2019-10-01_Writer_s_Digest

62 I WRITER’S DIGEST I October 2019

W

henyou’rea screenwriterliv-
ing outsideofLosAngeles,
you’re goingtoneedextrahustlein
your step. ButlivinginL.A.doesn’t
always makebreakingineasier—
you need toseparateyourselffrom
every baristawhohasa screenplay
to pimp.
Success isanillusion,with
Hollywood beingtheultimatepalace
of smoke andmirrors.
Even if youhaveanagent,you
still need tobea self-promoter.Sure,
maybe AaronSorkindoesn’thave
to hustle anymore,buttrustme, 99
percent of screenwritersinsidethe
velvet ropesstilldo.The industry
has its favoritehandfulofwriters,
and they aren’tgoingtoopentheir
tree fort to justanyone.
To set yourselfapart,youneedto
hone your hustle.

HOW DOESONEDEVELOP
THEIR HUSTLE?
Have you everseena truehustlerin
action? Th eyallhavepredominant
traits in commonwithsuccessful
screenwritersanddirectors—confi-
dence, passion,andthetenacityto
be the last personstanding.They
don’t want towin...theyneedto
win. Losingisn’tanoption,period.
Just like whenI learnedto“do
the hustle” (yes,I didindeedtake
disco lessons),therearesteps
required tosurvivethedanceof
pursuing a screenwritingcareer,
especially fromoutsideofL.A.

WRITEWITHCONFIDENCE.

Pickdaringstoriesonlyyoucan

write,andwritethehelloutofthem.

Don’tholdback.Writesomething

thatscaresyou—anideathatliter-

allygivesyougoosebumps.

The storyhastomattertoyou

ona profoundlevelforyourpas-

sionandtalenttoshow.It hasto

bepersonal.Ripopenyourwounds

andbleedontothepage.Thoseare

thescriptsthatgetyounoticed.

Whenyou’repassionateabout

something,yourwritingvoicewill

shine,andyou’llcreateanincred-

iblewritingsample.

EMBRACECOLLABORATION.

Beopentootheropinions,butnotso

openthatyoulosefaithinyourown.

Sometimestheexecacrossthe

tableis givingyounotesjusttohear

himselftalk.Yourjobis tosmile,

thankthem,andthendigestthefeed-

backtodiscover“thenotebehindthe

note.”Afterhearingthefeedbackin

full,you’llbeabletodecidewhat’s

importantandwhatisn’t.

Aboveall,don’tbestubborn.Be

grateful.The peopleofferingyou

insightswouldn’tgiveyounotesif

theydidn’twanttoseeyousucceed.

If yousucceed,theysucceed.

Bottomline,a hustlerbelieves

intheirownvision,butputsthat

visionasideif someoneelsecomes

upwitha betteridea.Beconfident

enoughtostandupforyourwork,

butbeabletopivotandrightthe

ship,if necessary.

KEEPYOURFRIENDSCLOSE

ANDYOURENEMIESCLOSER.

Everyonehasgottenburnedinthis

industry,andI domeaneveryone.

Youwillnotavoidthatreality,but

youcanloweryouroddsbycreat-

inganinnercircleofpeopleyou

trust.If you’vewatchedanyofthe

Ocean’sElevenmovies,youknow PHOTO ©

GETTY IMAGES: NARVIKK

Lessons from the world of screenwriting to inform, inspire and incite action!

TAKETWO

BY JEANNE VEILLETTE BOWERMAN