The Real Key to a Writer’s Success
by James Bonnet

We all know how incredibly hard it is to get a screenplay produced. We have all heard talk about all the great scripts out there that never got made. And that might be true. But why is it true? If you have a professionally crafted screenplay, one with obvious commercial potential, which has never been produced, the real problem might be that someone got discouraged and dropped the ball. After your work is of a professional quality, perseverance is the key to success. It doesn’t really make sense to ever be discouraged or deflected by criticism, rejection or a slammed door. It’s just part of the game. If an agent or producer doesn’t like your work and rejects it – it means absolutely nothing, if your work is of a professional quality. And that is the issue I’m addressing in this article. But let’s start at the beginning and ask:

How do you get your work to a professional quality?

You begin by recognizing that storymaking is an art form. It requires a special knowledge, a serious commitment, dedication, a thick skin, and lots of hard work. This is true whether you are a screenwriter or a novelist.

It would not occur to most people to write a classical symphony without any musical education. But a surprising number of people think they can write a screenplay without any training at all. This may have something to do with the fact that a lot of our thinking is in visual terms and most of us have fragments of films coursing through our imaginations. It may also have to do with the fact that we instinctively know a good story when we see one. That seems to be part of our hard wiring. But knowing a good story and being able to create one are two very different things.

When I was twelve my Uncle Budd gave me a recording of Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto, as a gift. I was so taken by the incredible music and emotionally arousing arias that I wanted to write an opera myself, despite the fact that I didn’t know the first thing about music or singing, and the only Italian word I knew was pizza. Somewhat conscious of my shortcomings, but determined to succeed, I went to a bookstore and bought an Italian-English dictionary, and that very day began writing the libretto. I never got that opera produced, by the way. Should I be shocked? I don’t think so.

Ninety percent of all screenplays submitted to Hollywood are written by complete novices, mariners who are lost at sea without any hope of reaching their destination. In short, if you plan to be a professional, you need to have special knowledge.

For one thing, you need to have a special knowledge about story. Story is at the heart of all the different media and all the different genres. And if you plan to write, produce or direct films, it’s important that you learn as much about story as you can. The market for great stories is vast. There are, in fact, six billion people in this world with a desperate need for real stories, which isn’t being met. And Hollywood, at the moment, really can’t deliver. Out of the 400 or so feature films produced each year, fewer than ten, in my humble opinion, are worth seeing. You have, in truth, an entire industry manufacturing something it doesn’t understand. What the Industry doesn’t understand is story. If you take the trouble to learn what a story really is, it will give you a tremendous advantage.

To help you accomplish that, you have to understand the concept of metaphor. Great stories are visual metaphors. They are a symbolic language. Their different characters, places, actions and objects make an important psychological connection and together create a kind of collective dream, which has the same relation to society as a whole that the ordinary dream has to the individual. They both use the same archetypal symbols but the meanings hidden in great stories are universal, whereas the meanings hidden in dreams are personal. A great story gets much of its power from the metaphors, which express these archetypes, and you should have a working knowledge of this phenomenon so you can control it, put it into your work, and deeply affect the audience you’re trying to reach.

You also have to become skilled in the ways of the creative process. When we work with creative processes, the creative decisions we make are governed by positive and negative intuitive feelings. That’s how we know what works, by how we feel about our ideas. Well, what’s behind those feelings? Where do those feelings come from? What is going on when you are making creative decisions? You need to have a working knowledge of that, too.

You also need to understand what a high concept, great idea is, and how to create one, so you can – with just a few words – intrigue the people you are trying to interest in your work. Creating a high concept implies an ability to formulate your idea into its most powerful and concise form – to make it as short and as marvelous as possible. In order to do that you have to come to terms with what your story is really about. In order to do that, you not only have to understand all of the important structural elements of your story, you have to get at the very essence of your story; and to do that, you have to come to terms with the threat, which is the cause of the problem, which is the central event of your story. Master this art and, at any given moment, you will be only one great idea away from success.

Also, be sure to pick a project that is truly worthy of your time and talents. Nine out of ten ideas that you try out will be duds and you'll lose interest in them. Keep working until you find something that has real power, something that's really worth your time that can sustain your interest for a year or so. And don't try to outguess or make the grade in Hollywood. Hollywood is not set up to develop talent, it's set up to exploit success. Explore the things you really want to write about and do those things in such a way that Hollywood can’t resist them. Do something really significant and they will hunt you down.


