Screenwriting : Crafty Craft: Some Rebellious Thoughts from Successful Creatives by CJ Walley

I like that :-) I'd simplify it further by saying "you become what you think - so be careful what you think" ... yeah, even when you're working with creatives that think they know it all, never lose that connection with 'self belief' ;-)

I like that one a lot, Chris!

Good post, CJ. Fear is a depressive gets to me every other day. One I like is "You can't rock the boat standning on the dock"

Owen, the first one is about taking an unjust responsibility for failure, attaching what went wrong onto your approach, and subsequently avoiding the same approach in the future. It counters the argument that we should take every knockback as a learning and adjusting experience on the basis that thinking causes creatives to lose direction, take fewer risks, be less bold, and ultimately mold themselves to suit a mediocre middle-ground of acceptance.

David, great addition. I do love the more rebellious ones myself.

I will admit the fear of failure gets to me every day. It even keeps me up some nights. As much as fear of being stuck in the same position gets me down I never stop writing or trying to advance my knowledge to move forward. When you know inside you have what it takes it propels you further than any bad throught trying to steer you from what you really want to do in life.

G.A., thanks for that, well put. Some of the points are mentioned toward the end of this talk by Denis Hong from RoMeLa; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR6tiSW-AM

Some of the other points are from the documentry ART & COPY on Netflix; http://www.netflix.com/title/70112738

David, I think there's many aspects to drive a fear of failure from the fearing we will fail at life to feeling our latest script will fail to impress the next reader. It seems what's may be important is to balance what can down to ourselves and what's down to pure chance.

I always try to better the odds in my favor, if I can. I really do not like to leave much to chance. I know if I stop, I will fail in my eyes. My drive to succeed overcomes my fear of failure. They do battle a lot. I know where my fear of failure lies and I fight it everyday. Being a part of the S32 community helps me move the journey forward, not backward or bring it to a halt. Just have to remain positive!

Learning from an objective failure is a perfectly logical strategy for personal growth. Where it gets complicated is subjective failure, since subjectivity is such a big part of story crafting. Compounding that issue are factors such as what individually we class as a success. For example, valuing artistic values over commercial success. Then there's the martyrs narrative to consider which is all too common.

Obi Wan Kenobi said "the truths we cling to depend on our own point of view". The same could be said at how we each view our success and failures.

Obi Wan may have said it, but it's perhaps more prudent to note Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas wrote it.

I wrote in George Lucas then removed it before posting the comment! LOL. Who wrote it is not lost on me.

Well that will teach you not to go changing things through fear, David! Should have stuck with your gut, buddy :-P

Jim, by all means start a thread on what members believe are and aren't failures :)

Good quotes, especially the last one.

I like to think philosophically about this. We manifest what we think. Everything man has created (good or bad) has come from the power of thought. If we fester on our negatives we'll not only magnify our fears, we'll manifest greater ones. Now if we focus and get into our minds what we really want (not easy to do) we can actually manifest our hearts desire, but we must not fester on those thoughts. Once we've given ourself 'direction' letting go and going into 'neutral' is all we need to do, but it can take a while to get that programming right - to the point you no longer need to think about it - a bit like learning to walk, there comes a point where you no longer need to think about it, it just happens. Manifest your passions not your fears ;-)

