Skipping drama class
I’ve looked through your archives and have found nothing that closely applies to my question. I’ve been a visitor for about three years now, and for some reason have never gotten up the nerve to ask you a question.
I’m 16 and have wanted to pursue a career in filmmaking since 8th grade. I’m sure you’re not too old to remember what it was like to be 16 years old and trying your best to not ruin your own life forever. (I really don’t want to be a receptionist.)
So far I’ve been teaching myself the various techniques of screenwriting through books I find at Chapters, audio commentaries on my favorite DVDs and you.
And here I am. Terrified that I might be making all the wrong moves. Should I have taken drama and bitten my tongue every time that insane teacher opened her mouth? Should I be doing more after school type programs?
And, of course, should I go to film school? (I know you’ve done a response on this, but I’m more concerned with what I need to do before I get there.)
Thank you for your time, it really means a lot.
– Veronica
You’re sixteen. Go out and experience life. As interesting things happen, write them down. If something other than screenwriting appeals to you at some point, pursue it with full abandon and no regrets. You’re at an age when you don’t need to be making any firm decisions, or beating yourself up about missed opportunities. A bad high school drama class is a bullet dodged, in my opinion.
When you’re applying to universities, sure, apply to a film school if that’s still your dream. But if you don’t end up going there, you won’t have missed the boat. Most people in the film industry didn’t go to film school. It’s not like medical school, or law school. It’s not mandatory.
My one bit of trust-me-on-this advice: work on your spelling and punctuation. Your original email had seven mistakes, which I fixed so that they wouldn’t be the focus of a lot of the comments. What I’ve written about professionalism has no minimum age requirement. You’re writing in to get professional advice. Make sure you’re presenting yourself professionally.
Lecture over. Go be sixteen.
Articles
September 14th, 2007 at 6:25 am
John, you are an excellent mentor.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:02 am
So much ageism on the blog lately. What’s going on?
September 14th, 2007 at 7:04 am
A bit of advice from me. Find out how you learn best.
Some people are able to learn best by reading. They can teach themselves by reading a bunch of good books.
Some people prefer hearing what they’re supposed to know. Film school lectures work better for them.
Others learn best by doing. Write something small as a test, get a few friends and a camera, shoot it.
It doesn’t have to be any single thing. For example, I learn stuff by first attempting to do it or thinking how I’d do it, then reading books while constantly thinking: “how does it apply to my current project?”
But once you know yourself, you can obtain pretty much any goal you set your mind to. (Well, any realistic goal, really.) Talent, in my opinion, is just better self-analysis skills.
I know you probably hate whoever says it, but you’re just sixteen right now. It’s too early to set life goals just yet. Instead learn to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. Learn to be honest with yourself so you can trust and believe in yourself. And experience life.
Oh and John is right about the importance of professionalism. Just don’t make the same mistake that I keep making: don’t oversell yourself or you’ll one day find yourself responsible for something you can’t handle. Confidence and professionalism put you ahead of 90% of the people out there. Being in the top 10% simply means that you have to work much, much harder than everyone else.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I’m 27 and only now am I really feeling like I have enough life experience to really write honest stories. Not that I haven’t been writing since high school, I’m just glad I’ve done a lot more in life and taken all those experiences in.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:38 am
I wanted to be a writer at 16, still do now. Beyond writing two scenes (two, count ‘em) for my class, drama class didn’t help at all. Plus, all drama teachers are insane.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:55 am
I was a high school drama teacher for (count ‘em) four months and I can assure you that anyone cut out for that job would HAVE to be insane. And they have my complete admiration… God bless ‘em.
September 14th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Most people I know don’t work in the field in which they majored. Heck, I majored in music at a conservatory, and I’ve worked mostly in marketing, PR, advertising and legal publishing. From what I understand, Mr. August was a journalism (or similar) major in undergrad. It’s good to know what you want and go after it, but don’t be afraid to change course if a better option presents itself. And don’t shut yourself off to learning other disciplines.
