"Don't kiss the newborn baby!"

 Newborns have soft skin and are squishy little cute suckers. But here's something you learn as a new parent: don't let anyone kiss your newborn baby. They haven't built immunity and that kiss can, in fact, be deadly. 

Anyone even holding a newborn should wash hands and, these days, mask up.

What's that got to do with screenwriting?

We have a loosely formed idea for a story. Some characters; some situations; and some early possibilities for story beats. What do we do? We try to tell our story idea to a friend, partner, mentor, and... it falls apart. We let someone kiss the baby!

Wait until you've worked out a treatment, and story beats, you want something fully formed in your own mind before you share it.

Well-meaning friends may derail your story, suggest something they'd write instead, or just crap on your idea destroying the enthusiasm it takes to pursue any artistic endeavor.  

They can enjoy the toddler version of your story. Until then, no kissing!

There's No On-Ramp into the Industry

 Learning to drive is stressful and, if you can avoid it, never teach someone to drive. You'll have at least one near miss, and at least three screaming fits. Send them to a driving school. 

That said, one of the most important things you learn driving is MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. This can be particularly stressful even for seasoned drivers as you merge into fast-moving interstate traffic. You're going up the on-ramp at 30-40 m.p.h. and now you've got to merge into traffic going 70 p.m., or. more as most regard speed signs as mere suggestions. 

What do you do? You're tempted to slow down to a stop and wait for a spot when it's all clear. But in a busy city... it'll never be all clear. Plus, there's traffic behind you trying to do the same thing. It's stressful and dangerous, and your split-second decisions can have a lifetime (or deathtime) impact.

You must speed up to the prevailing speed of the traffic and - somehow - merge onto the interstate.  

So, what's this got to do with screenwriting? