10 Things That Hollywood Taught Me about Being a Writer

by guest blogger Jennifer Dornbush. 

 There’s an old adage in Hollywood: “An overnight success takes ten years.”  I’ve seen this come true over and over. Even in my own career, it has taken eight years between
drafting my first script to getting my first paid gig.  And during that time Hollywood taught me a few things about being a writer.

1. Live Well

I’ll be honest. Los Angeles was never my pick of places to live. It’s not even on my top ten. But this is where I (and my husband) have been called and immensely blessed. You can’t beat the weather, the food, and the scenery! On the flip side, the city fosters a competitive environment, high cost of living, constant traffic snags and often a sense of isolation.

Living in LA has challenged me to live a well-lived life no matter what my situation. The core concept here is to root yourself so that when the storms of life blow in, they will not shake or divert you from your calling to be a storyteller.

What does this look like for me?  It means paying attention to all facets of my being. Spiritual. Intellectual. Physical. Emotional. Relational.

Specifically? Taking pleasure in the little moments. Celebrating all the big and small victories along the way. Working hard. Being there for my husband, family, and friends. Exploring something new every week. Looking people in the eye and greeting them with a smile.  Keeping a deathbed perspective. And the list goes on….

A well-lived life is like a house built on solid ground.

2 – Stick out!  

I don’t like to stick out. I prefer to blend in. But that does not move a writer’s career forward. My first year in Hollywood I met a charismatic mentor who explained how necessary it was to set myself apart from the hundreds of writers competing for a small segment of jobs.

She told me the key was to develop my brand. This certainly didn’t happen overnight. And it happened in the most unusual way. I was working an entry-level job in post-production for an HBO TV show. The assistant editor on the show gave me the book, Body Farm, because he thought that with my forensic upbringing, I would find it interesting. I did!

And as I read the book, something clicked. I knew A LOT about this world because I had literally grown up with it in my home. I dawned on me that as a crime/mystery writer I could offer a unique look into the forensic world.

I started build on this brand. I enrolled in the Forensic Academy, wrote a book aimed at giving writers forensic insights, put myself out there as a crime drama writer, and began teaching forensic seminars for writers.

And now I stick out.

3 - Networking is Not a Naughty Word

How did this armchair introvert become a social extrovert?  Bottom line. I had no choice. I knew that if I wanted to succeed in Hollywood, I had to learn to branch out.

That Hollywood cliché, “it’s all about who you know” is100% true. Any job I’ve ever gotten in Hollywood, (even that entry level job in post-production), was because of a referral.

Therefore, I’m always open and trying to meet new people. For events (my least favorite type of networking) I developed strategies:

1. I use the buddy system. I bring a friend or meet up with a friend.
2. I prepare three icebreaker questions I can use on anyone.
3. I make a goal to collect three new contacts.   
4. After the event I follow up and stay in touch – mostly via email.

My long term networking plan is quite simple. Just be a friend and stay in touch.

Some ideas: follow up coffee dates, congratulate people on their successes, share good news, offer to help others, selflessly connect people, never take ‘not getting the project’ personally, and never burn bridges!

I find that no relationship I fostered (even in the tiniest way) is ever wasted. Case in point: A director I met seven years ago hired me this year to write a feature film. What was happening during those seven years of “networking” in between? We became good friends, bounced ideas off each other, had coffee, stayed in touch. Nothing wasted. Everything gained.

4 -  Slay the Writing Slumps  

About every three to six months, mild career depression sets in and I dream of ditching all the pressure of LA and retreating to my Michigan roots to live out my days in a serene lake home near my family and old friends.

This, of course, never happens because we believe that Hollywood is our mission field.I say “our” because my husband and I are a team on this adventure. He has a great position for a production company. It keeps us grounded here and makes him very happy. And that makes me happy.

Meanwhile, I’ve come to recognize these seasons of wanting to quit are normal parts of the journey for us artists.  Over my years in Hollywood I found four things that work like medicine to help me slay the slumps.

1. Every six months I take a verbal and written inventory of where I’ve been and what I’ve accomplished. Doing this shows me that there has NEVER been a time in all my years as a writer when my career has not been moving forward.

2. Encouragement Mantras. These are prayers, Bible verses, quotes, or words of encouragement gathered from mentors and friends.

3. After I’ve finished a project, I take a small break by leaving town. This may be a day, a week, or a month depending on what else is going on. It’s one of the best things I do to survive Hollywood.

4. And lastly… I try to live well.

 5 - Become a Renaissance Writer

This lesson I learned early in my screenwriting career. One of my first projects was producing a documentary about an 84 year old, nearly blind painter, Armand Merizon. As I documented his entire life’s work (from age 12), Armand taught me the importance of having a Renaissance mentality.

This mentality propelled Armand to continually master different forms of painting and topics.... from realism to surrealism to impressionism.

This happened because he read widely and kept up with current events. He studied classical music and great artists. He started an artists group and mentored new artists. He observed nature and traveled. When he later developed macular degeneration, he adapted to this new handicap by mastering yet another form of painting. He painted until almost the day he died at age 90.

Armand showed me the importance of living a renaissance life.

Here’s my writing Renaissance plan: Try writing in new genres. Work with a co-writer. Be an active member of a writers group. Listen to artistic podcasts. Go to seminars and conferences. Mentor other writers. Teach. Enjoy other forms of art. Visit new places (even within your hometown!). Learn a new language.  And, live well.

6 -  Don’t Be An Island Dweller

My favorite island (other than Kauai) is in my cozy living room chair with my laptop, my two dachshunds, and my imagination.

