{"id":17364,"date":"2015-11-01T02:00:41","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T07:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=17364"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:27:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T22:27:48","slug":"get-that-cool-job-screenwriter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/get-that-cool-job-screenwriter","title":{"rendered":"Get That Cool Job: screenwriter"},"content":{"rendered":"

A screenwriting career is sought out by many, but actually acquired by few. The closest that most aspiring screenwriters get to working in Hollywood is tapping away on their laptops at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset Boulevard.<\/p>\n

But if you have the drive, passion, and talent, you have a shot at seeing your work produced on the big screen, and receiving a hefty paycheck for your\u00a0effort. According to the Writers Guild of America<\/a>, a union that represents film and television writers, original screenplays can fetch between $68,000 and $127,000.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just for your average screenplay. The sky\u2019s the limit as far as what producers will pay for a truly great script. Although he feared it was \u201cjust too small and indie to get any real attention,\u201d first-timer Michael Arndt sold his screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine<\/em> screenplay for $250,000.<\/p>\n

Do you have screenplays sitting around that you\u2019d like to sell? Do you want to finally start making money off all that hard work? We spoke with several screenwriters about how they got to where they are, and how screenwriting hopefuls can follow in their footsteps.<\/p>\n

Learn from the masters of the craft<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first step to becoming a working screenwriter is to educate yourself about the process. This includes a lot of reading, and probably some taking some courses as well.<\/p>\n

Max Adams<\/a>, who wrote the film Excess Baggage<\/em> starring Alicia Silverstone, says that first you need to pore over a lot of movie scripts to get a feel for how they are constructed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t grow up reading screenplays,\u201d says Adams, author of The New Screenwriter\u2019s Survival Guide<\/a><\/em>. \u201cWe read books and plays. But unless you grew up in Hollywood, you don’t grow up knowing what a screenplay looks and reads like. Read a lot of scripts by the greats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gotham Writers\u2019 Workshop teacher Jeremy Wechter<\/a> says that you should either read books on screenwriting or enroll in some screenwriting classes. The last thing you want to do is make obvious errors in your script \u201cthat will make someone throw it away after the first page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which books should you start with? He recommends reading Robert McKee\u2019s Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting<\/a><\/em>. It provides a lot of sound advice for screenwriters hoping to break into the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are deeper structural techniques that can be learned through existing screenplays,\u201d says Wechter, who is also a screenwriter.<\/p>\n

Write, write, write <\/strong><\/p>\n

You can read every book on screenwriting that\u2019s available, but you\u2019re never going to get anywhere if you\u2019re not taking the time to hone your craft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing to do is to write and rewrite and then write some more,\u201d says Richard Krevolin<\/a>, author of the upcoming book The Hook<\/a>: How to Share Your Brand\u2019s Unique Story to Engage Customers, Boost Sales, and Achieve Heartfelt Success<\/em>. \u201cYou can’t say that if you don’t get a movie produced in a year you will quit, so you need to see the big picture and think in the long-term. But with that said, you also need to set short-term writing goals and pump out lots of pages.\u201d<\/p>\n

A well-regarded writing teacher, Wechter advises his students to set a 10-minute timer and write everyday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome days, the timer will go off and you’ll be glad and go back to your Facebook or whatever,\u201d he says. \u201cBut other days, the timer will go off and you’ll keep writing. It\u2019s a matter of discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether you time yourself or you simply work when inspiration strikes, you need to have one solid work to show off, says Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot of people who write their first script and everybody thinks this will be it,\u201d he says. \u201cI will make a movie. It\u2019s not that easy. It takes practice and work to finesse your craft and put together a strong writing sample. Then you can send it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Target the right people<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve studied the art of screenwriting, and you\u2019ve come up with an excellent idea for a script. From there, you need to figure out how to break into the business.<\/p>\n

According to Adams, the best way is to connect with producers and individuals who work in studio development. They are the people who can put together the puzzle pieces and get your movie made.<\/p>\n

Though it may seem hard to reach these decision makers and penetrate Hollywood from the outside, there is hope: Adams herself did it by entering and winning a prize at a film festival in Austin. Since then, she\u2019s worked on projects for Walt Disney Studios, Touchstone Pictures, and Columbia Pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cA newcomer may have a voice which is a little less weighed down by the Hollywood insular mentality,\u201d she says. \u201cYour perspective may be more fresh than someone who’s been inside Hollywood for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A screenwriting career is sought out by many, but actually acquired by few. The closest that most aspiring screenwriters get to working in Hollywood is tapping away on their laptops at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset Boulevard. But if you have the drive, passion, and talent, you have a shot at seeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":17369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGet That Cool Job: screenwriter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We spoke with several screenwriters about how they got to where they are, and how screenwriting hopefuls can follow in their footsteps.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/get-that-cool-job-screenwriter\" 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