James Bonnet, founder of Storymaking.com, was elected twice to the Board of Directors of the Writer's Guild of America and has acted in or written more than forty television shows and features. The radical new ideas about story in his book, Stealing Fire from the Gods: A Dynamic New Story Model For Writers And Filmmakers, and his seminar, Storymaking: The Master Class, have a major impact on writers in all media.

After you’ve found your story and can express it as a great idea, then field-test it. It is important to put your work out there to be tested. You won't know for sure that you're tapping into something powerful and universal until you have that confirmed by outside sources. So you need to develop personal relationships with knowledgeable people you can trust to give you an honest reaction. That's not easy to do and it takes time, but it needs to be done. You will learn things about your work that way which you could never figure out on your own.

After you've assimilated that feedback, develop your ideas into a twenty-page treatment or oral pitch and get feedback on that. And when you've assimilated those results, write a first draft or extended treatment and put that out there. Keep doing this until it's finished. There's no limit to the number of drafts. It's an evolutionary process and you should take the time to get it right.

When you're finally finished, then really get your work out into the marketplace. And this is where you take to heart the idea that once your work is of a professional quality, perseverance is the key to success. Which is another way of saying, you never give up until you make it happen.

Many, many scripts have been turned down all over town, but then became major successes because of somebody’s persistence. It took more than seven years to get Forrest Gump made into a film and at least nine years to get Shakespeare in Love produced. The same is true for novelists. Harry Potter was rejected by many publishers and so was Dr. Seuss’ first book, The Cat in the Hat, which was rejected twenty times before it found a publisher. But the king of them all was F. Scott Fitzgerald. He received one hundred and twenty-six pink slips from publishers rejecting his first novel, The Other Side of Paradise. The one hundred and twenty-seventh publisher accepted it, and it was an overnight success. So you shouldn’t start feeling discouraged until you've been rejected at least that many times.

And, if you are a novelist, keep in mind that your hardcover book only has to appeal to one in a hundred readers to become a bestseller. That means that ninety-nine out of a hundred potential readers can completely ignore or dislike your work and you can still be a best-selling author. The same is true of agents, producers or publishers. One in a hundred is enough to launch a career.

During a conversation with the musical director of a recent project, I mentioned that I love Beethoven’s music. He said, “I don’t like his music very much. He’s not one of my favorites.” Now, he is entitled to his opinion. I would never dispute that – but what does that actually say about Beethoven’s music? Does it mean that Beethoven is not really the genius music connoisseurs believe he is? Or does it mean that Beethoven is still great but no artist will ever please everybody?

So what does it really mean when your script or novel is rejected by an agent or producer? Nothing. It means absolutely nothing. It just means that people come in all tastes and sizes and different artists appeal to different tastes and you need to persist until you find the people who share your chemistry and your vision. You persevere until you find the allies who will help you find the agents who will help you find the producers who will help you find the financiers who will help you get your work to the public. It takes a lot of effort but they're out there. How many people do you have to filter through to discover a new fast friend? Hundreds. It’s the same with producers, agents or financiers. It’s always a numbers game. If your work is of a professional quality, and they don’t like it, it means absolutely nothing. You keep looking. You just keep going until you make it happen.

A very interesting read...and quite on the mark.

It's the persistant writers that get through the door. Yeah, you need a little skill and writing abilities...but it's the persistance that gets you to the next level.

The next thing is "writing is re-writing". Never accept the first draft, even if you think that you've created the 7th wonder of the world...because it's not. "writing is re-writing". I re-wrote my first script about half a dozen times before I got it optioned...and that took a couple of years, which brings me to my next point:

Take your time writing the script. It will take as long as it needs to be completed. It baffles me when I see people who have written a script in 2 days, or say "I rushed through it, let me know what you think" or "I know it's not my best , but here you go". Get it to the point where you are happy with it, where you think it's the best you can do at this point in time...then give it to some trusted people to read over and get feedback. Go back and read the feedback and determine if you feel you need to change something. You will know when it's ready. (this doesn't mean a script can't be written in a couple of days, look at Kevin Williamson).

Finally, write what you know or excites you...that'll keep you interested long enough to get the first draft finished ('cause that's when the real work begins). Also, (and this is my own opinion), I don't do more than one project at a time. The concentration level needs to be on that one project to be able to maximize my output.

Just my 2 cents.

I doubt many people will read this because a lot of people do rush through scripts, I mean it's not a big secret and the script reflects that.

You're definately right Wes, but for the select few that are just starting out and have the drive and passion...this article sets them up for what's reality for screenwriters.

