If you’ve already created and sold several screenplays or are about to embark on your first screenwriting venture, be wary of the wealth of advice on screenwriting that is available from knowledgeable screenwriting experts.
If you’re a prose-writer or someone interested in novel writing or short stories, and you’ve considered making screenplays, it’s a tempting idea especially when you are thinking about transforming your novel into a film someday.
However, it’s essential to start this field with your eyes wide open and understand the reality of being a screenwriter.
Here are the top 6 misconceptions about being a screenwriter that you need to know before you begin:
- You Can’t Write Well Without an Inspiration
This is among the many myths that screenwriters believe. It’s not the case. What you need to write well isn’t motivation, but discipline. The best writers can write amazing writing regardless of the mood, or any other hurdle.
They don’t do anything but sit and wait for the inspiration to strike since they are aware the writing process is a hard task.
If you do it by following a specific method when you follow a certain discipline, you become an excellent professional, inspired by your personal experience to enhance your writing skills.
As screenwriters, you have to establish clear goals each day and meet whatever you can to write an effective script.
- Screenwriting Doesn’t Take A Lot of Time
If you believed that it takes only a few months to write an idea, forward it to agents, then sell the script to a studio, and then immediately begin production, you should do a reality check.
It can take years to learn the process of writing a successful screenplay. It also takes a significant amount of time to find an agent who is a good fit and to get your script published.
It is a different area that requires a lot of time once the script is completed. Beginning from the first idea, a movie could be a decade long before it gets to the screen.
- Selling Yourself Doesn’t Work
There’s a myth about agents that they can sell on your behalf, and that there’s no need to participate in the networking element. However, for introverts and screenwriters, that’s not the case.
According to Paula Ogilvie, an arts writer, many writers spend the majority of their time apart from their peers and writing lots.
When you begin to be good at it, you’ll have to attend a significant number of events, network, and work with other people. Moreover, you can use services such as Coverfly to get discovered as a screenwriter faster.
- Screenwriting is Profitable
Hollywood may sometimes pay an enormous amount of money for screenplays, and these are the ones that we are told about. But, when you think about the time and effort that is required to write a good script, and also knowing that the very first scripts you draft will not generate a large amount of revenue, the picture shifts.
Screenwriting shouldn’t have any connection with the amount of money you earn and shouldn’t influence your decision to be one. Screenwriters should consider becoming one only if they are passionate about movies and would like to take part in them, and also if you’re a writer and only wish to become an author.
- Follow the Paradigm
If you’re a fan of McKee, Truby, Hauge, Field, Snyder, or any other films that don’t conform to the standards of any one person comprise Casablanca, Pulp Fiction, A Beautiful Mind, Crash, Sliding Doors, Psycho, and numerous others.
Consider the guidelines rather than the routine. Of course, there’s one rule written on the wall, do not go drunk to a conference. In fact, to streamline the writing process, you can use apps for writers to come up with engaging scripts with less hassle.
- Screenwriting Has A Lot of Rules
Contrary to popular belief screenwriters have to face lots of rejection. This is an inevitable element of the process regardless of how talented or average you are, as a writer. You’re not the only one.
Even the most skilled and successful screenwriters are rejected and even the best scripts are put aside for other scripts. Being a good screenwriter is about consistency in your approach and never abandoning your efforts.
To be successful in your role it is vital to be consistent in your support of your work and continue to push it forward, without fearing rejection.
These are the most popular screenwriting myths. Be sure to stay clear of these myths before you begin your journey as a screenwriter.