Screenwriting : Writing What You Want vs Writing What They Want by Terri Viani

Terri: I took on four spec projects in 2015 and completed all of them. And I've have several more people approach me wanting more. However, they've all netted zero and I'm not planning on doing anymore unless it's for a major player. There are many producers with track records out in the ether that are having extreme difficulty raising money to make a film. My last script about writer Charles Bukowski was a passion project and it's probably my best work of the year. So If I'm going to write on spec, it'll be something I want to write about.

@Phillip. What do mean they netted zero and you have more people wanting more. If you are writing for producers for free you are making a big mistake.

Great article. Should be taken very seriously. Take money out the equation, it's biggest reward you can give yourself.

I want to write what I love and get paid for it. The best of both worlds. I can dream even though I know in reality it's a business and I need to write commercially if I'm to get my work out there. I can live with that.

I had a producer contact me saying he had 4-5 scripts that need rewrites. I told him we need to discuss business matter further than just his vision for what he wants through Facebook direct messenger. That was a year ago.

@Phillip I'm intrigued that you have a Bukowski script! Neat-O.

Dan: I haven't done anything for free. I own all the scripts. Two of them were limited to six month "right to shop agreements". However, I did have producers bring me ideas that I used to write scripts. But ultimately, couldn't come to terms with two producers. When I say netted zero, I meant I haven't made any money on these said projects. But I'm only working for free if I give ownership to someone for no financial consideration. When I made the decision to write scripts for people I didn't have formal agreements with, I did it because I liked the concepts. However, I always tell people, if I write something on spec, I own it until we have a contract. The only exception I made was for a script that was adapted from somebody's life rights. And I really believed in that project. And that is one I have a right to shop agreement on. I have subsequently pitched three of these scripts to several other producers; and have hopes for finding other takers that will pay to option them down the line. And yes, there are no shortage of folks that want me to work for nothing. However, one of the people I'm working on has gotten three of my scripts into the hands of major players including Tyler Perry; something I don't have the connections to do. So one has to make a determination what their goal is for the long haul. And the relationship I have with this producer is very valuable to me in terms of connections. David: All of our online options allow us to be very disconnected in terms of building real relationships. I've worked with several people in LA via Skype; but if collaborate with someone, I won't settle for anything less than video communication. It's important to see people's facial expressions and non verbal cues. But I've also had long phone conversations with perspective clients; most of which didn't lead to working together.

Phillip: I couldn't agre with you more. This guy approached me in person at a function in NYC,. Then I believe I met the real individual through our on line dealings after that. I was skeptical from the start anyway. Like you said, there is something about that face-to-face collaboration that speaks volumes more than someone who just wants to hide behind a keyboard.

Phillip. Now I get what you're doing. I have done the same thing but usually I want to be a producer as well since I am bring the script to the table and all they are doing is bring their chair to the table. However I am more interested in producing film and I wouldn't write one in hopes of selling one ever again.

I live by the golden rule. Those with the golden makes the rules.

Craig. I agree. This is a business. What you create has to be marketable if you want to succeed.

It's important to remember that success is a highly subjective concept that is in no way necessarily tied to making money.

I write what I want when I write a spec. Once someone wants to buy it, I am writing to their tastes. If I asked someone to paint a room orange and they painted it yellow, I'd be angry. Happy discuss shades of orange. When I am taking someone's cash I have to respect their requests. Like I said, happy to discuss shades. You can't guess what people want when writing a spec. You just have to be as good as you can.

http://renewablewealth.com/the-parable-of-the-mexican-fisherman/

@CJ. Article is interesting but the fisherman in the little boat would still have to catch fish people would want to buy.

-sigh-

CJ. I am not saying you are wrong. I too write because I love it and not just because I am looking to make money doing it. However I know it's harder to get any project off the ground if it is something that isn't very popular at the time. For example I am producing a romantic/comedy that Judy Norton wrote. She is a well known writer, actor and director and it is a wonderful screenplay. However several investors decided not to invest just because romantic/comedies aren't a hot item right now.

Dan: add a quirky element to the script & it all changes. Example: The Red Hat Society puts $$ into stories with that angle + all their local chapter ladies buy tickets. Maybe the heroine's Mom fits into a niche: she sold Tupperware, she time-travelled, she was a Red Hat Lady, she idolized Jan Crouch, she grew up on Mars, etc.

Oliver, I agree with you and others that it's important to keep an on the industry - absolutely! And as you say, it's each person's individual career goals that dictate what path we choose to walk. I'm impressed with people who can write good stuff with an eye on biz tastes, that's never been for me so it probably wouldn't be smart writing, I'd be bored and frustrated writing say, a vampire script, or a zombie script, because it's not what I'm interested in writing when I'm working on my own original stuff (that changes should I agree to write one of those for someone else: when I'm hired for fee, it's what they want, not what I want). I don't think there's any right or wrong here, to be honest. I think it's entirely possible to do good work and be successful while writing to the industry needs, and I think it's possible to do good work and be successful writing only what you want. In the former I think we run the risk of always being behind or ahead of a trend because the business is so capricious, in the latter I think we run the risk of the same thing! Each to his or her own. Great discussion everyone!

Something doesn't necessarily have to be a trend to be marketable. All I ever tried to do was avoid those genres that have been dead for a long time and I didn't feel would be rising from the dead any time soon. My only real goal is to write what I think people will want to go see.

That's what I love about Independent films - we don't let the budget dictates our creativity. If you can tell a great story with a little budget, it proves you know what you're doing.

Since nobody's first screenplay ever gets made, that was probably an award for Best First Produced Screenplay.

Boomer, very well said. I would like to say I live by the same philosophy too.

There is a difference between pessimism and realism. Cody was a film school student (where she surely had to write at least one screenplay) and was a professional writer when a manager discovered her blog, signed her, and worked with her on JUNO. (oh, covered by Boomer). The average pro screenwriter wrote 9 screenplays before making a cent. So anyone who sold their first screenplay creates someone who didn't make a cent until #18. The sure fire way to get depressed is to believe in something that is unlikely to happen. Better to know you are going to have to probably write 9 scripts before anything happens. As one of the producers of TITANIC once told me, "It takes eight scripts to graduate. Think of each as a semester of education."

Oliver: Cool! I've written nine screenplays since last December. Eight of them have been "official selections" or have placed well at contests like Austin Film Festival and Screencraft. So I guess I can rest on my Laurel Leaves. And I agree, depression and being motivated to write more screenplays do not necessarily walk hand in hand. To other forum folks: I'm not a big believer is formulas or absolutes. As far as "market ready" screenplays or "following trends", frankly Scarlett, I don't give a rat's posterior. I write what the hell I feel like writing and try to create scripts that keep the reader turning the pages. Some folks in this forum may vehemently disagree; but I don't think there's any exact formula or magic time parameter for when a script is ready. That is completely subjective. I continually watch horseshit get made that I wouldn't invest a nickel in producing; yet it gets made. I've written screenplays in three weeks that's been read and appreciated by major players. Executives at Tyler Perry have read two of my scripts over the past five months and are currently reviewing a third. If my work was garbage, I don't they'd be considering a third. Nor would the Executive VP tell my colleague "he's a fan of the writer". Most recently, I wrote a biopic screenplay about Charles Bukowski and really cut loose with my creativity. For me, this was an epiphany that I should concentrate more on art than marketability. This summer, I turned down having one of my scripts made into a indie movie because I didn't believe the producers would make a good film. My first goal is to get a film made; but I want it to be something I'm proud to have done, rather than something that turns out to be cringeworthy. Maybe I'm nuts; but I continue to prolifically write scripts because I love doing it. Why do you do it?

I always knew what the odds were but I knew they didn't apply to me. A lot of screenwriters get into this expecting to sell a screenplay and break in and normally it works the other way around. A spec is used to show people in the business that you know the business and how to write for it. If you can do that and make some good connections then you can break in. It isn't all that difficult but it doesn't normally happen overnight.