Took me 2 and a half years to get my screenplay right and I havent finished another since ha-ha.

So, I don't know if it's about time or the writer in general. You can have great talent and potential and just piss it away on stupid screenplays that aren't original but "FUN" to write like some people do.

Hmm but I see what you mean, when you have somebody to read it. That helps more than anything else, if you're your own worse enemy than another writer could be your best friend in the sense of helping you out.

Yup. You have to make sure that the person who reads it gives honest feedback (and it helps if they know a little about screenplays. The more knowledgeable, the better advise).

Hopefully, you'll get that next screenplay finished! I'm like you, it's taking a little bit longer for my second full length script. I'm being very picky and critical about what I am writing!

Quoted from MacDuff It baffles me when I see people who have written a script in 2 days, or say "I rushed through it, let me know what you think" or "I know it's not my best , but here you go".

When I see people writing this, I want to slap them.

I don't even like reading people's first draft.  It doesn't matter how long it took to write.  It's still too raw to show people.


Phil

But I guess that's why the boards are for FEEDBACK but I see how unformatted scripts shouldn't be posted by the writer, it looks bad that you didn't even put that little effort in.

A number of the scripts I've read gave me the feeling that the writer just made it as he went along.  And as soon as he typed FADE OUT, he posted it.

If people were to simply put their first draft away for a week and then look it over and make changes, it would prevent eighty percent of the feedback/criticism they get.


Phil

That makes sense, but I've only seen 2 flawless scripts on this site.

Only two?  Which one of my three scripts haven't you read?

I'm not talking about submitting perfect scripts.  I'm talking about looking it over yourself before giving it to the rest of us.


Phil

Yeah, The Burnout had some spelling mistakes. Haven't read your shorts though but that's not because of you it's just because well someone usually asks me to read something before I have a chance to choose a new one.

I don't think anybody has the perfect script, I doubt even finished scripts ready to be made into films are flawless. In fact I highly doubt it but you never know.

I don't think they'd need to be flawless just on a scale of 1 - 10 an 8 maybe. That's what I think anyway, as long as format, spelling and the story itself are perfect (For you or the company) it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

I've always thought that there is no such thing as a perfect script, as each writer has his/her own style that sometimes can bend the rules of formating without actually breaking them. I think what we are getting at is that there have been countless scripts that I have read (or tried to) on this site that seem to have been made up as the writer went along, or have not been thought through. Even worse are the scripts that defy logic with the bad spelling, grammar, punctuation, formating etc..etc..

I totally understand that some people do this for fun, some people are younger and some people are still developing their literature. That's great!! I just think that if people who want to be taken serious, or at a young age consider themselves aspiring writers - then they have to learn that it's a lot of hard work being a writer. It's research, constant learning, writing, writing and rewriting. If you can't take the time to do this, then why spent the time writing something horrible?

Again, I'm not preaching to anybody or trying to single anyone out. Each to their own. I'm just giving some friendly help for the people who want to be taken seriously.

MacDuff

I don't know why you'd want 50 screenplays, I find that probably in the next few years I may have 2 finished to my liking. It takes a lot for scripts of my own to get past the self hatred machine that is me.

I can enjoy other people's screenplays and have, only 1 screenplay these last how many years? In which I didn't like whatsoever. I think that says something about the community we have here.

Every script has redeemable qualities but not fan fics or remakes because if you can't even do a remake or fan fic right that says a lot about you especially if you're a big fan. Stargate Horizon shatters the mold and is probably the best stand alone fan fic, and someone also told me that Star Trek series on here is also really good. The time these guys and girls put in to make it an authentic experience needs to be respected more by some of us around here, it's not given its due.

Some may not be serious, others may be but we all have a love for this medium.

Quoted from Old Time Wesley Yeah, The Burnout had some spelling mistakes. Haven't read your shorts though but that's not because of you it's just because well someone usually asks me to read something before I have a chance to choose a new one. I don't think anybody has the perfect script, I doubt even finished scripts ready to be made into films are flawless. In fact I highly doubt it but you never know. I don't think they'd need to be flawless just on a scale of 1 - 10 an 8 maybe. That's what I think anyway, as long as format, spelling and the story itself are perfect (For you or the company) it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

I wouldn't go assofar as to say a script should be an eight out of ten, atleast for this newsgroup.  I'd be happy with a five.  First drafts rarely make that.

Okay, now to paraphrase Bart Simpson:  "Reads my shorts."


Phil

I meant real produced scripts should be at least 8 out of 10 and good one ha-ha