On Joining The Pessimistic Procrastinators Guild Of America

Without giving too much away, I am working on a screenplay. I am currently doing a step outline (it comes between doing a 1 page synopsis and a 7 page treatment) The story is not registered yet, so I can't really give it away, but as soon as I register the treatment with the guild, I might be talking more about it. Anyways, it is basically a murder mystery thriller. It is the first time I've considered a story in this genre, but I've got the beginning, middle and end, and it has a very good twist, so I'm going with it. In my outline, I've gotten past the first plot point and there is a lot of intense action after that point. The challenge is to move the story along without losing the pace. Since this is a murder mystery, I have to think about the clues, and find ways to work them in throughout the story. But, they have to be subtle because, what's worse than watching a murder mystery and the audience being able to pick up on clues and predict the outcome before you get to your twist!? Well, I know I'll get there.



I've recently become aware of a whole screenwriters' community on the internet. Wow, there are so many writers! And, they love to talk about writing and pitching a script and so forth. They like to debate too. But, what I've also discovered is that they go there to procrastinate, just like me, perhaps when they too have a bit of writer's block. There is a chat on one of the message boards, so I've had a chance to chat live with some members of the screenwriters' community. Very cool people. But, damn, they are total pessimists. I suppose most of them have had screenplays that they poured their hearts into and then someone else read their work and thought it was crap. Rejection is a huge part of the business, no doubt.

A discussion in the chat recently was about how "you'll never get a screenplay made into a movie unless you live in either LA or NYC" But I tend to disagree. I'm sure it is a bit of an advantage if you live there. And, sure, if you're writing for episodic TV, you probably need to live there. And of course If you don't live there, you've got to be willing to travel there frequently if you want to keep your career going. But, I don't think it is too overly optimistic to believe a good script is a good script, and to believe that this world is getting smaller with technology. As a graphic designer, I've had clients I've never met face-to-face. Heck, I've had clients from other countries. It has never been a problem to sell myself and my concepts over phone, fax and email. I do understand, however, that Hollywood is sort of slow on the whole internet thing. It is much like the advertising/marketing biz. You get these creative directors that have been in agencies for 20 years and they're not going to get fired for not being "up on technology." It's certainly the same way in Hollywood. They're used to doing things a certain way. I'd venture to say that a lot of people in the business still don't even have computers in their offices, and if they do, they're used basically for remedial word processing and nothing more.

Where pessimism should be is not in the fact that you don't live in LA, but that the market is completely saturated with screenwriters. Chris Walken once said that everyone he knows has a screenplay, even his dentist. Chris asked his dentist what the screenplay was about and the dentist said, "Well, it's about this dentist..." LOL. So, the challenge lies in getting noticed out of a kazillion screenplays, being read and getting an opportunity to pitch. Producer and Charlotte resident Barry Weitz, who recently led a seminar here on the Hollywood business, was much more optimistic when he said that this business is America's greatest export. American screenwriters can never be "outsourced." Americans do movies best. Well, I'm American, so I definitely have a chance against a screenwriter from another country. I refuse to turn into a pessimist until I've had my first 50 rejections. But, before I can get rejected, I have to finish this screenplay! Okay, enough of my own procrastinating - back to writing!