Learning the craft of screenwriting
Some of the advice and seminars offered by screenwriting gurus isn't just expensive - it's also downright unhealthy because it prevents you from actually writing.
Years back, screenwriter Craig Mazin had this to say: “Simple rule of thumb: don’t spend a dime on a book, a lesson, a seminar or advice if the person selling doesn’t have a real movie credit... Don’t spend a dime unless the seller has worked, is working and is gonna BE working. Multiple credits. A hit or two would be nice. Or recent critical acclaim, like a script on the Black List. A recent spec sale, or a spate of new gigs. Awards and nominations never hurt…”
In my experience, it isn’t that black and white. I’ve known some brilliant acting teachers who’ve never made it as actors - but as teachers, they were practically Buddha. I’m just saying, you don’t need to stand on top of Mount Everest to be able to see clearly. As for screenwriting, here are the three ways of learning I’d suggest to beginning writers - in this order of importance:
1. Watch movies and read scripts. Hundreds of them, thousands of them. Download the scripts, analyze the movies with the scripts as you watch them. You’ll learn to spot why something works - you’ll learn to feel structure. Hands down the best way to learn about screenwriting and the only cost is the investment of time, lots of time. For a great list to get you going, here’s the Writers’ Guild with its extensive list of greatest screenplays.
2. Visit conferences and festivals. They’re a great way get first-hand insights from accomplished writers. These are invariably rich times spent in places where you will get empowered, meet like-minded people, pitch and to network. Honestly, fantastic places to learn and fuel both your left and right brains with insight and passion. Yes, these come at a sometimes considerable cost - to my mind, well worth it if you take the time to actually immerse yourself. The people you meet there are on that same journey - network, collaborate, that in itself is fuel to your learning path.
3. Pick up those “How to” books. I’m listing this because those books are not all bad. But they all contain a lot of posturing by the gurus, so learn to separate those bits from the useful stuff. When I started out I picked up half a dozen of those books, read them and marked the things they all had in common. That’s the solid stuff - as for the grandstanding - just ignore it. Again, don’t rely on these books. Writing is not theory - it’s doing it. All the time.
Basically, anything that gets you writing is at least worth considering. Anything that stops you from writing, that keeps you away from that blank page for an unhealthy amount of time - use with extreme caution. Don’t be an eventual writer - be a writer. Write. Now’s the time. You do not need anyone’s help to write. But if you do choose external insights (books, consultants, etc.), pick wisely and filter what you get. There is some very useful knowledge and empowerment out there - but it’ll never do the writing for you. If you’re a writer, write. Write, soak in films, write, bathe in scripts, and write again - always write.
By the way, you can write a great script even if you’ve never heard about three-act structure, character arcs and all that lovely jazz they teach you at every film school and screenwriting seminar. If films are in your blood, if you’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time indoors, watching just about every film ever made - you can get to a point where screenwriting becomes intuitive. As Quentin Tarantino once said: “When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘No, I went to films.’” Immersed in films (as Tarantino was), you may, without understanding it, write with the flow you’ve experienced watching countless classics. Add to your love for film a generous helping of natural talent and an even greater helping of discipline and stamina - et voilà - your story idea just may end up being a great screenplay.
If that afore-envisioned miracle should happen to you, don’t rely it to ever happen again. It is the craft allows you to write professionally, on demand, on time (not just when the muse feels like kissing you). Craft allows you to make it all happen by design, not by chance.
You also need to learn the craft because of the people you’ll be meeting in the business. Agents, managers, directors, producers - they all look for great stories, yes. But they look for something more - they look for the kind of comfort only a pro can give them. They’ll want to work with you because you can show them that you know your stuff, that you can make the magic happen with every gig, that you can explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it - why one thing works and another doesn’t. Craft will earn you their trust.
You want to make it in this crazy business, right? I’m not talking about being an A-list superstar writer - but a prolific professional who makes a living writing scripts. Yes? Then forget about the elusive “it’ll just magically appear on the page.” Put in the time, read the books, take the courses, attend the seminars, join the writers’ circles and keep watching and analyzing shitloads of films. It’ll take a good deal of time but it’ll be worth it... because that door into the crazy world of film just may open at some point. And when it does - you’ll be ready for it.
