Lately I’ve been thinking about how often we shrink our own stories before anyone else ever has the chance to.
Not because the idea isn’t good… but because we’re afraid.
Afraid of being vulnerable.
Afraid of taking a creative risk.
Afraid someone will say, “That would never work.”
Afraid another writer is simply more talented.
So we play it safe.
We smooth out the rough edges, avoid the bold choices, and write what feels acceptable instead of what feels authentic.
But the stories we remember most often came from writers who were willing to do something different. They experimented. They took risks. They trusted their voice even when it wasn’t the obvious choice.
As screenwriters, I think one of the hardest lessons is realizing that our job isn’t to sound like the writers we admire. It’s to become the writer only we can be.
The industry doesn’t need more voices that all sound the same. It needs storytellers who are willing to bring something honest, unique, and meaningful to the page.
I’m curious:
What’s one creative risk you’ve taken that made your writing stronger - or one you’re afraid to take right now?
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I've thought "this won't work," with stories, @Alissa. One creative risk I've taken is pushing my concepts. I'll come up with a concept and see what I can add to it to make the concept more interesting and more marketable, which leads to stronger scripts.
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You're so right Alissa Rachel Chavez. Half the time I'm stopping a project because I've convinced myself it wouldn't work for one reason or another, despite thinking it was quite authentic at the beginning. I don't know if it has made my writing stronger but my current project is based on the protagonist being a woman with autism and also a doppelganger for the antagonist (or one of them) who is neurotypical - it feels authentic (at least I hope it will be), What about your challenging project?
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I understand what you mean because I did take the risk when I wrote the screenplay which is uploaded as part of my profile here. The story is about an invention. Someone accidentally invents teleportation. But the main character is not the inventor. Neither is it the teleported person. Instead it is the accidental witness.