What to Write Next?

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  • What to Write Next?

    I recently signed with a new manager and I'm trying to decide what to write next. I have a list of a couple dozen ideas, any of which I would love to develop and write, but my manager has rejected them as being, among other things, not high-concept enough, not franchise-worthy, not salable, too expensive, too inexpensive, too big, too small, too unrelatable to a teen demographic, too much like another spec that got shopped and didn't sell, too much like another project set up at a studio, etc.

    He's told me that I need to sit down and come up with the next [insert title of low budget box office success that has now spawned multiple sequels].

    I'm feeling pretty stifled. How do you balance writing what you're passionate about with what the market/your rep dictates?

  • #2
    Re: What to Write Next?

    I had a manager who did this (many do to be honest) and I think I went over a year without writing anything new, trying to please him. The one thing I did write, I just did on my own but I found when I left that manager I had no new material to show anyone which was stupid of me.

    At the end of the day we know what we are passionate about and what we can and can't do. I think reps underestimate how much passion factors in to how well you write something (or at least it does for me). You could have handed me the idea for INCEPTION (which I loved by the way) and I would have mucked it up probably.

    You can always try "one for you, one for them" type thing and keep yourself multitasking in case one doesn't pan out. But really there's no marketplace to follow anymore and just because a movie does well it doesn't mean anything because it's so IP driven now. Nobody knows what will be hot until it is, and then it's never hot again.

    Listen to your gut. Follow your instinct and just always be writing something. Don't let yourself be stifled to the point that you are a writer who's not writing.

    And short little story -- I wanted to write this western pilot and I told my reps and it was silent with a hesitant, "Well if your passionate about it, then write it." I wrote it. It got optioned, got an Emmy nominated director attached, and got me tons of showrunner meetings -- had I listened to them, I would have never written it.
    Quack.

    Writer on a cable drama.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: What to Write Next?

      A good writer/manager relationship is creatively liberating.

      A bad writer/manager relationship is creatively stifling.

      You should never feel as though you're writing FOR the manager. You shouldn't be writing to please your manager. As corny as it sounds, you two must be a TEAM. Their job isn't to steer you in line with the market forces. Their job is to guide your sensibilities so that they intersect with the market forces. It's a small, yet crucial difference.

      At some point, you might want to step back and evaluate whether your manager is pushing you onto a higher creative and professional plane. Or are they locking down your creative brain, making you second-guess your choices?

      I had a similar experience as Ducky. My career has that "lost year" where I spun my wheels trying to give my manager a carbon copy of what was hot. When I finally called the relationship quits, I had nothing new to show for it, and I had lost a bit of my voice and passion for writing in the process.

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      • #4
        Re: What to Write Next?

        I am another one of those people who had the experience of trying to make my rep happy by finding an idea they liked, which resulted in me not writing, which resulted in me getting frustrated, which resulted in me eventually writing something I wanted to write anyway, which resulted in me leaving that rep.

        This is common, unfortunately.

        Don't go down that rabbit hole.

        Don't give your manager yes-or-no authority. Rather, listen to their concerns, be aware of them, and write what you want to write. If they tell you, "that's too much like X, which didn't sell" ask if they can get you a copy of X to read.

        If they don't know how to do anything other than say "No," or "Give me something more like Taken," (or insert whatever film they're using today because it's what everybody is supposedly looking for) then you probably are going to need to part ways with them.

        I wrote a script that was passed on by 15+ managers. If one of them had been my rep, I know he or she would have discouraged me from writing it. I even know what argument they would have used (about the setting) because more than one manager who passed told me what the problem was likely to be. I'm currently expecting and offer from LITERALLY the first producer I sent it to.

        You have to write what you're excited about.

        If you're not excited about writing the next Taken (or whatever) then you won't have success writing the next Taken. The guys who live and breathe to write things like Taken will have success writing the next Taken. They'll be better at it than you are. Write the script that lights a fire under your ass.

