The first thing Yale Screenwriting Professor Marc Lapadula taught us; "No one is a screenwriter, until they sell a script." Wise words to live by, which is why I don't introduce myself as a screenwriter.. Right now, I am just a very prolific story-teller who can type really really fast. But, I also have 42 Wins and 82 Nominations on IMDB, and only 5 are for Best Actor. The rest are for my 24 scripts in ever genre both feature and short. So to try and get noticed, I've filmed six of my short scripts as SAG films. My latest, "Saving Robin Williams," just went into the festival circuit. No One, NO ONE, believes in yourself except you, so I'll either die, or make it. But as I work on my fifth feature script in as many weeks, I discovered two things: 1) I self-isolated three years ago when I became serious about writing every day, and 2) fear of dying during this crazy time, was death to my procrastination. I'm 38 pages in, and having a blast.
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Hello there.
Have to say, I couldn't disagree with your Yale professor more. I think if you devote the time, effort, and learning investment into writing screenplays, AND do it consistently and persistently, AND get better as a result, then you are a screenwriter whether you sell something or not.
And conversely, as a writer who has been hired to rewrite screenplays, I can absolutely tell you that there are a ton of people getting paid as screenwriters who can't write worth shit.
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Agreed. If you Write and Finish and then Re-Write, you're a Screenwriter. Now a Paid Screenwriter...
I once met a Woman at a networking event who 'sold' her first Script for $1. Not $1000. Not $10k. $1. Now she is not a Screenwriter. She obviously didn't spend any time writing/etc. When I asked here Why, she told me, "Because now I can say that I've sold a script." That gets around. No one is going to want to pay her much of anything more, eve again.
Sheila you tell it like it is :)
Morning, all.
I think, Lawrence, what we're saying is that a cash payment may upgrade the modifier from 'aspiring' to 'professional,' but it doesn't change the 'screenwriter' part at all.
Enjoy your weekend.