February 27, 2017 (Originally published)
Good Monday Morning! After a crazy Oscar night, I went to bed thinking about how gracious and graceful the producers of La La Land and Moonlight were about the Best Picture snafu. It got me thinking... Why do I like to work with certain writers over others? It's a simple answer: Professionalism. What makes a writer a "professional?" Different entertainment execs will tell you different nuances of the same thing, but here are some important elements: 1.) Grace Under Fire: In this industry, writers must take an unending amount of notes and criticism. It's all part of the collaborative creative process, and those that take notes well tend to work more. Executives, producers and directors all have their own singular vision about how a script should read, a plot should develop or a character should arc. Studios and networks have specific needs -- to satisfy a particular audience, to keep standards and practices at bay, to service the talent, etc. The best writers can take all the notes thrown at them and incorporate them into one coherent whole with grace. I like working with writers who can thread this needle because they are easy to work with, creative when cornered, and are terrific problem solvers -- making them even more creative and original than the average bear. 2.) Treat Writing Like a Job: A writer's job in this industry is to be deliver. Deliver, deliver, deliver. In addition to being collaborative, smart, well-researched and creative, the best writers deliver on-time with organized and polished work. They add value to the process and work just as hard as everyone else in the room. That means you've got to be ready to answer any question about your material, find ways to solve production problems through the script (that set piece is too expensive -- be ready with an interesting alternative), and rewrite dialogue or scenes on a whim just to prove to the director that his vision can (or can't) work. 3.) Always Be Working: Just because a writer isn't currently getting paid for a writing assignment doesn't mean they can relax by binge-watching the entire series of LOST for weeks at a time. Good writers are always writing. They are always looking for the next best idea, writing a spec script, working on a pitch, acquiring underlying material, doing research, meeting with other creatives, taking networking and biz dev meetings, etc. Writers that rely solely on their previous work and their agents/managers to get them jobs don't do very well because they aren't advocating for their own career. Writers who constantly deliver new material to their reps, make calls on their own behalf, let their network know they have a new idea, offer to help out friends when needed (yes, you can put together a table read for them), and show up, show up, show up -- to meeting after meeting -- will land jobs before others who don't pound the pavement. Writing is a job -- treat it like one... Punch in. 4.) Be Nice: Assholes may get work once or twice if they're really talented and have something the industry really wants, but the industry won't come back to them over and over for work. Writers who are nice, fun and have a sense of humor get more work than jerks. Writers who are nice retire as writers. Writers who are jerks don't. 5.) Learn About Producing and Directing (even if you don't want to do those jobs): Writers who understand the cost of a scene and can write for a particular budget level have a higher value than those who don't. Nothing is worse than saying to a writer, "This is a $2 million movie," and then get a script delivered for a $20 million movie. The most powerful writers in TV - the showrunners -- are the lead producers for their TV show. They are in the CEO position of the production and have to understand everything from creative to production to legal. They speak the languages of all departments, and can solve any problem. As a writer developing a script on assignment, this his is a particularly valuable skill and will serve your career well. 6.) Say Thanks: If someone takes a meeting with you, even if it doesn't go well, FOLLOW UP and say THANKS! Even if they HATED your pitch or were rude, you will get more flies with sugar. I know execs who will revisit writers whose meetings were terrible if the writer's follow-up is professional and respectful, or even fun! One writer had an awful meeting with an exec (he had an off day) and the exec was upset over the wasted time, so the writer sent an apology with a Matchbox Delorean asking for a Back-to-the-Future do-over. He got it. Go do some good writing today!
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These posts were from the Writers Room in the Legion M Forum. "Screenwriting 101" is written by Nikki Ackerman. Don't know what Legion M is? It's the world's first fan-owned entertainment company. Want to know more? Visit Legion M at legionm.com Archives
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