Excellent comment, Chris :) One of the reasons I posted this is because I keep seeing this undertone of negativity to a lot of screenwriting advice. Sometimes I log into screenwriting forums smiling and come out frowning; it's often a case of "don't do this", "you need to thicken your skin", "you're probably not going to make it", "it only gets harder", "what constitutes being a professional", "you must write everyday to succeed", etc, etc. It all builds this notion that being a creative makes somebody an awkward oddball who should be galvanised into some production drone by obediently obeying orders and churning out inoffensive material. Fuck that. Any creative who's found time to craft something they love has won, end of story. That's what makes us happy. If the world doesn't get it then that's not our failing. We should wear our emotional vulnerability as a badge of honour, be proud that we are some of the few who embrace what makes us happy, not fear challenges but welcome opportunities, never see money or glory as representing success, nor impose too much pressure onto ourselves. Those business people, nit-pickers, and self appointed gurus who try to knock us all down over our lack of business acumen, professional etiquette, or ability to follow R.U.L.E.S should be chased out like vermin. While those who want to collaborate and nurture us as what we are should be welcomed in with warm hugs and cuddles. We are creatives, we are special. No machine nor artificial intelligence can do what we do, no process nor panel of scientists can recreate the magical intangible and inexplicable magic that sparks into life in our heads. We are not below the capitalist world that trades our abilities dragging it down but infact high above keeping it afloat. One miniscule area on this planet draws our attention and tempts us with riches, yet it has become so cynical and self serving, it breeds little more than junk food for the soul and misery for its apparent successors. Meanwhile, THE REST OF THE WORLD AWAITS right now, a lot of which treasures those blessed with imagination as much as they do those who are born with entrepreneurship in their veins. So it's time to stop knocking each other down and start building each other up. You don't think that's not business headed enough? Fine, you go sit with your money and I'll go sit with my keyboard - let's see who's more fulfilled at the end of the day.

Hence why I'm giving short scripts away for free. Makes me happy.

I'm with you C.J., Am I happy and excited about what I am pursuing and the journey ahead? Yes I am! Because the new medium and technological advances allow us to be as creative as we choose to be whether it's content geared towards a niche or mass-market. Still, I'm happier than I ever was making more money while withering away in someone's cubicle. Financial struggles come with this freedom, but my creative and entrepreneur side is flourishing.

This has been a really interesting thread, and what it highlights (for me) more than anything, is that working within the media industry breeds an element of contempt for the insecurities it can inflict. In reality, we inflict these insecurities on ourselves via deeply imbedded fears - finely tuned from birth. Okay, there are people in the advertising & film industry trying their best to keep doors of opportunity shut to new talent, but as mentioned above; "Technology is fast changing the game" ... as a result, the genuinely talented will take advantage and use it, hence creating more opportunity. Somebody said to me the other day; "The big nuts in the industry will be cracked" ... sounds painful, but true. Much like the record industry giants, they're becoming history because people are doing it for themselves. Not everyone will succeed, but those genuinely passionate and talented, will!

Such great tidbits to keep in mind - thx for posting!

Hey CJ! My takes: Ignore failures, and don't try to learn from them. That is total b.s. You should analyze the shit out of every failure in my opinion! Although sometimes you failed because of something outside your control, in which case forget it and move on Don't work with committees, they only exist to spread any blame. I kind of agree with this. Have your own vision. Fear is a depressive, avoid it. Agreed. Nothing about making movies should be fear-inducing. Being chased by a bear should be fear-inducing. There's a lot of people in the industry but damn few good ones. This is a negative way of looking at the world. i would say there are a lot of people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk, that doesn't make them bad though Don't criticise, only refine. Criticising people doesn't really get them to do what you want, it usually backfires! Work smart, then work hard. 100%. Busting ass with no big picture strategy is a lot of wasted effort. Have fun or don't bother. Sort of wrong. Work is not supposed to be total fun, it's supposed to be rewarding. But yeah, if you never have fun doing it, maybe it's the wrong line for you.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If you don't learn from your mistakes how do you grow as a writer or is one expected to learn from their insanity?

To be honest, the more I dwell on the first one the more I like it and want to live by it (creatively speaking).

CJ: Some great thoughts there. I agree most with fear helps depression. Also, for me, working smart means doing the up front work before I undertake writing a script. I also think it's nearly impossible to disregard mistakes without some takeaway. My biggest goal is to be original.

A wise goal to have, Philip.

CJ & Phillip: Agreed! The best goal to have is to be original. Don't say you are going to be the next Tarantino or Coppola. Write your stories in your style. Be yourself, someone else is already taken.

Honestly, I doubt you can help but learn from failures, at least subconsciously, because just the act of failing is going to develop your skills. My favorite here is have fun or don't bother. I think passion and playfulness are musts in any creative endeavor.