Living on that island that only get my writing career so far. It’s not healthy for writers to live on the island too long. If I want to be published and produced I have to get out of my living room island and go to my writers groups, have coffee with my mentors, take classes, mentor other writers, go to networking mixers, attend conferences, and take meetings.

If I’m not getting off the island at least once or twice a week, I’m not progressing as a writer.

Writers, there’s nothing wrong with loving island life; but we need frequent trips to the mainland if we want to flourish.


7- Guess What? You’re An Entrepreneur

Imagine my surprise when I got to Hollywood and learned that the entire system is entrepreneurial. Suddenly, it wasn’t enough to be just a great writer. I had to also become a savvy businesswoman. Because I AM the business and my writing is my product. I started to freak out as I realized that my Hollywood success would be measured largely by how well I understood the business of the business.

If this overwhelms you like it did me, take a deep breath and know that you can this in just two simple steps (with some homework assignments along the way).

Step 1: I made a decision to learn from entrepreneurs around me. I attend seminars. I listen to podcasts. I read articles and books on the subject. I try to absorb and practice the things that will be most helpful to me.

Step 2:  I built a team of people to support me where I am weak. Some of these team members include: my attorney, manager, lit agent, mentors, veteran writers, webs designer, career consultant, and my amazing husband, family and friends. These are all people who want to be on Team Jennifer. How cool is that?!  It really takes the dread out of being a business and makes it fun.

No entrepreneur makes it by herself.  There are people out there who want to be on Team [Your Name]. Now go get them!

 8 – Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day.

This was one of my grandmother’s favorite sayings. And now it has become one of the themes of my life. It especially holds true for my writing career in Hollywood.

How am I building the Rome of my writing life?

I try to cultivate patience and persistence.

I created mission statement so I know where I’m headed.

I measure all my writing projects against that mission. If it detours me or does not add value to my writing life, I simply don’t do it. For me, that means no favors for friends, corporate work, short films, reality TV. Your list will look different.

I set weekly, monthly, and yearly goals and write them on a giant sheet of post it paper on my office wall. I’m faced to hold myself accountable every day.

Do I meet them all? Nah. And I’m okay with that as long as better career opportunities or writing assignment take their place.  For instance, last year I had a goal of completing a new TV pilot to shop around. Just as I was positioned to start writing the pilot, I was asked to write a feature film (for hire!). Did this project fit into my writing mission? Absolutely! So I put off the TV pilot for a few months and took the feature gig. Now, I’m back on track with my TV pilot and will have a shoppable draft in just a few weeks right in time for staffing season (that time of year when networks want to hire writers).

If you’ve ever been to Rome you can’t ignore how rich and deep and amazing the city is because it’s literally been built on for centuries. Same will hold true for your storytelling if you just hang in there and stay focused.


9-  Don’t Quit Your Day Job

 No news flash here… but let me add a little challenge. Find a day job you enjoy doing.

It takes a long time for most writers to be able to support themselves with their craft.  It’s no different in Hollywood.  In fact, the odds of “making it” may actually even be more depressing for screenwriters than novelists.  Combat those odds by finding a day job you really enjoy.

I’ve had a quite a number of interesting day jobs since moving to LA. I’ve served in a restaurant, worked an admin position for a ministry, critiqued scripts, transcribed footage in post-production on TV and films, taught college, mentored writers, and coached non-English speakers at a high profile language school.

I used each situation to grow my professional skills. Meet new people. Challenge my social and intellectual life. And have some real human interaction. This is all a part of Living Well!


10 – No One Knows Anything

This is another favorite quip here in Hollywood. The underlying premise is that everyone’s opinion is subjective and therefore, my career is at the mercy of the willy nilly. I was never comfortable with this. And the truth is, I Do actually Know Something about story. And so do you.  And so do many of the decision makers out there. Just gotta find your way to them.

Here’s a classic example… I wrote a TV spec script last year called Meltdown. For those not familiar with the script world… Spec scripts are non-paid scripts we write to show off our work. Basically, they are portfolio pieces. It’s very, very, very rare that a spec script sells.  The aim is to get them to open doors for you.

I sent out Meltdown and the mixed responses started to come in. One producer didn’t connect with it at all. Another agent said it needed a complete rewrite. The script went on to win the Fox/Blacklist Competition and it got me a meeting with a production company who now wants to develop another project of mine.

A good story is a good story. And it will catch editor’s, reader’s, and viewer’s attentions.  Don’t live under the cop out of No One Knows.  You know who you are created to be. Rest assured that the Giver of the Gift expertly guides your success. 

Which of these ten points resonated most with you?

 
Jennifer Dornbush is an LA-based writer who scribes crime dramas for film and TV and is starting to delve into novel writing.  Wanting to share her love of forensics with other storytellers, she scribed Forensic Speak: How To Write Realistic Crime Dramas. She regularly leads seminars on forensics and fiction, hosts webinars on crime writing and has collaborated with The Writers Store and Script Magazine to produce a series of videos on crime writing and forensics for writers.  Her Forensic Speak Newsletter and Twitter feed reaches hundreds of writers with current forensic tips and developments.

 
You can read more about Jennifer and connect with her here:

www.jenniferdornbush.com

Twitter: #ForensicSpeak

FB: ForensicSpeak

Today Jennifer is giving away a copy of Forensic Speak to one commenter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

Buy your own copy here.

 Crime stories have always intrigued viewers and storytellers. Today, crime shows rule the airwaves and there is truly a procedural drama out there for every personality — and every writer. Born out of the author’s real-life experiences growing up around death investigation, Forensic Speak unlocks the secrets of forensic science for writers and fans alike. With a filmography of 100 film and TV examples and 80 additional resources, the book provides writers direct access to hundred of ways to make their crime writing more authentic.