One Can Only Speculate
There is an old
vaudeville era joke, about a man who tries to sell an axe. It's a very special
axe, he explains to his prospective buyer, because this is the very axe that
George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree.
"Of
course," continues the seller, "it's had three new heads and four new
handles, since then."
This joke came to mind while mulling one of
my impossible screenwriting dreams: to sell, and have produced, the first
screenplay I ever wrote.
That screenplay, written on speculation, has
undergone many more changes, over the years, than the famous George Washington
axe that huckster tried to sell. In fact, in many respects, it barely resembles
its original incarnation.
One of the more positive roads which have been
opened by the internet is that of enabling novelists to self-publish, market
and sell their work. Were that not the case, my own book might never have seen
the light of day.
While screenwriters also enjoy the advantages
of internet marketing, allowing us to reach more prospective buyers much more
readily than in the past, it falls short, in that we still must rely on agents,
producers and studios to make a sale, just like in the old days.
And, just like in the old days, the most
valuable tool at our fingertips is the "spec" script. In order to be
noticed, we must write. In order to have our work produced, we must write well.
After that, persistence, luck and timing determine our fate.
While the underlying dread of spending weeks,
months or even years on an effort that may never be seen by more than a handful
of people can dampen a screenwriter's motivation, the added benefits cannot be
overlooked. Only by writing continuously can we improve. So, if our spec
script's ultimate fate is to sit on a shelf and gather dust, it doesn't mean it
was all for naught. It means our next script will be better, and the one after
that better still. Practice does, indeed, make perfect. Beyond that, there also
comes a sense of achievement, a growing confidence in one's ability and an
increasing comfort in mastering a challenging writing form.
So, maybe it isn't George Washington's axe,
but after three new heads and four new handles, it's probably a better axe than
it was to begin with.
Today's excerpt from "The Blue Collar Screenwriter
and The Elements of Screenplay" takes a further look at the screenwriter's
best friend: The "spec" script.
The “Spec” Script
The term "spec
script" means you're writing it on speculation, and that means, you'll
spend a lot of time and energy doing work with no promise of any reward at the
end, aside from personal satisfaction. Maybe, it'll sell, maybe it won't.
Maybe, it'll serve as a great writing sample that will lead you to a paid
assignment. Maybe it won't.
I can tell you what
it will do. It will make you a better writer.
Every script you put
behind you provides an education, whether or not it ever gets produced. A
half-dozen spec scripts that go nowhere can be just what you need to take your
talent to a level that finally gets your great American screenplay on the
screen.
If what you want to
be is a professional screenwriter, you must remain diligent; constantly married
to your keyboard, constantly churning out new work. It takes commitment.
The great satirist
Art Buchwald once told the story of a man who wanted so much to win the
lottery, he prayed every night for it. Each evening before bed, he would fall
to his knees and beg God to "Please, let me win the lottery!"
Finally, after months of this, he was in the midst of his ritual prayer, when
he suddenly heard a big, booming voice from out of the heavens:
"Give me a
break! Buy a ticket!"
The hapless fellow in
Art Buchwald's story discovered that God himself couldn't determine his fate.
Winning the lottery requires an investment. In that case, it's only a buck. In
your case, it's time, effort, commitment, dedication, brain-drain and sweat
equity. And, a little talent doesn't hurt.
Unfortunately, some
aspiring writers see their first spec screenplay in a "lottery
ticket" light.
"I'll dash out a
great story," they imagine, "submit it to the market and
wait for fate to sweep me up in its arms and propel me to fame and
fortune!"
Okay, anything is
possible. Maybe, they'll write that script, land a major agent from ICM who
will get it directly to the green-light guy at a big studio, make a quick sale,
deposit a huge paycheck and revel in glory on opening night as Tom Cruise and
Meryl Streep bring it to life on the big screen, (probably in 3-D) amid
whispers of Oscar nominations. Maybe, it will happen that way for them.
Or, maybe they'll win
the lottery.
If you submit your
spec script to an agent, and he likes your work, one of his first questions to
you will be "Do you have more?" Maybe, it took you a year or
two to get that first hot script sharpened to perfection. It can't take you a
year or two to write the next one, but it has to be at least as good.
***
As you may have gathered from this excerpt,
our spec script is only the first step in a screenwriting career which
encompasses a varied and complex set of requirements. Writing a screenplay does
not make one a screenwriter, any more than pouring drano down a clogged sink
makes one a plumber.
Yet, every journey must start with a first
step. For a screenwriter, that first step is a "spec" screenplay.
Don't be afraid to take it. It can lead you to wondrous and exciting new
places.
________________________________________
BIO:
A professional screenwriter for more than
thirty years, Robert Gosnell has
produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television,
basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America,
West and the Writers Guild of Canada.
Robert began his
career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five. As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home and Rocky Road. In
cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie
featuring Jennie Garth. In 1998, he
wrote the Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred
Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's
feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the
motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring
Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original
screenplay Kick And Kick Back
to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace
awards, in the Comedy Special category.
In 1990, Robert
left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His
screenplay Tiger Street was
produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver, and premiered on Showtime Extreme in
August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the
screenplay for the independent feature Siren for Las Vegas
company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was
produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006.
Robert is a principal member of the Denver
production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited
speaker for local writers organizations,
served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference
in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film
Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert
regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of
Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver
area.
Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese are authors of the
gay romance series Love in Los Angeles,
set in the film and television industry (Starling
(September 10, 2014), Doves (January
21, 2015), and Phoenix (June 10,
2015)), all from Torquere Press. Their gay romance novella Midsummer (Love’s Labour 1), about a summerstock Shakespeare
company, is from Dreamspinner Press (May 2015). They also have a story in Best Gay Romance 2015 from
Cleis Press and edited by Felice Picano. Racheline is a NYC-based performer and
storyteller; Erin is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. They write
stories and scripts about the intersection of private lives, fame, and desire.
You can find them on the web at http://www.Avian30.com.
