For Success, Get A Mentor!

“This industry is next to impossible to penetrate. You’ll need all the help you can get.
But you need to earn that help by working hard, being humble, and never giving up.”
-Jeanne Veillette Bowerman

Even the big name screenwriters are constantly adjusting their approach and connections to stay in the game. But there are plenty of things they can teach you on your way into the business. It all boils down to your story. Is it worth telling?

​Are you a passionate person who can take advice and implement it? Are you fun to be around? Imagine how many people shove their screenplays into the folded arms of these mentor types. Don’t be one of these people.

“The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget
​where you remember it from.”
-Gene Fowler

Submerse yourself in reading screenplays from your genre. Read books, fiction and non-fiction. Good writers do things that others don’t. Figure out what those things are and what they mean to you as a writer. Then copy them and apply those techniques into your own writing. Discover what things you like about other writers, their pacing, style, etc. Then bring it home to your own writing.

Don't allow anyone to foolishly advise you against reading screenplays and books! You must learn from the best. Anyone who says that there is little gained by reading other screenplays and books - is trying to deprive you the opportunity to learn and grow. Can anyone seriously tell you there is nothing to gain by reading? I would strongly disagree.

​-Stu

Image courtesy of Stephanie Palmer's amazing website, GoodInAroom.com