This Is One of the Best Quotes about Screenwriting of All Time
Writing is so freaking hard to do. Even when you do it well, it does not mean Hollywood is going to buy in. Recently, I have been dealing with a bit of melancholia over the state of the industry. I want to be read. I want to sell movies, I want to work on big projects with big people. But that's taking forever. When I get those stressful inclinations, I like to return to a post-it note I've had on my desk since I moved to Los Angeles that says, "It's a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself."Still, when my own wisdom doesn't work...I spiral, and I scroll. Lucky for me, I was scrolling Screenwriting Reddit and came across this post from Midnight_Video where we get one of the best quotes about screenwriting I have ever read. The quote comes from Peter Hymans, the director and writer of movies like Time Cop, Presidio, and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. His screenwriting wisdom was as follows... "A man much smarter than I once described this venture as a horse race without a finish line. Just because you wanna do it doesn't mean you're gonna get to do it. However, if you are really talented, you are so separated from the overwhelming majority of the people who are trying to do it that I think you'll get noticed. It may take a few times. Rejection is as much part of this as physical fitness is part of being a Marine. If you're not prepared to do a lot of push-ups, don't enlist in the Marines. If you're not prepared to be rejected don't try to write films and television."A while ago, I wrote a whole post on trying to find happiness in this business. And in that, I said you kind of just have to find it in the process. To me, this quote hits everything I am feeling when I'm most frustrated. It's the right kick in the pants I need to hear because you can waste a lot of time feeling glum. You're signed up for this. You knew it was coming. You have to keep going. And I did. I totally knew this would all be hard, so why am I so surprised when it is? If you want to accomplish your goals and feel the highest of highs, you also have to make it through the muck of the lowest of lows. This IS the business of hardships. It is the business of getting your ass kicked again and again, running that long marathon. Rejection comes for everyone over and over. That's what makes the wins so precious. So, steel yourself. This is what you chose. And there is no finish line. Well, there is, but it's death. If you want to be a writer, you're choosing a vocation and a bunch of headaches that last a lifetime. There is hope...and it resides in being a good person. We're all in this together. If you know someone down, help them up. Buy them a coffee, a cigar, a beer, or just a slice of pizza. Whatever. That can make things go much better. But even if you don't have that...all you can do is keep writing. And like pushups, I do think the rejection gets easier to handle. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Writing is so freaking hard to do. Even when you do it well, it does not mean Hollywood is going to buy in.
Recently, I have been dealing with a bit of melancholia over the state of the industry. I want to be read. I want to sell movies, I want to work on big projects with big people.
But that's taking forever.
When I get those stressful inclinations, I like to return to a post-it note I've had on my desk since I moved to Los Angeles that says, "It's a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself."
Still, when my own wisdom doesn't work...I spiral, and I scroll.
Lucky for me, I was scrolling Screenwriting Reddit and came across this post from Midnight_Video where we get one of the best quotes about screenwriting I have ever read.
The quote comes from Peter Hymans, the director and writer of movies like Time Cop, Presidio, and 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
His screenwriting wisdom was as follows...
"A man much smarter than I once described this venture as a horse race without a finish line. Just because you wanna do it doesn't mean you're gonna get to do it. However, if you are really talented, you are so separated from the overwhelming majority of the people who are trying to do it that I think you'll get noticed. It may take a few times. Rejection is as much part of this as physical fitness is part of being a Marine. If you're not prepared to do a lot of push-ups, don't enlist in the Marines. If you're not prepared to be rejected don't try to write films and television."
A while ago, I wrote a whole post on trying to find happiness in this business. And in that, I said you kind of just have to find it in the process.
To me, this quote hits everything I am feeling when I'm most frustrated. It's the right kick in the pants I need to hear because you can waste a lot of time feeling glum.
You're signed up for this. You knew it was coming. You have to keep going.
And I did. I totally knew this would all be hard, so why am I so surprised when it is?
If you want to accomplish your goals and feel the highest of highs, you also have to make it through the muck of the lowest of lows.
This IS the business of hardships. It is the business of getting your ass kicked again and again, running that long marathon.
Rejection comes for everyone over and over. That's what makes the wins so precious.
So, steel yourself. This is what you chose. And there is no finish line. Well, there is, but it's death. If you want to be a writer, you're choosing a vocation and a bunch of headaches that last a lifetime.
There is hope...and it resides in being a good person.
We're all in this together. If you know someone down, help them up. Buy them a coffee, a cigar, a beer, or just a slice of pizza. Whatever.
That can make things go much better.
But even if you don't have that...all you can do is keep writing. And like pushups, I do think the rejection gets easier to handle.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
