Dear Boogie,
I'm a struggling screenwriter and I'm seriously considering giving up on writing altogether. I've been working on my scripts for years and I just can't seem to catch a break. It's getting to the point where I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall. I'm starting to think that maybe I'm just not cut out for this.
I'm just so frustrated and discouraged right now. I feel like I've tried everything and nothing seems to be working. Do you have any advice for a struggling writer like me?
Sincerely, Writer Under Major Pressure (WUMP)
Dear WUMP,
You should definitely quit.
Here’s the deal - I sometimes get asked for advice by aspiring screenwriters. I am not exactly sure why this happens. Mayhaps it is because I have produced a few independent films. And mayhaps the advice asker has seen or - even better - liked one of those films. I tend to take the fact that someone is asking as a very high compliment, especially when they express appreciation of my frequent use of the nonsense word “mayhaps.”
But inevitably the discussion goes from structure, character, dialogue - subjects with which I feel eminently qualified - to this question: how do I make it as a writer?
Dude. How the fuck do I know? Does this look like the face as someone who has ‘made it’?
More importantly, what does “make it” even mean? Get paid to write? See your film produced? Be rich? Famous? Lousy with offers for transactional sexual acts? Tik Tok likes? Transactional sexual acts in exchage for Tik Tok likes? Do they even allow that on Tik Tok? How many rhetorical questions is unreasonable in one paragraph of an advice column? Eleven?
Like with most things, the problem is capitalism. We don’t know how to define things that don’t fit neatly into the whole “profit” paradigm. Like music, education, and being a decent fucking human being, screenwriting isn’t valued unless it is somehow makes somebody money. Which it rarely does. So as screenwriters, we are basically shit out of fuck.
What makes screenwriters doubly shit out of fuck is that our particular chosen art form isn’t even the finished product. A screenplay isn’t a film. It is a blueprint for a film. It is - in my opinion - the most important building block of making a good film. On every level, the film world is plagued with beautifully shot but badly written turd bombs. But remember: capitalism doesn’t reward good. Capitalism rewards profitable. So while it would probably be pretty cool to get a gander at the pencil drawing of the Roman Colosseum, most people would rather take in the majesty of the building itself.
PICTURE OF ROMAN COLOSSEUM? MY DRAWING OF IT
I say all that to say this: if you can quit, you should. Because I fucking can’t.
Writing is a compulsion for me. And I don’t say that in a ‘tortured artist’ kind of way. I generally feel good when I write. Even when things aren’t coming easily, I genuinely enjoy the process of introspection and problem solving that is story creation. I have also learned from talking to other writers that I tend to suffer a lot less writer’s block than average. So lucky me! I don’t consider writing a burden. It is generally a joy and a privilege to be able to spend so much time doing it.
But I don’t feel like myself when I’ve missed a few days of writing. Something is off with my mood and my mental health. The best thing I can compare it to is being constipated. I’m all blocked up and I need to get it out or else I’m going to be a cranky bastard. Again - I am very privileged to be in a position to feel this way, but it feels “necessary” for me to write like it is necessary to poop. For me, writing is pooping. Writing about pooping? Even better, friend. Even better.
My point is - writers write whether they are going to ‘make it’ or not. I have (mostly) given up even thinking about what is going to happen to my writing after I finish it. Of course I want an audience and a career that continues to grow. Hell, I moved to LA to pursue this foolish thing. I put tons of effort into producing films, entering festivals, making professional connections, stalking Kevin Feige at the Weinerschnitzel in Burbank, etc. But if you looked into a 100% accurate crystal ball on a Monday that said I’d never make a dime writing, I’d be back at the proverbial typewriter on a Tuesday. Okay, maybe Wednesday. I’d probably indulge in a very self-destructive Taco Tuesday and then get right back to the grind.
So quit if you can. But if you stupidly insist on continuing (like I do), focus on the things you can control. You cannot control what people think of your work or what opportunities come your way. You can control the amount of hours you put in writing and the amount of effort you put in getting your work out there. You can put yourself in positions to meet people and expose your work to the world. You can control your effort.
But you’ve got to let go of results. Results are not your problem. You don’t think about your poop after you flush, do you? So just poop it out and flush, WUMP. Poop it out and flush.
Boogie Writes is a completely independent endeavor by one hard-working funnyman trying to make his way in the world today (which takes everything you’ve got.) If you like what you read, please subscribe, support, and tell a friend! Also - do you need advice? Of course you do! Send your queries to brendan@brendanboogie.com with “Dear Boogie” in the subject and get some solid or at least passable advice!