        Yes, if you want to have a career, you're going to have to either a) figure out how to be passionate about something that's commercial or b) create an audience for the stuff that you're excited about. But "my manager wants me to write X," is a TERRIBLE reason to write X, unless you're also excited about writing X.

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        • #5
          Re: What to Write Next?

          Yep, add me to the list of having a lost year (or more) thanks to a bad manager-client relationship.

          Everyone else has pretty much answered the question, but I will say that it's a good idea to constantly be developing scripts and ideas regardless of whether or not your manager says okay. You got this far on your instincts, so keep trusting them. Which idea must you write? Which one is tugging at you so hard you can't ignore it? Start developing that one. Meantime, keep throwing ideas at your manager. If he/she likes one and wants to develop that one, and you're on the same page, go for it. But keep doing that other one. You have to learn how to juggle multiple projects when you're a pro, so might as well start now.

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          • #6
            Re: What to Write Next?

            I know sometimes it's with good intentions because if you write something that's low concept AND you don't execute it to a higher standard then it all feels wasted. So they think if they can get you in the right concept vehicle, the execution has more wiggle room.

            My manager and I were having this conversation the other day because he wasn't sold on an idea that I told him about (that I was developing with the guidance of a showrunner) but it's something I really wanted to explore so I just had to say, "Look I know you don't love this idea but let me show you my vision and how I can make it work. My gut is telling me to write this and I can't ignore it." And he said, "If your gut says to do it, then do it. I'm happy to be proven wrong." He's genuinely a good guy and we've been through this step many times. Sometimes I'm right, and sometimes he's right.

            But again it's about starting a conversation and building a partnership, not a dictatorship. The reason he told me "I'm happy to be proven wrong" is because he and my agent didn't like the idea of me writing that western and they had to eat crow because of how well it turned out. But on the flip side, my last pilot was solid but I wrote in a genre that was so flooded that it doesn't stand out and we have to shelve it. Had I ran that by them, maybe they would have talked some sense into me because it wasn't necessarily one of those ones I HAD to write. I just needed to sit down and do something over the holidays.

            Don't be afraid to start conversations -- if they don't want to keep an open dialogue and be a "Yes or no" person then they probably aren't right for you.
            Quack.

            Writer on a cable drama.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: What to Write Next?

              Thanks for the feedback. I've had two prior managers and they, too, have only been interested in super high-concept material that they can take out wide in hopes of selling it to a studio for big bucks. Unless they felt that a given script of mine is at that level, they wouldn't involve themselves with it.

              Being that this mentality is all I've encountered so far, I don't know if this is the norm. Are there managers out there open to, and who will champion, well-written scripts that aren't studio fare? I'm asking, honestly, because I have yet to work with a manager who will put in the effort to get a script like this produced.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: What to Write Next?

                They shouldn't stifle you, but you also don't want a manager who tells you to launch into something unless you are both fully invested and on board. Sometimes you need a rep who can tell you up front that an idea isn't worth months of your time.

                That said, if you are passionate about a particular idea that you can't seem to get your reps behind, then write the first ten pages, or a 5 page outline, and convince them.
                Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: What to Write Next?

                  Originally posted by ducky1288 View Post
                  And short little story -- I wanted to write this western pilot and I told my reps and it was silent with a hesitant, "Well if your passionate about it, then write it." I wrote it. It got optioned, got an Emmy nominated director attached, and got me tons of showrunner meetings -- had I listened to them, I would have never written it.
                  My jaw literally dropped when I read this. Amazing. Great story, Ducky. Quack on, sir. Quack on.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: What to Write Next?

                    I had 2 specs go out that we wrote w/o reps and got us those reps. We have failed at writing material while with a rep and going out. Failed with 2 sets of reps, 2 managers, 2 agents. It's painful and frustrating. And reminds me to write what you want because nobody knows ****.

