they worked as a telephone operator for the emergency services and that calls often sparked ideas for situations in screenplays. Another said that working as a teacher of English to speakers of foreign languages allowed them to catch a glimpse into different cultures. 
• A USP could also be something you have great knowledge of. It could be a subject you're particularly knowledgeable of or something you're familiar with from your past/current experiences. I personally am familiar with mental issues such as OCD, having suffered myself as a child.
• How can you use your USP to your advantage? How can it enrich your writing and make you stand out in the crowd?
• What if you don't have a USP? You can get one! There's lots of things you can to to widen your experiences. Adrian works for childline, through which he has learnt a great deal about children and their lives/problems. You could join a group/activity, volunteer somewhere, or simply research a particular topic.

What should you be writing?

• Feature films. There's no harm using a feature film as your calling card - the script you use to show off your skills. Even when you're aiming to work for TV, feature films are accepted. Be as bold and drastic as you like in a feature film calling card script - don't worry about budget or limitations, just go for it and show what you can do. A calling card is "the big one" but is also the one that will never get made!
• Low budget scripts for collaboration - make them with some friends!
• Children's scripts are hot at the minute - but don't think you can wing it - do your research
• Adaptations are also hot at the minute - not book adaptations, but adaptations of things such as fairytales, Greek Myths and Roman stories. Contemporise them. Bring them into the 21st century - modernise them for today's world.
• No-one wants period pieces anymore unless it's a calling card script.
• Police and Medical dramas are always wanted, despite what you might think about them being out of date. There's a phrase: "Old wine in a new bottle" which basically symbolises the repackaging of an old idea/formular into a glossy new show.
• Diversify by writing for online shows, theatre, games, radio and so forth.
• Make them! Why not create a web show or put on a play?

What should you be doing?

• Do things other writers aren't doing
• Don't just send scripts within England, send them to International prod-co's as they will often have a larger budget and more desire for scripts (in English) due to lack thereof in their location.
• Go to every script/film event you can.
• Network - meet producers/directors after screenings - talk to them and give them your business card!
• Think about indirect ways of approaching producers. Speak to people who know the directors/producers.
• Send scripts to DOPs - they often aspire to be directors and may be able to recommend you to the producer if they see potential in your script.
• Don't pester producers - be polite and courteous.
• Really do your research on prod-cos and producers/directors before approaching them... Watch their films, get to know their work. Find out what their first ever film was - often their "love project" - the one that started their careers. Often a good talking point as they were most probably passionate about it.
• Work your way back - Who makes the films of the genre you are writing for? Who's worked with them? What have they done before?
• Make sure you're going to the right people - nothing worse than pitching a rom-com to someone who produces horror flicks!
• Don't criticise without knowing all the facts.
• There's always a story behind the story.
• The industry is tiny - connections everywhere. It takes minutes to gain a bad reputation!
• You should already be writing for next year's anticipated competitions as well as this year's (Red Planet, BSSC, BFSC, Coming Up, etc). 

Setting Goals

• Setting goals - today we set three goals for ourselves - one short-term (to be completed in a week's time), one mid-term (to be completed in 3 months' time) and one long-term (to be completed in a year's time). You should be making goals and figuring out how you can achieve them.
• Concentrate everything into reaching those goals.
• Set yourself deadlines.
• Take action. Knowledge is nothing without action.
• Seek help from others.
• Regularly check on your progress.
• It's all about achieving.
• There's never any "failing" as you learn all the way.
• Be committed.
• You won't commit until you take the big "no way back" action.

The big "no way back" action

• Inform your family of your plans to be a screenwriter.
• A supportive partner is essential. 
• When you make it into TV writing you won't be able to keep the day job. It'll be full-on.
• Could you afford to lose the day job?
• Do you need to down-size to free up money and lower living costs?
• If you're serious about screenwriting then you need to take action. 
• Call/email/meet up with the people who can get you where you want to be.
• In the current climate it is the ideal time to be making short films. 
• Everyone needs to be working and making stuff.
• Be brave and bold even if you have little or no money.
• Invest in yourself - are you willing to?
• How are you going to sell yourself?

Fear

• Deal with fear.
• What's the worse that can really happen?
• What's the best that can realistically happen? This one will clearly outweigh your answer to the previous question.
• Think about how things will be if you don't make an effort to do things.
• Say to yourself "I can handle this" and face your fears.

Dealing with rejection

• Put any good feedback you receive into a file
• When you are feeling down after the fifth rejection in a day (it's happened to Adrian before!) get out the file and read all the positive stuff as a pick me up.

As you can see, we covered quite a lot in the course today. A lot more than this, in fact... I have *tried* to keep it all as brief as possible to help you think about yourself and where you stand with your screenwriting. A lot of the things we covered really made you think hard about screenwriting as a career and all that's involved. Adrian's career strategies were fantastic and we all left feeling really positive and motivated to take the next steps.

We also had a talk by Phillip Shelley, a script editor/producer. I will blog about what he had to say in my next entry. In the mean-time, I hope these notes from the course today are useful to you, that they will help you examine what stage you are at in your screenwriting career and will motivate you to take your career to the next level!