Screenwriting : I’m not a good listener by Nicholas Catron

Well for starters I wouldn't take advice from Reddit to heart. And if you're serious about screenwriting I believe you can do it. Are you working full time with your day job now or just part time?

Had a friend of 20 years tell me the same thing. We're not friends anymore. Get rid of the negatives!

Having a day job does not mean quitting....it's just means ure taking a seat to rest while everybody else is standing in a line...Talk to professionals, you'd be amazed how many of them are say, professors, journalists, resource relations, even work on stage in theatres..."dayjob" does not automatically mean waitering and delivering pizza...

Nicholas; now that I'm retired from writing/screenwriting and a whole lot of other related and nonrelated stuff, my greatest pleasure is aiding and abetting young 'uns striving to develop careers. The one thing I see is the overall lack of knowledge and understanding that the film industry is an industry. It's not a completely closed world with self preservation being high on the list. It's true that cracking the nut is very difficult - but it can be cracked. It's not open to all the dreamers, wishful & hopeful types, fantasies - but there is room for the truly driven hard workers. Understand that a career in the film industry ain't coming to you; it's up to you to capture it. Most screenwriters didn't start writing tent-pole FL scripts; A lot of 'em (self included) did their time as staff writers. Do not allow yourself to be waylaid by the negative minds out there. Listen to your hart.

Nicholas, saying it is a long shot implies and element of lucky. There is no luck. Luck is when preparation meets and opportunity.

(universal rules for most things). There are three types of people.

70% people that don’t have the aptitude, talent or ability to become a (writer). The next 20% if they apply themselves will experience success and reach a goal. The final 10% are going to have success as they are naturally gifted at the chosen field.

It is not up to you to do some self assessment and find where you fit. There is also the fact that misery loves company. So if a person feels that the industry is closed to them. It must be closed to everyone, because they can’t be a failure.

I've not seen the thread in question but Reddit is a pretty toxic place overall and, as a working writer-producer, r/screenwriting is completely insane to me. It's basically the wallstreetbets of the screenwriting world, full of people YOLOing savings at all the casinos and lotteries out there and dishing out advice with no proof of success.

DO NOT take career or craft advice from anonymous sources EVER. Reddit is, by design, anonymous but nobody is hiding their identity on ANY plaftorm for a good reason. This is one of the few industries in the world where you can look up a person's working history in a few minutes thanks to IMDb. If someone won't tell you who they are or share their work it is a HUGE RED FLAG.

One of the great and unique things about this very lounge is that you're supposed to use your real name. You can do your due-dilgence on someone so much more easily and you can write off anyone who tries to evade it.

There are so many professionals with credits who are giving advice. Listen to them.

Anyone who tells you that you should quit or are a bad writer needs to be eliminated from your life. You also need to leave communities that allow that kind of rhetoric to exist. They are not healthy places.

FWIW, I'm ten years in with three feature films to my name, broke into the US from the UK, and writers with zero credits still tell me I've got it all wrong.

The jump into screenwriting as a career is a tough one but few things worth having come easy. The internet is full of lazy and apathetic people who are always going to tell you to hold back. You have to break free of that. It is not reality.

I would have to agree that you should build positive networks rather than spend much time defending your creative choices. I like Stage 32 because every single person here is connected to the entertainment business and wants to grow, not criticize.

Being a writer costs money - not to do the writing, but to market it. Having a day job will enable you to pay to get exposure for your work.

My advice Nicholas Catron is stay off Reddit. As others will tell you it's toxic. You don't need to live in L.A. to succeed in writing especially in this new environment where Zoom meetings are almost the norm. On this platform there are lots of opportunities to learn, network and pitch. Heck, I'm in Cleveland, Ohio I won a Stage 32 contest and got my script optioned. And like you I hope to be writing and producing full-time someday. Keep writing. Perfect your craft and never, never, never listen to the naysayers. People will sometimes say you aren't be realistic, but they don't have your vision or drive. Good luck.

Never listen to the nags. They don't get it.

There's a LOT of that on Reddit -- which is why I stopped using the platform. Don't listen to them, trust yourself

Thank you for the advice everyone, I truly appreciate it. I posted out of frustration, and probably shouldn’t have but sometimes we need to get things out.

I still do have my day job. Kind of. Never quit just on standby which helps me to focus on my writing in the meantime. Reddit is definitely something I’m moving away from, especially so after finding this community.

