Recommended Screenwriters
Increasing the Probability of Your Success, Part 1
- June 13, 2011
- Posted by: HalCroasmun
- Category: Articles
Every week or so, another unproduced screenwriter breaks into this business and begins their career. After years of hard work and wondering if they'd ever make it, they have achieved a very big goal.
I believe part of their success came from making "high- probability" decisions and taking actions based on those decisions.
Last week, a writer in one of my classes emailed me asking this question:
"After reading my writing in the class, do you think it is possible for me to succeed as a screenwriter?"
Important question, wouldn't you say? But to really answer it, we need to consider the difference between "possibility" and "probability."
Here are the definitions according to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary:
- POSSIBILITY = a future prospect or potential.
- PROBABILITY = a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur.
So the answer to his question is…
- Possibility: YES. Every person who gets this newsletter has the possibility of becoming an A-list screenwriter.
- Probability: That depends upon you, your decisions, and your actions.
Possibility could exist with zero probability. As in, a person may have the potential for hundreds of things that they never take action on to make probable. On the other side, a person who consistently takes actions to increase probability will often be able to achieve the goal with 1/3rd the actual effort.
When I create an "Expert Model" (a structure of what an expert does and how they do it for training purposes), I'm always looking for the actions they take that increase their level of probability over others. Sometimes, a single action taken in a precise manner will give them 10 times the results of other people around them who appear to be doing the same job in the same way.
So what will increase the probability for an up-and-coming screenwriter? There are many decisions and actions you can take that can increase your probability of success. Rather than list a bunch of them, I'd rather point out the difference between possibility and probability in a few examples.
THREE EXAMPLES:
MARKETING
Sending out 1,000 email query letters may increase the Possibility of your success, but it doesn't increase the Probability. Really, you're just gambling. Hoping that somewhere, somehow, there will be a fit between your project and what some producer wants.
Writing a High Concept script and then marketing it directly to production companies that want High Concept projects increases the *probability* because you are delivering to the market what it craves.
Writing a script that meets ALL of the "10 components of a Marketable Script" greatly increases the probability because you are delivering a product that meets their needs on all fronts.
NETWORKING
Networking in itself increases the possibility, but doesn't do a thing for probability. I know. I have some friends who know everyone in the industry, but have no chance of selling anything because of what they write and how they want to do business.
Networking with a "high demand" project or with an introduction from important people or with a lot of "buzz" around your name all increase your probability of doing business.
IMPROVING YOUR WRITING
Let's take the great advice that is given to writers by everyone.
- Advice: Write every day.
I absolutely believe in writing every day. It is at the core of success. But you need one other component to make it work. Writing every day increases the *possibility* of you becoming a great writer, but not the *probability* of it. I know plenty of people who have written script after script showing no more than a 5% improvement in their writing. Why? Because they neglected to increase their skill level. They were stuck at the same place as they wrote day after day, year after year with only mediocre skills.
What's worse is that they built the habit of writing at that level!
- Increase probablity: Learn high level skills, then write everyday.
To increase the probability of becoming a great writer, you need to learn high level screenwriting skills and use them as you write every day. There is a huge difference between the writing of someone who uses High School English class writing as they write a screenplay and someone who use Professional level screenwriting techniques.
If you want to write like a Pro, you need to learn and practice their techniques. That will increase the probability of you becoming a great writer.
SUGGESTION FOR YOUR SUCCESS:
Look at all the "screenwriting" actions you take and see which increase your probability and which don't. Then, shift as many as you can to high-probability actions.
If you really want to make it in this business, start thinking in terms of what will increase your probability. The more you can shift from low-probability decisions/actions to high- probability decisions/actions, the sooner you'll see success. If every decision you make and every action you take somehow increases your probability of success, chances are you'll make it.
You can start by looking at the Philosophy of Screenwriting Tips on our blog and applying them to your career.