Learning from failure

Funny I read screenwriter David Botrell's post yesterday morning. He wrote about what happens when you write something and it's a flop.

Last night my manager called me and told me my new script, the one with the bigger story, hook, higher concept, didn't sound like my voice at all. That was a bad thing. This script which I spent months writing, will not be going out as a spec script and will probably never see the light of day. It wouldn't be a cheap movie (there is action in it) so for a studio to buy it, they would have to really be into the concept. It was Legally Blondish meets Mr. and Mrs Smith.

After staying up all night and going through the usual "I suck. I should have never quit my day job, etc. , this morning I said to myself, "Alright. On to the next script."

I had fun writing my action movie. It was a good experiment trying to write something out of my comfort zone. After hearing the first script had good characters and dialogue but where was the hook (this makes it hard to sell), I wanted to write something that was a "bigger" movie.

What I have learned from this failure is I can't try to predict what is marketable. I know mainstream Hollywood is all about high concept, teen boys, shit blowing up and Indie Hollywood is a mess. Trying to write something in order to "fit" into the narrow boxes of studio movies will not serve me well as a writer. I need to write stories I really want to tell and let the chips fall where they may. Who knows what will happen?

What I do know is I can't sit around today a funk. I felt like crap last night. I have to squash the negative thinking right now.

I'm going on a walk around the Historic Center.