Live To Write Another Day by Dean Orion (free ebooks for android .txt) 📕

is your lifeblood as a writer, not just because you’re creating intellectual property that has inherent value, but even more importantly because you’re creating writing samples that can help you get work for hire—which is far more likely to happen than selling a spec script.

If this comes as news to you, do a little survey of the movies playing down at your local multiplex or on the cable box in your living room. You’ll find that most of them are not based on original screenplays. Most are based on material from other mediums: novels, comic books, myths and fairytales, old television shows, or they’re remakes or sequels of other movies. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll also find that many of the movies that were based on original scripts were actually developed after the ideas were either pitched or assigned to a writer (not written on spec).

Likewise, in television, almost all episode ideas are pitched before they’re written, either by writers working on a show’s writing staff or by freelancers like me on The Invisible Man. Even pilot episodes, which form the bedrock of a series and must be created entirely from scratch (except when they too are based on other material) are mostly sold as pitches first, with a few exceptions.

In the interactive world, where I’ve spent a healthy chunk of my career, virtually all development is internal, particularly at video game companies. They simply don’t take pitches from the outside. All creative ideas are generated from within, so the only way to write a narrative script for a video game (if you’re not an employee of the company) is to be a writer for hire.

So what does all this mean? For one thing it means when you work for hire, once again, there is no draft for you. Just like when you write with a partner, it’s a we thing, not a me thing from the moment you sign on. It also means that you have to be mentally prepared for the various work requirements, conditions, and expectations that come along with each project. You won’t have the luxury of exclusively operating in that wonderful creative cocoon of your own mind like you do when you work on spec. You will, however, still have the one invaluable thing you will always need to pull off the job—your process.

Every experience will present you with new and unique challenges, so the more you hone that process, the more tools and techniques you develop for yourself, the better equipped you will be to handle each and every assignment.

 The Note Giver Is Always Right

I’m sure you’ve heard the old business adage: “The customer is always right.” As a writer for hire you’ve got to operate under this same principle. You’re the businessman, the shopkeeper selling the goods and the customer is your note giver.

I’ve had some great experiences throughout my writing life, working in many different mediums. I’ve made a lot of wonderful friends, lifelong friends in some cases, and have worked for many producers, directors, creative directors, and executives for whom I have the utmost respect. But I’m not going to mince words here. It’s not always easy. In fact, most of the time there is at least some level of tension involved in this relationship. How can there not be if the note giver is always right?

Not that you don’t fully engage with them, doing everything in your power to shape the notes and create the best product you possibly can every time out. It’s just that when push comes to shove, they’re paying you for your services, so it’s their project, not yours—which means that you also have to be incredibly tolerant when they are unclear, unexpectedly change their mind, or flat out tell you they’re not satisfied with your work.

Sometimes tension exists in the relationship simply because the note giver isn’t comfortable with the job. After all, not everyone is built to deal with writers and the painstaking process of developing ideas and creating written material (not even some writers). Sometimes there are other things in the mix that cause problems, none of which has anything to do with you: production deadlines, personal issues, intra-office politics, etc.

Other times it has everything to do with you. Maybe you’re not cast right for the project. Maybe you just missed the mark on this one. It happens. Nobody’s perfect.

And then sometimes…well, unfortunately sometimes you end up working for people who are just downright nasty about the whole thing and out to make your life miserable.

Trust me, no writer worth their salt has ever been able to fully escape this fate. I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty ugly behavior over the years, on the part of both individuals and companies that have hired (and sometimes fired) me, none of which I care to recount, much less remember. All I can tell you is that you’ve got to develop a thick skin when it comes to this, shall we say, darker side of the profession.

There will be times when you feel that you’ve been treated unfairly. That’s just part of the deal, another unpleasant fact that you’ve got to accept, courtesy of your writer gene. The important thing to remember is:

It’s the integrity of the work that matters most, even in the worst of situations.

It’s the dedication to your craft, the commitment to yourself as a writer, and the fidelity to your process that will keep you going through these rocky moments.

 Don’t Be a Writing Student—Be a Writer for Hire

As I mentioned earlier, one of the things that surprised me most about film school was the rather stunning revelation that there was no secret sauce to being a good writer. Though there are definitely much better writing programs and much better teachers out there today than there were back when I first got off the bus in L.A., I still believe that this is fundamentally true. Creative writing of any kind is so cerebral that even when you’re actively