Spike is a veteran of the Hollywood development landscape, having worked for an agency, a prod co, and a TV network. He enjoys long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and dynamic storytelling.
I learned something that day. Genuinely. And it's a lesson I want you all to apply to your writing, too.
... and dammit if I wasn't completely blown away. By the time I turned the final page, I'd quasi fallen in love with the freaking thing.
Think like a salesman ... if you have a product you need to sell, which would you rather have? More potential buyers? Or fewer?
Stop focusing on all the things you haven't done, and start focusing on the things you have.
The point is—you will never find anything where everyone agrees. It's literally impossible. And Hollywood is no different.
That’s what “write what you know” really means. It means you should take a feeling, or a unique experience you’ve lived through—something that is quintessentially you—and put it on the page.
Every single script I recommended my bosses read officially had my stamp of approval on it. And how bad do you think it would make me look if I wasted some of their precious time with a mediocre piece of material?
Everything that follows is what they actually said, whether you like it or not.
I was a Hollywood assistant for almost ten years ... let’s go ahead and get the basic stuff out of the way.
Make no mistake, narratives are very much like a car. They need to be constructed in a specific way in order for them to go anywhere.
Shaky beginnings lead to problems down the road every time without fail.
Five more tips on how to not annoy your reader shall be yours. But listen well, because I'm only going to say this once ...
It’s scary to walk on the mat for the first time against an opponent taller and larger than you. And it’s scary to show people a story you’ve been obsessed with for weeks, months, and years on end.
Clearly there is a knowledge gap out there … there’s something that a hell of a lot of writers out there need to know, and they don’t know it right now.
Unless you’re writing only for you, you need to keep the audience in mind. Especially if that audience is the gatekeeper to all your hopes and dreams.
To a global community of creatives.
All Pipeline Artists members are eligible for monthly giveaways, exclusive invites to virtual events, and early access to featured articles.