Writer to writer

The first theatrical screenplay I ever wrote, WITNESS (co-written with Earl W. Wallace and Willian Kelly) was rejected by everyone. – studios, production companies, actors – for three years. During that time, I decided that everyone else must be right and I must be wrong. It wasn’t as good as I thought it was. Finally, unexpectedly, it sold when Harrison Ford agreed to star in it. It was immediately produced, won an Academy Award the following year, and was recently named one of the top fifty movies of all time.

I learned three things from that experience. One, I needed to believe in myself a heck of a lot more. Two, when you write from the heart, you touch other people’s hearts. And three, I was a novice screenwriter who happened to capture “lightning in a bottle” before I had truly learned the craft. As a friend said at that time, “It’s like getting a college degree without attending classes. Now you have to go back and learn what you don’t know.” I spent the next ten years doing just that: reading about screenwriting; working with experienced writers, directors, actors and producers; learning from them; and writing script after script. Some of them sold but weren’t produced. Some sold, were produced, but weren’t very successful. And a couple were produced and were quite successful.

Along the way, I painstakingly learned the craft of screenwriting. I am still learning it every day, with every page I write, because writing is a journey, not a destination. But I know a great deal more now than I did when I stepped up onto that stage before millions of people and said nervously, “I’d like to thank the members of the Academy….”

From the preface to Pamela Wallace, You Can Write a Movie.

Carefully observe the life around you. That means looking closely at your own life and the lives of others. The best writers are interested in, and knowledgeable about, psychology. After all, the basic goals of almost all writing, is to help us understand the human condition better. This will give you something of value to say, a certain insight and perspective about life that you can communicate in your writing.

Don’t try to mimic someone else’s voice. Find your own. When Shane Black wrote the highly successful LETHAL WEAPON, aspiring writers everywhere were trying desperately to copy his particular style. It didn’t work. Only Shane Black could write like Shane Black. Only you can write like you. Be the best “you” that you can be.

Recently, a screenplay titled STEINBECK’S POINT OF VIEW sold for more money than any other script in history. The studio that bought it didn’t do so because it’s “big” in any way. It’s not a big budget, big special effects, big action extravaganza. It’s actually a small, rather spiritual story. Ironically, the studio executive said he bought it because of the writer’s “unique and powerful voice”.

Nurture your own voice. Believe in yourself. And know that success as a screenwriter usually depends more on persistence, learning the craft and articulating your own special point of view than on talent.

Good luck!

From the Epilogue to Pamela Wallace, You Can Write a Movie.