Screenwriting : Are you single-minded about your screenwriting career? by Phillip E. Hardy, Prolifique

It certainly takes a great amount of drive to succeed in this business and in other businesses, too, of course. Artists of any type can certainly become manic-depressive types.

When I'm in writing/selling/maintaining a pipeline mode, I have always had a lot of other things going on in my life that prohibited me from becoming obsessed with the whole process. That might be a good thing, and that might be a bad thing, too. But I'm sure many artists feel how you feel - or how I feel, too.

What would really suck is if you were a guy like Vincent Van Gogh. He created almost 1,000 paintings in the last two years of his life; was a manic-depressive who drank heavily; and committed suicide before he was 40. He sold one painting during his lifetime. Five of his paintings have sold for a combined $500 million in the last couple decades. Ouch. There must be at least 20 films made about him, including last year's Loving Vincent. My fave is still Lust for Life.

It sure can be easy to become obsessed. Best of luck in your endeavors.

Bill:

Being bipolar is a terrible thing. My father was a brilliant man with so much talent. However, he drank excessively to self-medicate, and being manic and drinking was not a great combo. His father also was bipolar and committed suicide. fortunately, I was blessed to get more of my mother's genes and have always been pretty upbeat before writing, enjoyed a long run as a drummer, songwriter and singer. However, I do need to occupy my time with things I deem as productive. My recent foray into selling real estate has been great and I've met some people I really enjoying hanging out with. I'm closing three RE deals at the end of this month. So I"m finding screenwriting and RE are a good combo to hopefully make a few shekels this year.

Thanks for your thoughtful post.

What's amazing about Loving Vincent is the incredible work and attention to detail they took in adapting his art into animation -- hiring oil painters to hand paint each and every frame. What's also great to see is the questioning of his "suicide" in this film as that is under much scrutiny and is often regarded as false. Unfortunately, they depict the ear thing with the usual assumptions when that is also under scrutiny and considered a perpetuated falsity. I wish they had consulted more people about the actual facts of his life, all the misdiagnoses, etc. He was a prolific artist.

About single-mindedness... Me, I'm focused mostly on craft. Selling and/or pitching is not on my mind, yet, although I've found myself pitching in casual situations. I'm more interested in filmmaking. Personally speaking, and after being on this site for years now, I feel many new writers come out of the gate way too early, before they've really honed their craft. I dunno... each person and situation and circumstance is different, of course, to each their own, but I'm truly surprised how so many leap into pitching after writing only one or two screenplays. Me, I'm a practical optimist, but I'm also very very patient. Lol! I focus on the work and I'm content with whatever happens or doesn't happen. Do whatever makes you happy, right? :)

And, Bill, yeah, I'm juggling art too. Moving away from encaustics and starting to paint on plexi. It does distract one from the other, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not. Lol! I prefer to just think of myself as a creative, never liking titles. Again, whatever makes you happy! ;)

Beth I agree. I got into pitching way too early and made many mistakes. However, I also tried some innovative approaches that netted positive results. Either way, it's a process that is much improved by ample doses of patience.

Re: Van Gogh

I didn't really think much about his work until I was blessed to see an exhibit that came to LA during the mid-80's. It featured his work, as well as the Gauguin Tahitian Collection and Matisse wall panels. I've never seen more a group of more extraordinary paintings. And Van Gogh's work seems to ooze a living energy that I've never experienced before or after. I saw a few of the same Van Gogh paintings years later and felt the same way. I've attached a print picture of one of the Van Gogh's that affected me.

I'm definitely driven to succeed. I'm entering contests and won a couple. I've sent out query letters to managers and agents. And most of all I continue to write new material. My immediate goal is to gain representation but my long term goal is to have at least three of my scripts made into films by one of the major studios. You can't reach your goals if you don't know what they are. You have to be specific, keep working and hoping.

Anthony:

Those are good goals and I wish you the greatest success with your efforts.

I just signed another shopping agreement with de Passe Jones Entertainment www.depassejones.com and have three other producers shopping three different screenplays. I've not spend too much time securing the services of an agent. Instead I'm trying to create a pipeline of people that are working on securing buyers for my work. This method takes time but it's working pretty well for me.

Yeah, van Gogh's work is deeply affecting. I've always loved it. Studied him in college -- having a minor in art history. One possible, or rather very probable diagnosis for what is known of him and his issues is that he had epilepsy. He would have seizures and no one really knew what that was or how to treat it at the time -- thinking he was "mad." He had other issues too, of course. Anyway, about the ear... my understanding from historians... it wasn't his whole ear, rather just his ear lobe. And that Gauguin is to blame! But don't get me started on Gauguin! He would be considered a pediphile by today's standards. He was icky... a sexist, deadbeat husband and father, who just left everyone and his responsibilities and molested young girls in Tahiti. Yes, his art is incredible, but what's behind some of the work is truly disturbing. :/

Good for you, Anthony!

