Nobody crafted a Chippendale with the first turn of the lathe

The point is, it takes time to perfect a skill. There are those who say it takes 10,000 hours of gruelling practice before we become really good at anything. So, just because you fail at something in the early stages, doesn’t mean to say you should be alarmed that you might have made the wrong choice.

To the contrary, unless your heart speaks to you strongly that your pursuit isn’t for you, stick at it with all the time and tenacity you can muster. And always remember, if you’re training as a a lawyer, just because you’ve written your first assignment and obtained an A, doesn’t mean to say you’re anywhere near ready to represent a client in court.

The Successity Blog will assess what all this might mean in a screenwriting perspective. That’s because about seven years ago I wrote down as a life goal that I wanted to be a successful screenwriter, but how did that play out?

So, you’ve written your first script, hidden it in a drawer for a week, and then read it excitedly. But your excitement turns to trepidation when you realise the plot is full of holes, the dialogue is stilted and the exposition is all “tell, don’t show”.

Don’t despair. Screenwriting is a craft, and so to an extent it can be learned. Nobody crafted a Chippendale with the first turn of the lathe. You have to learn your craft and do your time, and that means making mistakes and, yes, writing up some turkeys. Don’t despair. Take a deep breath, and rewrite. The whole thing. And if you have to restructure it, restructure it. After that, ideally send it to a script consultant for their comment.

The bottom line is, success in screenwriting, as in almost anything, is usually a slow process. It may take years. Decades, even. You may have to write ten screenplays before anyone shows any interest. Guess what? How long do you think Thomas Chippendale’s apprenticeship took? Do some research and find out. I don’t know myself for absolute certain, but I’m sure it took longer than it took you to write your first script. Chippendale (1718-1779) was a journeyman cabinet maker until he was 36, when he was catapulted to success, and was almost certainly intensively trained in wood turning by his father when he was a boy. So that’s arguably an apprenticeship of at least twenty years.

Hold on to your hat and prepare for a long haul. It’s only after seven years I’m beginning to reap dividends. The learning process is long and arduous; and guess what, if you are good at what you do, it never ends.