Again, thank you everyone for responding, it just shows me even further I’m moving in the right direction.

The reason why people tell others to quit is because they don't have the guts to try and do it themselves, (or they failed at it once and quit) so they act like "crabs in a bucket" dragging anyone down who tries to elevate themselves. You'll find more support and encouragement here at Stage32 than Reddit for sure.

Juan - as the great Han Solo once said, “Never tell me the odds”. With that said, I’m definitely aware of the probability of success to the level I aspire. I started off writing short stories and novels, found minor success while wading through a sea of grifters and liars. Still, that hasn’t deterred me. I do have a career, a respectable one (I’m an electrician) and I find a lot of value in it, considering it pays the bills. I will keep it until I’m able to just write full time, which will happen one day. Anywho, you’re correct that the odds are steep but I say screw it, going after it anyways.

William - yeah, I’ve definitely found loads more support in my short period of time here than anywhere else. Wonderful community!

William - spot on. I listen to criticism and take it to heart if it's constructive; if it's just the poison pen negative crap - then the hell with it. I have no time for people like that. Zero. Nada. Cero.

Nicholas, I'm glad you're here on Stage 32!

I've checked out Reddit before...just out of curiosity (and NOT for screenwriting help).

Wouldn't touch Reddit with the longest pole in the world due to Reddit's negativity.

Glad to meet you, Nick. It's nice that you're here. People who care (and people who don't) always comment on somebody's business...as long as it's somebody else's business. You have your own journey and your own timetable. "Success" is also a subjective term. Define your journey and your success, don't let anyone else define it for you. And keep writing!

Jim - I’m glad to be here as well, it’s a refreshing change of positive honesty and a welcoming community.

Matthew - it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. You’re right, my timetable is definitely different. I’ve lived a whole life before I found writing and since then, I’ve slowly made some major changes to realign myself with what feels right to me.

I love your attitude! Coming from a different entertainment industry (worked seriously in computer games and as a serious hobby in comic books) I can say both had their toxics and their gatekeepers. Truth is, despite of who you are or what you master, not all talents will reach their goals. But (and this is a big BUT) I recognized a destinctive feature, far most of the "wannabe's" at my Convention booth hadn't and all longterm successfull creatives had. The found joy in what they were doing. The appreciation of the task (in our case: Storytelling) rather than the side effects (money, fame,...). You sound like a writer who enjoys, what he's doing. Keep it up! And ping me, when your show is on Amazon Prime.

"CJ Walley can testify: he has written for 10 years now, posted over 2,500 lounge posts on Stage32, been a member here on Stage32 for 8 years, created a website 5 years ago dedicated to bringing industry players and screenwriters together, yet it took him 8 years to see his screenplay made into a movie with a budget of $20k (which in theory, should have netted him $500 since he is above-the-line talent)."

You're right about the time spent breaking in Juan , the ridiculous number of Stage 32 posts I've made, and how long it took for me to get my name on a movie but I'm not sure where that budget or fee is coming from. We spent more than that on food for my first feature. It wasn't a spec either. It was an assignment.

Heinz - Indeed, I love telling stories! It’s a passion. Whether it be literature, screenplays, talking around the fire pit, it doesn’t matter. I love it. There’s something deep in my DNA that pushes me toward it and that’s one thing I’ll never stop doing.

Juan Seattle

1. First script I had produced (Toughest Role) was back in late 2013.

2. IMBb is brilliant but it is not a reliable source for budgets or box office.

3. Break Even wasn't a "VOD" but it did go straight to DVD in North America.

4. If you want to judge the writing for Break Even, you can do so here.

5. I'll pass your feedback onto the team. I'm very proud of them and what we made.

I'm not a good example to try and use for this kind of thing because, as documented in my posts here, I openly stopped pursuing a career in screenwriting quite early on due to mental health reasons and instead focused on writing short scripts and giving them away for free. In fact, I started Script Revolution in 2016 partly as a way to give something back to the industry, since I didn't think I'd ever end up making movies. After that, I wrote features for pleasure first and put them on here, simply scripts, and my own platform while blogging. The opportunity to write professionally came to me despite me being so passive. I believe strongly that it was focusing on positivity that kept me writing, and more importantly, writing passionately with a strong voice. The "tough love" was all too often just bad advice dished out by people looking to criticise others rather than improve themselves.

FWIW it was the second script I'd ever written that eventually got someone's attention.