First of Many

I hope this will be the beginning of many posts.  So...let me begin by saying, I'm not a big fan of the word "expert."  I'm not even sure such a person exists.  I prefer the term professional.  That's what I hope I have become and that I am continuing to grow into.  What I have to offer are my opinions, my ideas, and my help--whenever it's sought.  I have been fortunate in my life to have had many wonderful mentors and I feel an obligation to pass along what I have learned at the feet of others.  I'm sure there will be those who will disagree with some of my suggestions and advice.  I WELCOME disagreements.  All I hope for is that, when our opinions vary, we try to keep our discourse civil.

One of the most often asked questions I hear is:  "What should I write?"  Or, more commonly:  "What is the market looking for?"  I find the second question the most troubling.  I truly believe it's dangerous to try to write for "the market," primarily because the market is always fluid and the chances are (by the time you've finished your script) whatever you've written will no longer be "good" for the market.  Which takes me to the first question:  "What should I write?"

I have two answers:  Write what you have a passion to write and write what you know.

Write what you have a passion to write.  If you do this you'll find writing to be much more joyous.  You won't be consumed with anxiety about making your writing marketable or sellable.  And, perhaps the biggest surprise of all may be that when you write about something you care about it will find a market--as long as it's your best wrting.

Write what you know.  I recently had a discussion with a fellow writer about this piece of advice.  His feeling was that he didn't want to write about "the things he knew."  He chose to write in order to escape his experiences and to have the adventure of researching and exploring subjects he knew nothing or little about.  There was nothing wrong with my friend's point of view and, after a time, I realized that we were in agreement.  First, when I say "write what you know" I'm primarily speaking to first time writers.  But, even the seasoned professional, writes what they know in the sense that ALL writing is flavored by our personal opinions and perspectives.  Even the news reporter (who is supposed to write objectively) slants his articles from his personal experiences and points of view.  As proof of my point, listen to or read the same news story from a variety of sources.

In my next post I hope I can help (those of you interested) answer another big question:  Should I be writing a play or a screenplay?  Yikes.  Now...that's a big one.