Persistence : A story of Perseverance and Patience
Pro Tip: Start with a logline
Writing a screenplay may not be as easy as one may think. Many people not belonging to the industry may think that this skill based industry is easy to get in and succeed. If you think the same, you will have to reconsider your thoughts. This industry is not easy. Skills and talent are the only things you will require.
A very important thing to have to be successful in this dog eat dog world is persistence. While talent is important, it is also in abundance. Either in writing or producing you can not only sustain on talent.
Then what should a person have if not only talent? Contacts? Yes, that works too but mostly it is persistence in the form of perseverance and patience.
How patience plays a part:
In an ideal situation, you will give your script to screenplay consulting services or screenwriting managers. You are hopeful that you will gather screenplay evaluation and screenwriting feedback from them in the form of notes and comments and someone will be willing to buy your screenplay. However, this does not happen. People have a hard time securing a manager or a company that represents them. It is really hard to sell your screenplay.
It is also possible that when you send a screenplay to a contact or any production company then they might forget your work. The key to dealing with all of this is having persistence in the form of patience. This career path that you have chosen is not the weak. Your endurance and patience will be tested. There will be incidences where you will have to wait for a long time to hear anything from someone.
However, if you think that it is taking quite long for someone to reply back to you then follow up with them with an email. This will also make them realize that you are willing to work diligently and are in no mood to give up your work. This can result in them taking your work seriously. Patience mainly comes in the form of waiting and enduring that wait to know that the reward will be worth it.
It can be not hearing back from someone or your work being stuck in the pile of other works or you receiving no feedback but mostly also feeling that your project may not see the light of the day. All this is extremely saddening but holding onto your cause and being patient and persistent is what can get one through.
How perseverance plays a part?
One of the essential steps towards success is failure. Your success will not be as fulfilling if it comes easy. In this journey you will face many rejections, at times you will also lose count. However, make it a means of motivation. Take every rejection as a learning, let it drive you to make the best form of your craft.
If you have only one plan, then it is very possible that the plan will not work out the way you want. You need to have a set goal or a vision and reach that by various plans that you can alternate. Do not stick by only one way rather try to improve your craft. If you have received many rejections, then maybe you will have to refine your writing skills.
Join screenwriting fellowships to learn and also try to make contacts which can help you greatly in this field. After you know a little more than you already do, give screenwriting a try again.
Persistence in form of perseverance is to keep going despite everything working against you. As a writer or filmmaker, you will soon realize that you will not get your big break in the industry immediately. It will take a long while and countless rejections. Hence, you will have to try again with a new strategy and approach towards success. This also means that you will have to look for another profession to sustain livelihood.
Some go for part time jobs while some choose full time jobs while sparing some time for writing in between. This process is long so even if patience is key, you cannot stop everything else when you are waiting. You have to pay your bills and a few people are also responsible for families so they cannot commit full time to writing in isolation. There perseverance is put to good use again. You can be working in another job but you can still take out time for your dream. Your will to keep going should be stronger than the factors stopping you.
While it is comfortable to earn peacefully and not get stuck in the dog eat dog world where you have faced many failures, you know that it is not your calling. You will just have to hold a little long. You will have to persevere despite the rejections, despite your shortcomings, you will have to keep going for what you truly want to do. Persistence in the form of perseverance and patience is key to any form of success.
A tough career has a tough success path. Life is not a fairytale and there will always be setbacks but you need to understand that only your strong will can save you. The desire to do right and do what it takes it to rightfully reach your goals can only be achieved through persist. So, persist and persevere and be patient till you are proud of what you have achieved.
