Re: A question for Readers
The idea that all a writer has to do is "write a great script" is based on the mistaken conceit that a truly talented writer can through his own God given "greatness" control his fate and have his "greatness" recognized and praised by those in HW.
It's a disillusioning and a little frightening to realize that your fate is out of your hands and that your efforts may go unrecognized while works you think of as inferior are acclaimed.
But that is reality.
Some people are not ready for reality.
Some people will never be ready for it.
There is nothing wrong with telling writers to write the best script they can, because it is after all the only thing we can control.
But there is everything wrong with telling a writer the only way to sell a script is to write a truly "great" script that is better than all others. As already stated many times by people more informed and eloquent than I, it is not founded in reality and even a casual comparison of scripts that do sell will prove that being "great" is not a requirement for a script to sell.
EDIT TO ADD:
I agree, Joe. Gourmet, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder or mouth of the taster.
The idea that all a writer has to do is "write a great script" is based on the mistaken conceit that a truly talented writer can through his own God given "greatness" control his fate and have his "greatness" recognized and praised by those in HW.
It's a disillusioning and a little frightening to realize that your fate is out of your hands and that your efforts may go unrecognized while works you think of as inferior are acclaimed.
But that is reality.
Some people are not ready for reality.
Some people will never be ready for it.
There is nothing wrong with telling writers to write the best script they can, because it is after all the only thing we can control.
But there is everything wrong with telling a writer the only way to sell a script is to write a truly "great" script that is better than all others. As already stated many times by people more informed and eloquent than I, it is not founded in reality and even a casual comparison of scripts that do sell will prove that being "great" is not a requirement for a script to sell.
EDIT TO ADD:
[Frankly, I don't care much for the analogy only because it is built around a subtext wherein the "Gourmet" writers have more skill and are better than the "Big Mac" writers, which is an arrogant fallacy that permeates the newbie world.]
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