Break down your goals

So when we become screenwriters, I think it's safe to say that most of us think we'll write that one magic script, it will be our first of course, and then wham, we'll go on to being rich and famous, lunching with Brad and Angie of course, right? Yeah, doesn't work like that. Even when we read the trades that "Screenwriter sells first script!", I'm guaranteeing you that it was their first script they sold, not the first script they wrote. See, being a screenwriter whether in TV or film is not for the faint of heart. There is no overnight success. Even these young prodigies that might have some amazing writing career at lets say, 23, have probably been writing since they were five years old. I for one, did not hone my craft at five. And you most likely haven't either. So what's my point? That this journey might take a while and you have to be prepared for that. So instead of getting overwhelmed by it taking awhile, maybe you need to set many kinds of goals instead of: "become hugely successful screenwriter in 2015". Because if that's your only goal for this year, or any year, you might be disappointed and give up. So, instead, why not set up smaller goals, ones you can achieve.

For instance, if you're just starting out as a writer, perhaps your goals are like:
1. Take a screenwriting class.
2. Get an outline written
3. Write a first draft.

Maybe that's all you'll accomplish your first year.

If you've been writing a few years and have a few scripts written maybe it's goals like:
1. Enter the Nicholl's and other important contests
2. Find screenwriting producers I can query
3. Reach out to managers and get a script read

Because even those might not end up the successes you'd hope for. You might enter a contest, but not do well, query producers and managers and not hear back. So then you have to alter your goals again. Such as:

1. Take another screenwriting class to place higher in Nicholl's and other contests
2. Get yeses from producers to read scripts
3. Get managers to actually say yes they'll read a script

See the difference on setting goals? Instead of it being an all or nothing in your writing, make them smaller goals and adjust them every year. Every month if that helps. Because I've seen many talented writers drop out of this journey only because I think they thought it would be a quicker one than it was. But if you break down those goals, keep moving that finish line, eventually you're going to reach success. Doors are going to open. And before long, you'll have to tell Brad and Angie to stop bothering you to go to lunch, you're busy! :)

Why screenwriting is like Minecraft

So, maybe you do or don't know what Minecraft is. But it's a video game where you create things in a video world. So for instance, my 9 year old plays, and when he does, he has to build things like homes, or dig for gold or diamonds, and search in buildings for boxes that hold things he can use to protect himself against bad guys. That's the quick description of the game.

So what does this have to do with screenwriting? Well, I was watching him play yesterday and it donned on me, wow, he's really come a long way. Because the first day he played, he dug the earth and fell through the universe and his character died. It took him awhile, but eventually he got the hang of digging and not dying. And now he's really good at it. So yesterday I noticed that he learned how to find new lands and grab certain tools in one land and then use them in other lands so that he could collect things for even more lands. He's developed skills that have benefited him in this video game. So now he's not dying as easily and he's really created this whole video game world.

And it donned on me, isn't this what our screenwriting careers have been? At first, we might have presented pages in our first screenwriting class and our pages might have bombed when we read them out loud. It seemed painful and like we "died" right away when we let the class hear our pages. Then perhaps we took more classes, read more books, learned that taking a scene class or a dialogue class could actually make our script stronger. So that the next time we read pages, people actually liked what we wrote. And then that lead to a new writing group that was stronger. Which lead to doing better in writing contests. Which leads to meetings and getting managers. It doesn't happen over night. It takes learning the lay of the land, how to navigate the world.

So even though it might not happen as quickly as one would like, it does happen. And before we know it, we're gathering tools to help us survive in this crazy business called show. I wouldn't tell my son to give up as he's being chased by bad guys in the Minecraft world, or looking for tools. Nor should we give up as writers. Each tool and skill we develop helps us get further and further in our careers and craft. And as we move forward, we just become better adept and stronger to survive even longer, for new battles we might come up against. And hopefully, maybe one day, we have created the world we always dreamed of.