Beth

I know very little about Paul Gauguin as a person. But I'll have to read up on him. For me, the greatest irony about van Gogh is he's the greatest afterdeath success story that I know of. And, that not only makes him an incredible artist but a great human interest story that will continue to fascinate us for years to come.

Beth: encaustics and plexi....mmmmm. My stomach just growled. Some people might rough up the plexi to give it better grab, but they lose the transparency when that happens. I did that once, and prefer the transparency.

I'm also gonna add some of you Stage32 folk to my mural (on my profile) in my backyard. Those walkways have been too bare for too long. And you throwing Phillip in the canal should be a fudging hoot!

Phillip: van Gogh did hold that distinction, but your unsold stories ended up selling for over $3 billion, and you easily surpassed him. Oh heck...me and my big time-traveling mouth. But you did make over $16 million from 2018-2022 while you were still alive, but lost it all in the 2024 global real estate crash. Oh dang...there goes that time-traveling mouth again.....crikey....stop tricking me, Phillip!

Bill, yeah... LOL! Acrylics work just fine on plexi -- plastic on plastic. ;) I recall your mural... You had it posted for your profile pic before, right? And Phillip, depending on your sources most writings about Gauguin will say something rather cryptic about his time in Tahiti... that he "conducted himself in public with a young teen."

Beth:

Thanks for the heads up on that.

Bill C,

Hell I think you just gave me another good idea for a movie.

Beth: yes...pics are still on my profile, but I just noticed all my data is gone. Hmmm. And thanks for the acrylics tip!

Phillip: It's been a whole two hours now and you haven't finished the first draft yet? Fudge..you're getting slow, bro...you're getting slow!

Phil, I'm retired so a screenwriting career is about the last thing I seek and I abandoned my type A personality some time ago to become a more laid back artist type. It's a great life...not having to get up before noon. Now I spend my time promoting other people's' writing & filmmaking.

Doug: I have one client. Me. And I promote the heck out of me.

I am obsessed . . . with observing how often you have changed your name & avatar on Stage32, Philip Hardy. It's time we had that cocktail at Hernando's Hideaway. Ole! :-) Phillip E. Hardy, Prolifique

It's always interesting to hear about various other ways people approach writing. I guess I'm slightly different in my approach and what I consider to be pertinent to my career path in the creative industry.

Oddly enough, I have manic depression or what's now commonly referred to as Type 2. Bipolar Disorder. It does affect the way I work as I can get easily distracted. Although there are a lot of downsides to it, there are just as many upsides, and I rarely feel the need even to discuss it with people. I only mention it now due to it being mentioned.

My original intention was to write prose and poetry. It was at university that I was introduced to screenwriting, and ever since then, it's the path that I've taken. I've always loved film and going to the cinema, but I never thought about writing scripts.

I started off trying to write a couple of features, but they were decidedly appalling and never really got past the midpoint of the second act. I then went back a step to writing short screenplays, and other than the once collaborative effort for a feature, I've stuck with shorts ever since then.

I knew that I had to improve my writing and found it easier to do so and experiment with the shorter form. Suffice to say, I've also written a lot of poor shorts, but they've improved with each one. I'made the mistake of entering competitions at the beginning of my journey and that didn't fair well.

I still feel like I'm finding my voice, which is why I haven't gone the route of competitions or anything like what might be considered the tried and tested path of a screenwriter.

I did a lot of thinking, and rethinking, my path of what I want out of my journey and I don't see myself as someone who seeks to sell spec scripts or use them to be a paid screenwriter. As odd as that might sound, it just doesn't feel right to me or what my true goals and ambitions are. I want to see my words on the screen, and that means doing things differently. I don't have the technical skills to shoot or create my own productions, but I know people who can. With that in mind, my current approach is to use my skill sets to see if I can benefit those people who assist their own ambitions, and hopefully, we can support one another in our shared goals.

This does involve writing, and I'm currently outlining a short screenplay, but my end-game is to be part of the machinery that brings it to fruition. That means sharing services and sourcing people who have the technical skills, or more importantly, to find the person who can procure crews of people.

I'd end with the conclusion that I'm not a person with a one-track mind. It's in several places because it's more than just writing for me.

As I mentioned, I always enjoy reading about how various writers approach their work and projects. All the best to everyone in their current and future pursuits. As always, I look forward to hearing about your successes and journeys.

Martyn:

Thanks for sharing your thoughtful post.

Linda Ann: or next time you're in Austin we can meet at Santiago's Sanctuary.

That will be me, in the private booth, in the quirky cocktail hat, deeply veiled, in red lipstick. And that will be you, Philip, with your eternal ZEN-ness and your real estate broker biz cards. x o Phillip E. Hardy, Prolifique