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Can Scriptwriting
    Lead to Screenwriting?       Return to Views Directory Page
Is the kind of work I do a good stepping stone to screenwriting?  Visitors to this Web Site ask me that frequently, and I've wondered myself, having written two respectable but unsold screenplays and being unwilling to quite let go of the dream of starting another one.  My answer is usually a mixed bag of Yesses and Nos.  Yes, scripting corporate films, videos, commercials, multimedia programs and live presentations is great experience and exposes you to the business of media production.  Yes, many of the skills that you develop in becoming successful in my world can help build success in the Big Show world of motion pictures.    But no, there is no sure link between the two paths.  In fact there is no real connecting bridge at all.  And once you become successful in the corporate world, it is difficult to find the time and energy to work on a screenplay after hours.

Surfing the Web the other day, I came across a site that might be of interest to everyone who asks that question.  Bruce Miller, another corporate script writer with Hollywood aspirations, has written an interesting and entertaining analysis of video script writing as a starting point for a career in screen writing.  I refer you to http://www.mindspring.com/~mmm/career.html.

In reality, the question is not one of balancing pros and cons.  It's a question of the same two things that go into every career decision: heart and ego.  How bad do you want it?  How much are you willing to go through to get it?

What I do is a poor cousin to the world of the silver screen.  There is no glitter, no glamour, no fat multi-million dollar deals.    This is life in the information trenches.  Entertainment is almost always secondary.  And to do well in my world, I have had to come to grips with that.    Ten years ago, I got a taste of the Hollywood movie machine.  I was writing a spec script for someone who had close ties to several producers and who firmly believed in the screenplay I was developing.  There were meetings.  There were phone calls.   There were months of writing and rewriting.  There were all kinds of promises, deadlines, and hopes.  In the end, there was disappointment, exhaustion and a sense of betrayal.  It was the stuff of screenplays, played out in real-life.

Since then, I've worked hard to build up the business I have today.  I feel I am successful.  Sure, when I hear about a Hollywood screenwriter landing an enormous deal or I watch a film (As Good As It Gets) with such as strong screenplay that it makes me almost weep within envy, I question the choice I’ve made.  Then I remember those days ten years ago, when I saw the reality behind that kind of success.

The Writers Guild of America estimates that, since 1982, more than one million screenplays have been written in United States.  Fewer than 10,000 -- less than one percent -- have been optioned or produced.  I have written more than 250 corporate and industrial scripts.  I have been paid for all of them. All but a handful made it to film or tape.

Have I settled for less?  I don’t think so.    I have a great family and time to spend with them.  I have a respectable list of clients and most weekends off.  The money isn’t bad, even if the recognition is lacking.  And I have lots of room to grow.

I am content being a maker of pocket watches instead of grand clocks in town squares.  I am good at this. I can handle its stresses; I am satisfied with its successes.  But if screenwriting is what you want to do -- really want to do -- do it.  If your dream is strong and your ego stronger, you'll find a way to be the odds.  And no one will cheer for you louder than me.

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