                    If we had pitched the 2 ideas while with a rep, even if they liked them my guess is the notes we got would take us away from our instincts and it just wouldn't be the same spec and probably would have suffered that same fate of not being good enough for them to go out with.

                    I know writers who seem to experience the opposite, but more have felt the way you have OP.

                    When I look for managers and we get far enough, we usually talk about "what will you write next" so did that not come up before you signed? And what happened to the project that got you signed?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: What to Write Next?

                      OP, in this case what your manager is advising you do is something called 'chasing the market'.

                      Successful pro screenwriters advise AGAINST chasing the market. Who are you going to trust, pro screenwriters (people who've accomplished things) or a manager (person who leeches off talent of others)?

                      Managers want to be the boss of writers without paying them under the guise of a 'working partnership' in which the writer does all the work but manager shares in the spoils (Lion's share if they also produce).

                      Today's aspiring writers need to look at the History of Hollywood and realize, movies were much better BEFORE writers started using 'managers'. Why aren't we seeing cool innovative specs? As this thread points out, many mangers are instructing their writers to chase trends. Chasing trends may be in the manger's best interest, but it is wrong for the aspiring screenwriter, and it kills passion and innovation. And it causes lower quality in movies in general. See how managers are messing up the movie industry at large and why it's imperative to return to a time when movies were better, a time before managers for writers even existed?

                      Managers are not necessary for success unless a writer is not yet ready to make important decisions for themselves, in which case the writer is not ready to be a working pro. What kind of important decisions? Oh maybe something like what a writer should work on next. Really, you need someone to tell you what to feel passionate enough to write? Really? And you call yourself a writer? In the absence of payment, PASSION is king. It's the only thing that will carry you to a strong engaging story.

                      Managers have no problem wasting a writer's time chasing trends, it costs the manager nothing. Until someone PAYS you, you are your own boss, not some manager, who is just out there guessing about the market like everyone else. The manager is guessing the market, but the price to be paid when he's wrong is the wasted time blood sweat and tears of the writer.

                      Writers don't be afraid to tell managers to jump in a lake. Without talented writers to leech off, what do managers have? Nothing. Maybe they can find work at the post office. Without managers, what do talented writers have? Still a good shot at a fulfilling career (depending upon talent level).

                      Check YouTube for pro screenwriters interviews if you don't believe what pros say about chasing the market.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: What to Write Next?

                        Wow, above post is amazing. Thank you!!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: What to Write Next?

                          Originally posted by mgwriter View Post
                          OP, in this case what your manager is advising you do is something called 'chasing the market'.

                          Successful pro screenwriters advise AGAINST chasing the market. Who are you going to trust, pro screenwriters (people who've accomplished things) or a manager (person who leeches off talent of others)?

                          Managers want to be the boss of writers without paying them under the guise of a 'working partnership' in which the writer does all the work but manager shares in the spoils (Lion's share if they also produce).

                          Today's aspiring writers need to look at the History of Hollywood and realize, movies were much better BEFORE writers started using 'managers'. Why aren't we seeing cool innovative specs? As this thread points out, many mangers are instructing their writers to chase trends. Chasing trends may be in the manger's best interest, but it is wrong for the aspiring screenwriter, and it kills passion and innovation. And it causes lower quality in movies in general. See how managers are messing up the movie industry at large and why it's imperative to return to a time when movies were better, a time before managers for writers even existed?

                          Managers are not necessary for success unless a writer is not yet ready to make important decisions for themselves, in which case the writer is not ready to be a working pro. What kind of important decisions? Oh maybe something like what a writer should work on next. Really, you need someone to tell you what to feel passionate enough to write? Really? And you call yourself a writer? In the absence of payment, PASSION is king. It's the only thing that will carry you to a strong engaging story.

                          Managers have no problem wasting a writer's time chasing trends, it costs the manager nothing. Until someone PAYS you, you are your own boss, not some manager, who is just out there guessing about the market like everyone else. The manager is guessing the market, but the price to be paid when he's wrong is the wasted time blood sweat and tears of the writer.

