Screenwriting : Passion or Pay? by Phil Hopersberger

I stick with what I love . You'd be more satisfied by getting pay out of passion. Passion could be the difference between a global hit success to a low rated turkey. Simply cause you put that tiny bit more and have acquired that knowledge. If you find the right investor or receive a good amount of funding, it would mean you get the best of both worlds. Good luck

Thanks...I concur, but only because the work involved in making a script read easy means hard writing, and I don't think I can spend that sort of energy on something that doesn't fire the jets. (Just had a rejection today from a London production company, but he called the script "very promising."

Depends on why you are writing. If you want to write pieces for yourself to enjoy, write what you love. If you want to make a living at this, share your art, or sell your work, write what you think will sell. You will still create characters that you love and enjoy the experience. Why not expand and explore other sides of yourself?

Anything you write, unless it's commissioned and your getting paid for it is a Spec. Script. So love what you write and experiment with different genre's and categories of Scripts. Don't just write one thing, you want to be multifaceted it allows you more opportunity for work.

You should have as many scripts completed as possible so if someone likes your writing style but not a particular script, they may ask to see something else you've written. So there's no harm in concentrating on your passion but you should also branch out into other genres to increase your chances of success.

Don't all artists have their bread-and-butter jobs, that bore them to death but help to make a living? Look at Ansel Adams boring (bread-and-butter) pictures and compare them with the ones he got famous for (the passionate ones). Just one example...

Always stick with what you love, the money and exposure will come.

Stick with what you love is good advice but if you try different genres, you may develop a new love. Monogamy is fine in relationships but with writing, promiscuity is the way to go.

Stick with what you love, but know it may take years to find the right home and producer. My pet project (WWII coming of age movie) took seven years from first draft to first day of production. A long haul! You'll always need your "passionate and truthful" writing projects and your passion will show from those scripts. I agree, write in different genres—but always keep writing!

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A lot of creative things come from a tension between worlds. Some really interesting projects take some element and turn it on its head. The film 'The Hours' for example took three different stories and interwove them - past, and present were included. Some films have people go back in time from modern times making something relevant in a new way and engaging, lively, etc.. What we love can be multi-faceted. I love watching one kind of show, but can be more interested in writing another kind. Partly I often like something more 'entertaining' to watch, but then I someitmes want to write things more 'substantive'. I notice the tension. Lately I am thinking about writing more 'fun' things. For me the journey is the point. I know enough to know it can be something like trying to win the lottery with more skill involved, but it can still be something of a crap shoot. My dreams are more than just chasing my dreams. But I feel 'called' to the creative process and called to inquiry of characters, stories, etc... so I stick with it. I love spy films and crime shows sometimes, but then at a certain point it can get too dark and heavy with that and also just too trivial. I like more emotional substance, so then I tend to want to write shows that integrate the adventure of spy with at least some substance. I can't say I have pulled it off, but I work at it. That is just one example of some of the tension I work at in my creative process. Recently there was a certain location/theme I was wanting to explore and I couldn't get it right and then realized I could take it to Sci Fi/Fantasy and probably make it more accessible to others and more interesting to write. There was an interior designer I saw on HGTV who would work with couples. She would take both of their styles and show them individually and then would blend the styles and they would have their own unique mix. One may like modern and the other liked exotic asian for example. You could get this interesting modern/asian fusion look which would have soul and often looked better to me than either individuals' aesthetic. Life doesn't have to be 'either/or', it can sometimes be 'both/and'. Sherlock Holmes for example is both modern and a period piece. There are many ways to weave what you love in and out of your work. Get creative and see where it leads you. You may find it leads you to something you would never have thought to create or known to attempt.

Truth is Phil, you need to broaden your horizons. Only working with one theme will certainly kill any chances of getting produced. Extend your Civil war to "world war" etc etc stay in the same concept if you like though a different twist.