![]() ![]() We’re desperately insecure because, as writers, we’re introspective people. The part of us that wonders if we have enough talent.Īs writers, we are all desperately insecure. The part of us that feels like our craft isn’t good enough, or our voice isn’t good enough, or our art isn’t good enough. The part of us that feels like we have nothing to offer. It’s the part of us that thinks that our idea is never going to sell. The they that we think about is the part of us that thinks we’re not good enough. So, the first problem is that when we start to think about they, the they that we think about is not like some cool producer who’s going to dig our work. And because you don’t know who they are, instead of dealing with the real they, usually they just become a projection of the most insecure part of yourself. ![]() The first is that you don’t know who they are. Instead of starting there with the personal, we start outside of ourselves. What do you want the script to be? Who is the character that’s fascinating to you? What is the question that you don’t know the answer to, that you wish you did? What’s the event that moved you and changed your life? What’s the dream you had last night that kept you up? What’s the terror that haunts you? Or the dream that keeps tickling you? The biggest danger of pitch is it’s potential to distract you from the questions that actually lead to great writing. That thing that you can give that they can’t get from somebody else is your voice. In order to take a chance on you, in order to take a chance on a new screenwriter, you need to be giving them something they can’t get from somebody else. The truth is if a producer wants to buy a well executed, well-crafted script with a good hook, there are thousands of working screenwriters from whom they can buy those scripts. That in fact, your voice is the only thing that a producer can buy. If you’ve listened to this podcast you know that without your voice you don’t have a shot. Similarly, when all we’re thinking about is “what do they want, what do they want, what do they want,” it cuts us off from our own voice. The reason that pitch is so dangerous for screenwriters is that when all we’re thinking about is “can I sell it, can I sell it, can I sell it?” it takes us away from the kind of writing that we can actually sell. That’s because today I’m going to be talking about one of the most dangerous concepts for screenwriters: the concept of pitch. This is perhaps the most dangerous screenwriting lecture you will ever hear. The Bear: The First Image and the Opening Sequence.The Inner Game of Screenwriting with Christian Lybrook.Homeland: Getting Staffed on a TV Show with Jonathan Redding.Pulp Fiction: A Simple Trick For Shaping Your Audience’s Expectations. ![]()
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