                          Writers don't be afraid to tell managers to jump in a lake. Without talented writers to leech off, what do managers have? Nothing. Maybe they can find work at the post office. Without managers, what do talented writers have? Still a good shot at a fulfilling career (depending upon talent level).

                          Check YouTube for pro screenwriters interviews if you don't believe what pros say about chasing the market.
                          This ignores so much.
                          Last edited by Geoff Alexander; 07-06-2015, 03:03 PM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: What to Write Next?

                            "Don't listen to managers. They just want you to write what's hot. Write what you're passionate about and screw anything else."

                            Makes me wonder why people in this thread even waste their time having managers.

                            There are people who write only thing things they're passionate about. They're called novelists.

                            Reminds me of kids coming right out of college who only want a job where the boss listens to all their ideas and they don't want to do any grunt work.

                            What happens if you get hired for an assignment? "Oh, no, that's too stifling."

                            What happens if you get hired into a writers room of a show you didn't create? "Well, I'll do it if they let me write what I think is best."

                            Maybe your manager is giving these suggestions because they actually want to get you meetings/sales. You fought to get representation. Why don't you listen to them?

                            "Oh, yeah. I wrote some things off manager suggestions, and none of them sold." Really? You wrote something that didn't sell. That's called screenwriting. I'm sure every single of your passion projects sparked bidding wars.

                            Nope. Managers are idiots that are only interested in chasing trends.

                            Of course, I'm being facetious here. There are good and bad managers out there. You have to balance your opinions and theirs. But unless you're repped by a brand new manager, they probably have some idea what's going on.

                            You know how not being passionate about a project affects the quality of your work. Now think about how passionate your manager is about your script and how that might affect how hard they push it.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: What to Write Next?

                              Originally posted by mgwriter View Post
                              OP, in this case what your manager is advising you do is something called 'chasing the market'.

                              Successful pro screenwriters advise AGAINST chasing the market. Who are you going to trust, pro screenwriters (people who've accomplished things) or a manager (person who leeches off talent of others)?

                              Managers want to be the boss of writers without paying them under the guise of a 'working partnership' in which the writer does all the work but manager shares in the spoils (Lion's share if they also produce).

                              Today's aspiring writers need to look at the History of Hollywood and realize, movies were much better BEFORE writers started using 'managers'. Why aren't we seeing cool innovative specs? As this thread points out, many mangers are instructing their writers to chase trends. Chasing trends may be in the manger's best interest, but it is wrong for the aspiring screenwriter, and it kills passion and innovation. And it causes lower quality in movies in general. See how managers are messing up the movie industry at large and why it's imperative to return to a time when movies were better, a time before managers for writers even existed?

                              Managers are not necessary for success unless a writer is not yet ready to make important decisions for themselves, in which case the writer is not ready to be a working pro. What kind of important decisions? Oh maybe something like what a writer should work on next. Really, you need someone to tell you what to feel passionate enough to write? Really? And you call yourself a writer? In the absence of payment, PASSION is king. It's the only thing that will carry you to a strong engaging story.

                              Managers have no problem wasting a writer's time chasing trends, it costs the manager nothing. Until someone PAYS you, you are your own boss, not some manager, who is just out there guessing about the market like everyone else. The manager is guessing the market, but the price to be paid when he's wrong is the wasted time blood sweat and tears of the writer.

                              Writers don't be afraid to tell managers to jump in a lake. Without talented writers to leech off, what do managers have? Nothing. Maybe they can find work at the post office. Without managers, what do talented writers have? Still a good shot at a fulfilling career (depending upon talent level).

                              Check YouTube for pro screenwriters interviews if you don't believe what pros say about chasing the market.
                              I have so many problems with the above I don't even know where to start. It is the epitome of bad advice based on sour grapes.
                              Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

                              Comment

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