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Do You Have A Life?
""Screen"witing is a solitary business.
It takes over your life. In some sense,
a writer has no life of his own. Even
when he's there, he's not really there."
Paul Auster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Auster
I tend to think I have a pretty great life. Yes, I'm a screenwriter, but I also have other things that fill my hours. I have a family that I spend quality time with (dinners, b-days, holidays, etc.), and I also have several friends I go out with, hang out with. I get to travel every so often. In short, I enjoy myself.
Even when I'm writing I'm enjoying myself. Unlike most writers, I don't sit in a dingy room cranking out pages. No, I get out into the world to do a majority of my work. You can usually find me in a funky coffee house or some plush Beverly Hills hotel lounge with my yellow legal pad and pen. Or you might find me sitting on the beach...or in a park...or my favorite late-night diner. I get my work done, but I also get out into the world where people are. I watch people, I talk to people. Without sounding too trite, life is an adventure meant to be lived. If you can't do that, you probably won't be much of a writer. Besides, your chances of success in the screenwriting game are pretty low. It'd be a shame to spend your whole waking life trying to become a writer and not actually LIVE.
As I've said on many occasions: "I don't live to write, I write to live."
The Working Screenwriter wrote:
It'd be a shame to spend your whole waking life trying to become a writer and not actually LIVE. As I've said on many occasions: "I write to live, I don't live to write."
Thanks for the comment.
Just wondering, is LA full of writers who love working like 'BARTON FINK'?
Or maybe that only exist in the movies.
But I strongly believe that screenwriting -- features, shorts and experimental -- can be addictive.
Best,
Benjamin Ray
I agree that it's important to actually go live a life and stop writing every once in a while. I also think it can be addictive to write. I haven't done any professional work yet, as I'm new to the game, but sometime I find myself obsessed with an idea and I can burn a whole day in front of my PC typing and, although I love living through the story I'm writing, I sometime wonder if it was really worth it. I definitely think a good balance is important.
I have an awesome life writing whether in L.A. or traveling. I agree with the previous message that you need to situate yourself in other surroundings, than your desk at home, in order to get the most out of your writing time. That way you don't feel isolated.
Gitte Lellan
I asked essentially the same question in another writer's forum about a year ago, seeking a solution. Working Writer's answer is true, though it works best if you are an established writer, not so well if you're still trying to break through, as Mike should know. It's not so easy when you're still working a day job. I came upon a solution which involves setting up a business of my own, but it requires resources,so it will have to wait until I sell my first script. I'll also accept partners, so if you're still looking for options at the time, I'll welcome your e-mails.
Writing screenplays can be very painful and stressful.
Life often gets in the way. Sometimes and always?
How do you manage? It's hell!
"What a writer wants to do is not what he does."
Jorge Luis Borges
"If you're a freelance writer and aren't used to being ignored, neglected, and generally given short shrift, you must not have been in the business very long."
Poppy Z. Brite
"Coleridge was a drug addict. Poe was an alcoholic. Marlowe was killed by a man whom he was treacherously trying to stab. Pope took money to keep a woman's name out of a satire then wrote a piece so that she could still be recognized anyhow. Chatterton killed himself. Byron was accused of incest. Do you still want to a writer - and if so, why?"
Bennett Cerf
I am a galley slave to pen and ink.
Honore de Balzac
Shoot! I wrote a full page reply and lost it thanks to the wonderful net.
Better for you. I'm sorry about my ignorance, but, are these new questions or part of the Borge's quote? They key word is in the last one: m a n a g e.
I tried writing 20 years ago and had to postpone it. Writing is a pain in the butt, literally after four or five hours. But when I found myself in a boring desk job and a sedentary lifestyle with few friends, it turned into a worthy investment of time. so now I manage my time. And on that note, I have to go work on a full-lenght drama and a TV mystery. Although, being Friday, I might postpone it for a wee-bit of social life and until after mowing the lawn tomorrow morning. Work some exercise in your schedule or you'll end up with circulation problems. That's management.
Soon. Jorge
Hey Jorge,
Thanks for that advice.
Esp. the part on health.
I agree.
Hey I'll post some of my screenwriting" stuff soon.
Maybe we can exchange feedback.
Cheers,
Benjamin Ray
brscreenwriter@gmail.com
www.hollywoodtoronto.com
Screenwriting is my life. All I ever do, all I always think about is screenwriting. Every single second I stop to take a break I feel like there's another kid my age out there getting better then me.
Mate, you'll wear your self out worrying about what others are doing. Good on you for being aware of the reality of competition.
But I'll bet you have your own unique creative advantages.
Afterthought: Dancing. It ain't a cure for everything. But it sure gets oxygen to a writer's brain, bum, and legs.
I have no life, I hope to have less of a life when I become a very successful writer and producer.
Eunice wrote:
I have no life, I hope to have less of a life when I become a very successful writer and producer.
Saying something like that, you sound like a wacko. Ever seen the credits at the end of a movie or tv show? That might give you a clue that producing a movie or tv show is a cooperative effort requiring many people to work together. Have you ever worked on any kind of production, even a high school play? Unless you're Chekov or something, you don't just hand your finished masterpiece down from your ivory tower and command the peons to bring it to life. There are so many read-throughs, table reads, hallway reads, exec suite reads, bathroom reads, elevator reads, parking lot reads, all kinds of b*llshit sessions around a script, all kinds of people putting their two cents in, changes made due to various factors, from the whims of producers or performers to a myriad of legitimate production issues - and the writer or writers must roll with them. There is a system that gets the script from the writers to the viewer but it's flexible and fluid, adapting to a variety of factors and you must adapt as well. It sounds to me like you ought to enter a convent or monastery. If you want to be alone, getting involved in film or tv is the last place you want to be - at least if you want to earn a living.
Are you insane? How can you over analyze one sentence and assume to know me and my thought process?
Please don't push your insecurities on me. We will never met so don't be obsessive. This should be a forum to support not compete. I am not a threat to you so relax.
It wasn't one sentence. It was a train of thought throughout the thread and I found it kind of pretenious. And yes, I am crazy, crazy with boredom. I'm laid up in the hospital after an accident so I've been trolling these screenwriter forums, which I've never had time to do before. Anyway, good luck with becoming a famous writer and producer.
baz wrote:
It wasn't one sentence. It was a train of thought throughout the thread and I found it kind of pretenious. And yes, I am crazy, crazy with boredom. I'm laid up in the hospital after an accident so I've been trolling these screenwriter forums, which I've never had time to do before. Anyway, good luck with becoming a famous writer and producer.
Thanks for being a Fan. Good Luck with the accident. feel better.