September 14th, 2007 at 8:03 am
I think this advice applies for any age.
Go be 31.
Go be 64.
Go be 23.
If you don’t actually live life, then your writing will be merely a copy of someone else’s experiences (unless you’re writing about not living life I suppose). That’s just rearranging scenes from movies you’ve watched or books you’ve read… but that’s not Writing. An original voice comes only from one who has lived enough to have something to say (and by “enough” I’m referring to quality not quantity).
September 14th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Thank you.
My spelling and punctuation may be horrible, but einstein couldn’t tie his shoes.Mine are the best bunny rabbits around.
September 14th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Yeah, Veronica, you haven’t missed out on anything. You definitely should go to college, but you don’t necessarily have to study film. To be a screenwriter, you need to have seen thousands of movies, and I’ve found that all (successful) screenwriters are avid, hungry readers, of novels, non-fiction, newspapers, everything. Great writers are great readers. So focus on that.
When you go to college, pick a major where you have to do a lot of writing and critical thinking. Doesn’t matter as much what kind of writing–journalism, papers, fiction, whatever. It’s all good preparation.
But what John said about just being sixteen is the most important. Don’t worry too much about the future–if you’re headed to college and you’re determined to finish, you’re fine. Open yourself up to as many different kinds of people and situations as possible, be curious and thoughtful and intellectually hungry. And do as much reading and writing as you can.
When you’re done with college, move to LA and get a job as an assistant at a talent agency. There, you’ll learn how the whole town works, and you’ll see what great screenwriting really is.
September 14th, 2007 at 9:25 am
You should quit.
Right now at 16, just stop all the writing bullshit – you’re too old to make a career for yourself anyway.
I kid…
Writing is, well, not all about writing. Live some life as you venture out into the creative world, it’ll be the best “schooling” you’ll ever receive.
September 14th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Hey John,
I’m 87 and still DYING to break in the film industry! Should I quit before my heart does?! Ever since I was 70 I KNEW I was destined to write.
Ha….sorry….couldn’t resist!
September 14th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Love the tone of your response, John. Your paternal instincts scream through.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:04 am
So much of success is simply not failing long enough for success to find you (if it’s going to, which is surely no guarantee). While the logistics would be impossible, I’d love to hear memories from failed screenwriters of the moment they “blew it”. Much more useful than advice to “not blow it” (just as “don’t step on any mines” is less useful than a map of where the mines are).
September 14th, 2007 at 10:54 am
“You’re sixteen. Go out and experience life.” Most important
Ryan – wait until 37, then look back and giggle. Everyone else had good advice too. I used to write a lot, but didn’t really “live”, so I had nothing to tell. Aways back, I finally went out into the world and started “living” and have much more interesting things to say. My writing has improved greatly from it. (Didn’t John just do a stint in Africa? bet it helped him out.)
So live a little bit, you may get some bruises from it, but so what?
September 14th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Good writing comes from life and its details.
September 14th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
When I was 16, I went on a summer exchange student trip to Japan. It changed my life. I would recommend doing something of that nature.
You have no bills to pay, no mouths to feed, no 9-5 you have to be at every day. Just experience life, because every story you write is going to draw from your experiences and memories in one way or another.
September 14th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
If I was 16 and I knew what I wanted to do, I’d start doing it right away. As a 16-year-old writer you can’t fail. At worst you’ll probably be good for your age, or people will be impressed if you’ve finished scripts at that age. This will be great for your confidence and that will help you flourish.
If by writing you feel like you’re missing out on life then maybe you need to change the way you write, or maybe writing is not for you.
September 14th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
It came to me one day – out of the clear, blue sky. Anything I do in life is “research” for my writing. And since I decided writing will have something to do with anything I do in life, well, I’m pretty well set. It’s like a giant secret I’ve kept all these years, smiling to myself. Yet, I know others are in on it.
