Why This is Good

Screenwriting is hard. I’m here to help make it a little easier.

As one of my professors told his frustrated students as we were whining and complaining about  how difficult it was, “You are attempting to do something which pays as high, or higher, than a lawyer or a doctor, of course it’s hard!” And although he was speaking to a group of students enrolled in a university course on screenwriting, as he pointed out, unlike those other highly paid professions, no one cares if you go to school for screenwriting. You don’t have to. All you have to do is write an amazing story.  And that, of course is incredibly difficult. If it were easy, and anyone could do it, it wouldn’t pay so well.

Rather than trying to discourage us, I believe these wise words were meant to show us that yes, the process is hard, but it is to be expected, it’s hard for everyone, because the payoff is great. And so I write this not to discourage you, but to point out that yes, screenwriting is ridiculously hard, and therefore the payoff is huge. I’m also here to offer help and advice, and to make the journey a little easier, or at least let you know that you’re not alone out there at your computer. All of us writers are going through the same experience. It isn’t easy for anyone and we’re all facing the same struggles-the fear of the blank page, the distractions and excuses that keep us from writing, the search for the perfect word, the perilously long second act, and of course, the rejection that is such a big part of being a screenwriter. So take heart, read on, and above all, keep writing!