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Tools

There are some tools that you should have, when you start your career. Unfortunally, I cannot give them to you, or even sell them to you. But I can describe them to you, and you can create your own versions of them.

The map

Where do you wanna go? What do you wanna do? What do you want to write? Unless you have some sense of direction, you will rush your decisions, or base them on the latest information, not the best information. For example, if you don´t know if you want to write for film or TV, an open screenplay contest would probably sway you in favour of the movies, even if you have a nagging feeling at the back of your head screaming "TV. TV." And if you don´t know your style, you may take somebody´s advice and tack on a "happy-happy" ending on your essentially tragic story, which would ruin its commercial prospects. (Yes, really.)

Get your map now. They´re available everywhere. Just eliminate what you don´t want to do, what you shouldn´t settle for, what your relatives think that you do, and what you always thought you end up as.

But remember this about maps:

Only maps that are up-to-date are useful. Throw away your old maps, or you will get lost.

The compass

Once you have your map, the compass is much harder. The compass is how you get from A to B: how you get from your desk to the big screen, or from your legal pad to the video store. Whatever your goal, you gotta have a plan.

Make yours in steps. Write where you are now at the top of a paper, and where you want to be at the bottom. Then draw at least three lines from top to bottom, each representing a way to your goal. Then fill in some stops in the middle. It can look like this:

A. My desk, idle

1. Read some soap opera scripts

2. Imitate and learn to write soap opera scripts

3. Write some writing samples

4. Send in some writing samples

B. Writing for a soap opera

Pick the road you believe in the most. And follow it. If you find a shortcut on the way, revise the compass, but be very careful that you don´t lose your map in the process.

The reality check

As stated elsewhere (namely here), you should know the industry before you try to get into it. And you should know what stories sell - right now. You should know who to contact - right now. You should know what´s being sought after - right now. And you should now what´s been done - before now.

This, and a thousand other things you should know. Piece this knowledge together like a puzzle, from newspapers, reports on TV, gossip columns, new books and trendy people.

Without this reality check, you are as useful as a someone selling snowcones in December. (People in Australia or other places where December is hot: think some cold period of the year.)

The mop

You really should have a mop. For all the spilled milk, and for the bread crumbs that will fall off the table when you´re writing.

You can´t afford to regret chances that you missed, and you can´t afford to ignore all those little nuggets that didn´t fit into this particular story.

So if you miss an opportunity, there´s a good chance that it´s not the final and ultimate opportunity that you´ll stumble upon. Even if your idea, that you worked on for months and months, suddenly turns out to be the next big project that some studio has developed as long as you have, effectively destroying your chances of selling your story, you can use your mop. See it like this: at least you´re in touch with what sells.

The MacGyver

Named after the television hero of the eighties, the MacGyver is what you need to solve your story problems. Every writer encounters problems with every story. The trick is not to stop searching for solutions to those problems. There is always a solution, some hope. And I can´t imagine a better symbol for that search for solutions than MacGyver.

Some frequent problems I can help you with, but you also need to develop your inner MacGyver.

The bullshit detector

Ernest Hemingway said that every writer needs a bullshit detector. And it has so many uses:

... when you look for ideas
... when you rewrite
... when you listen to other people´s stories
... when other people give you glowing criticism or "too many notes"
... when you map out your story before you write
... when you look for a problem in a story
... when you´re in a meeting
... when you have to cut something

But if you don´t know what a bullshit detector is, here is a short description: It´s the ability to tell the truth, no matter how painful it can be. It´s also the ability to tell what´s important from what´s not important. And finally, it´s the ability to look at yourself from a distance.

It´ll take some time to get your bullshit detector up to 100%, but it´ll definitely be worth it.

With those tools in your toolbox, you´re all set to go to work. Gentlemen, start your engines!

By Lennart Guldbrandsson

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