Tina
September 14th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Veronica,
“Tying shoes” was not Einstein’s job. The fact he couldn’t tye his shoes had no impact on his ability to be Einstein. ;)
But spelling and punctuation are part of a writer’s job and not taking care of them will have an impact on your ability to write.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
John’s advice is spot on. And as others have said, life experience is like fertilizer for your writing. I’ve been a journalist, house painter, laborer, emergency services dispatcher, cotton doffer (don’t ask), customer service worker, industrial air-conditioning serviceman, office clerk and McDonald’s employee of the month. Every one of those gigs has added to my writing in some way. That and a lot of eavesdropping in bars. When I was your age I wanted to work in a bank for reasons that, at 36, now escape me.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Veronica,
You might want to major in something like communications, business, or marketing. That way you can get a job in the industry while you work on your screenwriting/filmmaking.
Go to a school where filmmaking can be a major.
But if you major in something else and partake in that career even a year or two after getting your degree- you can get a lot of life experience that will help you with your craft.
September 15th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Good writing comes from bad living.
September 15th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
The thing I learnt today from reading these comments is that all of us is a teacher/mentor/doctor/screenwriter/etc/etc.
The request I have is that no one question Veronica’s right to lock-down on a career at Age 16. It seems like too young an age only when you’re 39. At Age 16, it seems very difficult to take-advantage-of-all-the-million-opportunities-life-has-to-offer if you don’t know what it is you want to do with that life. Sure it changes, but it is a very irritating itch not knowing what it is you want to do.
September 16th, 2007 at 3:47 am
There was a fallow period of film about a decade ago that was filled with committed filmmakers that were the first to grow up with camcorders. Most of them lived and breathed film for their formative years and the movies they made, while occasionally entertaining, were wholly derivative.
Most of the directors had mastered their craft. They could move the camera and tell a story on a skill level that the working class helmer of the pre-video era couldn’t touch. They were film literate and made beautiful music videos.
But much of their work just wasn’t very good. It was dead on arrival.
The best thing that any young person interested in film can do is learn about anything else.
The technical skills of filmmaking aren’t incredibly mysterious and in a world of prosumer HD and final cut studio they’re even less of a leg up than they once were even at the beginning of the avid boom it wasn’t as if people were leaving film school with the skill set to work on studio pictures).
The rules of screenwriting don’t take very long to learn. And while internalizing and honing them with your god given talents as a writer is a lifelong process, it’s all for not if you don’t have something to say.
So learn about history. Politics, literature, sociology. Anything that interests you. Whatever interests you. Learn about a different artistic medium. Fill your life with so many experiences and view points that you can’t help but comment on them. Have something to say that’s meaningful and specific to you.
Write about something. Even tentpole films, the good ones at least, are worthwhile stories about the human experience at their core. See the world as clearly as you can. Work to understand it. Find a metaphor to tell the story and report back to us as honestly as you can.
And for goodness sakes, don’t be the 16 year-old that I was. Don’t shut yourself away with a pile of DVDs when you could be out in the world. Don’t shy away from that girl you really like for fear of rejection. Don’t do what it takes to make the grade without care for the subject matter.
Learn. Live. Experience life the way the emo rocker sings about it.
Remember what it felt like and pass it along.
The screenwriting, the filmmaking… You can’t do it well without knowing the world around you.
Even your insecurities and fears. They’re universal. Your relationships with your friends and family deserve as much study as any religion. And your findings will fuel every character you create.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Do what you want to do until it ceases to be fun. Then, find whatever it is that recaptures your imagination. When I was 16, I loved film. I also loved basketball and videogames and cheerleaders. Some of those have grown in interest and some have waned. Life isn’t worth living if you can’t find happiness within it, so strive for that. I’m an accounting major/aspirant screenwriter, so I think the “you gotta go to school in a writing-centric program” is unfounded. Anybody can write. If writing is your goal, then find what helps you write well: be that watching movies, reading stories, writing your own stories, or hanging out at bars engaged in debates on Sartre’s existentialism. But like John says, be 16. And enjoy it.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Rimbaud gave up writing by the age of 20, having written some of the most groundbreaking poems and prose.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Hi Veronica,
As others have said, go out and live your life. Experience is the best source of story ideas and even if they don’t get made into films, you’ll never lose those precious memories. I never went to school for writing but now I’m the author of a dozen novels, two non-fic books, and countless short stories that have all blossomed as a result of my experiences in life.
