Complete with eagle eyes for opportunities and gripping hands to grab them!
A wise man once told me “When you take action, amazing things happen.” Ok, he wasn’t talking to just me. It was Chris Jones at the premiere for 50kisses but that resonated with me and I took it to heart.
Chances are if you’re reading this and you’re a writer, you’ve already got a ticket for the London Screenwriters’ Festival next weekend. Well done. You’ve already taken a leap. It’ll be a fun few days of learning, pitching and networking (more on that in a min). But what do you really want out of it? Where do you want to be? What action do you need to take to make it happen? And what’s really stopping you?
I realised last year that I had a big fear. It wasn’t failure, it wasn’t looking stupid, it wasn’t that I was wasting my time. I was scared of success. It was irrational, sounds stupid and I have no explanation. The thing is, I think we all do to a certain extent. We all self-sabotage in tiny ways, putting things off, procrastinating, thinking we don’t have the time. But why? What the hell are we waiting for?
By the end of LSF 2014, I could see where I wanted to be- to write for TV, specifically for soaps.
But more, I could see the path to get there, a glittering, golden trail of A to B to C (allowing for detours, setbacks, knockbacks and retraced steps obviously. I may be an idealist but I’m not entirely bonkers.)
I can still see that path.
It’s been a busy year. FOCUS has been my watchword. I’ve worked hard, writing every day (even with day job and a social life) with carefully chosen competitions and submission windows to give me deadlines and help me choose which of the many ideas bursting out of my brain to concentrate on. I’m working that writer’s muscle, ironing out mistakes, learning new ways of doing things, getting quicker and (hopefully) better whilst getting to produce a body of work so when that agent in the bar/ producer in the lift/ woman in the coffee queue says ‘what else you got?’ I’m developing an arsenal.Yes, some have sunk without trace. But failure’s brilliant. That’s how you learn. My next sitcom entry for the BBC will be sharper, funnier and get beyond the first ten page read. For my next entry to Triforce’s Writerslam, I’ll read the brief properly and send ten pages with SIX characters not SEVEN. And next time I’m part of a story team, I won’t have a soporific lasagne for lunch!
There have been successes though. I didn’t get beyond the first round of NYCMidnight’s screenwriting competition but my script ‘Hole In The Sky’ did get an honourable mention. My short play ‘Not The Droids You’re Looking For’ was finalist in the Lost Theatre 5minute festival. And my Create50 shorts ‘My Hero’ and ‘Eyes’ were semi-finalist and finalist respectively in the beta-testing Courage & Kindness round. Ooh look, success. Not that scary.
And when you start telling people your plan, your path A to B to C, they become inspired, will it to happen for you. This is the amazing thing about ‘taking action’. Suddenly it’s not just you putting it out into the universe, it’s many. My biggest successes this year have come from the people that I’ve met.
Friends have recommended me to their agents. Chatting with a director at a drinks do led to me script editing an upcoming straight-to-dvd soap episode. Laughing with a writer on a course led to me being interviewed for a storyliner job on EastEnders.
Don’t underestimate the power of networking. Not the cynical collecting of influential people that might be of use but genuinely connecting with lovely people. We have to get ourselves out there, away from our laptops, hanging out with people, doing courses, networking drinks as well as all this social media stuff.
So if you’re going to LSF this year be prepared to make new friends. (Quick tip: the name badges ALWAYS manage to turn round the wrong way so write your name on the back too.) Talk to everyone. Find out their passions, tell them yours. One thing I love to do is play networking jigsaw. “Oh, you’re interested in writing comedy horror shorts? Let me introduce you to X who does the same and do you know Y is looking for a collaborator?”
I didn’t get that EE job (albeit very close) but for a few fabulous weeks it was a possibility. In my head, I was already on the other side of that curtain coming up with fates for Martin and Stacey's ill-matched relationship and one of the things that came to mind was “Who else can I help to get here?”
I think that’s the LSF mentality. A collaborative way of thinking. “What can I do for you?” And it gave me comfort and encouragement. If I’m already thinking how I can help people into the industry then those that are already there must surely be thinking the same thing. Certainly I met some lovely people on the Walford lot and I’ve kept in touch. Maybe this isn’t quite as impenetrable as it first seemed.
When you decide to take action on your career, when you can see that glittering path we’ll all be on it with you, cheering you on, helping you kick open those doors, or maybe opening them from the other side.
But what action do you need to take? Ask yourself right now, what am I avoiding? What am I putting off? And do it. Do it now because... well... amazing things happen when you take action.
