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“You know, it’s very easy to write one script and then talk about it for three years,” says filmmaker Judd Apatow. But according to Judd, successful writers don’t stop there. They stay consistent.
“The people who succeed are the people who write a script and then start the next one the second they’re done,” Judd continues. “When I was first starting up, a friend told me that he sold the tenth script he wrote.” That knowledge helped Judd, who learned that it takes a long time to sell a script. “I’m not supposed to become some famous rich person on the first script,” he realized. “You have to hope it happens early but be willing to write those ten scripts to make it.”
Filmmaker Caran Hartsfield agrees. “It’s an incredibly daunting process, even for professionals,” she says. “And it’s hard to settle in and just go step by step. The first step is to exhale and know that it’s going to be a roller coaster ride.”
Caran also points out that not every writing session comes easily. “There are going to be days when you are so excited that it’s coming together. And there are going to be days of ‘What was I thinking yesterday?’”
On some days, filmmaking and writing can feel out of reach, and writers can doubt themselves. Still Caran offers encouragement for writers. “I’ll tell you a secret,” she says. “A writer writes. If you write, you’re a writer. So just write a little bit more every day, and make that a habit.”
Caran has a friend who commits to writing every day, even if it’s just one sentence. “I think that’s a really good practice,” Caran says, “and it’s something that I have personally incorporated into my own practice. I find that it creates momentum.”
