14 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING SCRIPTS
1. Screenwriting isn't for you if you're a delicate, sensitive woodland creature.
2. Don't tell anyone, "this is your first script." But don't think you'll set the world on fire by writing one screenplay.
3. Learn to suck up constant rejection and never spend more than a few hours wallowing in rejection or failure. With each setback, learn how to go forth with renewed vigor.
4. The best cure for rejection is writing, especially if it's better writing.
5. Sometimes a script just sucks. Every writer thinks they have an excellent idea for a story. But, more often than not, they're wrong.
6. Sometimes a script just sucks, no matter how many times you rewrite it. Therefore, don't attach yourself to any one effort too much. It may take writing twenty scripts before finding something that resonates with readers.
7. If you see writing scripts as a path to riches and fame, you may wish to consider other options.
8. There ain't no such thing as writer's block. There are only writers that write and ones that don't. Look at Bukowski. Drunk or sober, he did solid work every day of his life.
9. Writers who build relationships, maintain their humility. and help their colleagues will do better than ones who don't.
10. If you keep losing script contests, write better scripts until you win one.
11. Read books, take classes, seminars, and sound advice about screenwriting and then march to your own creative drummer. If I listened to every person who told me I couldn't do something, I'd never accomplish anything.
12. Don't write something because you think it will have commercial appeal. Instead, write something you believe in.
13. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Instead, endeavor to be original.
14. Don't ever rest on your laurels or laurel leaves. Keep writing until it becomes second nature to you. And, you can produce even under adverse or stressful conditions. You may one day have a job that presents you with just that set of requirements.