Phillip - you are ruining the odds for everyone else.

William: One of our S32 colleagues told me he met Oliver Stone at a speaking engagement. He said Stone was kind enough to speak with him and my friend walked him out to his car. Stone opened up the truck to show him he was driving around with a large box full of scripts. Stone told my friend "It pays to have a lot of product readily available." If memory serves me, you have scripts in the trunk your car too.

They are... well, these days I have a drive in my pocket.

If people are writing spec screenplays, they can write about anything they want and how they want and hopefully whatever they do will pay off for them. If they become professional screenwriter, then they will probably end up writing with someone else’s objectives in mind if they want to make money. Here is my take on the odds. I agree with William that the odds of a first script selling are not good. People in the business know that it usually takes writing quite a few screenplays before they are up to industry standards. Sure there are some out there but finding one would be like finding a needle in a haystack. A side note: There are probably more than 250,000 unsold feature film spec scripts floating around Hollywood on any given day. Out of those maybe between 50 and 100 might sell. I know that is discouraging to hear. However, 90% out of the 250,000 were probably written by first time screenwriters that never even took the time to learn how to write a screenplay and would have a zero chance. That means if you learn how to properly format and structure a screenplay up to industry standards you would only be competing with the top 10% or 25,000 that have a slight chance. Now if you continue to write a lot more screenplays and those screenplays can write screenplay that are really good and rise above the competition then you might be completing with the top 1% or 2,500 that have a real chance. I know that doesn’t sound great but one in 2,500 is a lot better than one in 250,000 when someone first starts out. Another statistic that is important is almost every script that gets made got made because someone knew someone one in the business. Most of us start out not knowing anyone in the business. However, once you can show people in the business that you know the business and how to write for it the odds really go out the window because you are connecting with those people that can help you launch your career instead of just knocking on doors hoping someone will buy your screenplay. The main thing is to keep writing and if you never give up you can’t fail. Now all this crap I just said is based on my own experience so I might only be 10% right.

Sue. I don't know what article you are referring to but if you are referring to Diablo Cody Juno was the first screenplay she got produced. I don't know if she wrote any before that but I assume that since she was repped by The Gersh Agency she had more than one under her belt. Agency will sometimes say things like "this was her first screenplay" to try and create some hype and I assume that is what probably happened in here case.

Being able to numerically quantify or have inspiring stories of screenwriters like Diablo who got the “big break” provide us mere mortals with some small comfort. However, it really boils down to possessing talent, luck and then knowing folks that can get your work into the hands of people that can get films made. Case in point, my producer contact pitched one of my scripts to Jay Roach yesterday and got approval to send the two page logline and synopsis for review. I would have never been able to get there without the intermediary. This part of the ballgame then becomes a numbers game. The more attempts at contact you make, the better odds you will have of making valuable connections.

Sue. Sorry about that.

Terri Thank you for posting this article, and thanks to M. Bell for writing it. It is a deep resonation to me.

I don't know, this reads to me as one person's journey in figuring out how to take on projects that they can have a creative voice in. It is different for everyone. I started last year with the goal of only working on my personal projects but my work all comes from word of mouth and as a result I wrote 4 work for hires, one page one rewrite and have in the past 2 weeks signed 3 other contracts for projects that I personally would have never explored but look forward to digging into the subject matter and bringing my personal voice to. Oddly enough, my personal projects have taken off on a parallel track -- because I split my day, 8 hours other projects 8 hours my projects. I'm a writer, I write, if someone wants to hire me for my skill at taking their story to my level of expertise and creative vision, I find the time.

The important thing to remember is that we all get to decide if our writing is a pleasure or a chore. Offsetting the former because we think the latter is the route to fulfilment is probably one of life's most perennial and damaging narratives. The writers to envy are those who write without expectation and minus anxiety.

CJ. Everyone has their own motives for writing screenplays and I don't judge them.