Never give up on your dreams. You’re at an age when the world could very well be your oyster. As you get some more years under you, other friends will abandon their dreams for the roles society tells them they “should be” playing: 9-5 workaday lives, married by XX and with kids by XX. (Nothing wrong with those, but just be sure that’s what you want, not what those around you want).
Also, never stop learning. You can literally find something in every situation or encounter that will help improve your skills. I’m learning how to write screenplays now even though books are more comfortable to me. Always keep reaching for new ground and challenge yourself to achieve more.
Best of luck with your aspirations! -Jon
September 18th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I can really sympathize with this boy/girl (in all honesty I kinda lost track but oh well).
I am a 20 year old communications major who is just now on his second year of digital film making, learning studio work, been out in the field etc. I started the work on my own and learned it on my own.
Film making consumes my life.
That’s a problem because it means I learn less about life and more about film making. The strength of that is that I can look at everyday situations and talk about them as film, but it also makes a weakness in the communication to some people- I don’t think in linear conversation, I think in movie angle vision, always trying to throw people off.
My point is it wasn’t until last summer where I literally just dicked around in my car, had no money, met with a bunch of younger people (and same aged and older) who were just sitting around, doing and selling drugs, fighting each other and trying to cause problems in the most white-bread area ever, that I learned where my Voice comes from.
You need to find your voice. I pray that you get out of the movie-watching business and start life watching. Otherwise you’re going to have Tarantino’s Film Voice, which while stylistically exciting, is pretty much soulless.
September 18th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Hi Veronica, When I logged onto John’s site today I had to laugh as it took me back to when I was 16. I couldn’t decide if I was going to be an animator for Disney or a movie editor and work for Steven Spielberg. I desperately wanted to go to film school but I couldn’t afford UCLA or USC so I ended up at the local college and tried to take anything relating to movie or television production. I got a BA in Telecommunications and moved to LA when I was 22. All I knew at the time was that I wanted to get into the movie biz. So I got a job at a movie theatre, that lead to marketing which lead to my first gig at a studio. I didn’t get a degree in film nor marketing but I find myself in a job I love. I met up with a few good people who mentored me throughout the way. I like to think my job picked me. I certainly didn’t think I’d end up in marketing but marketing suits me. Working in entertainment is tough. There are more dreamers than jobs. To make it you have to really stick with it and never give up even if you have no idea what you are doing. Don’t be afraid to stick your neck out there. The worse anyone can say is “no” and are you really any worse off? There is no one right path in becoming a writer, a producer or a director. When you are a “dreamer” for a living you have to imagine the right path for yourself. Successful people don’t give up. I’d joke around with friends for years that I was going to be the next Sherry Lansing and run Paramount Pictures and funny enough, by chance, my company was bought out and I suddenly find myself working at Paramount. I am not sure if I want to run a movie studio like Sherry but just thinking of her keeps me motivated. Hey Brad Grey can’t run the place forever and maybe when he is done there will be a place for little ole me. Don’t give up at the ripe age of 16. You are only at the beginning. Have a ton a fun. Meet a ton of people and jot your experiences down. I love to write. I never had anything published but someday when I am done with marketing I may give it a whirl. Don’t stop dreaming. If you are open to life, life has a funny way of being open to you. Best of luck Ms. 16!
P.S. I am the worse speller but John is right about professionalism. At the very least get to know someone who is a really good speller and have them check before submitting.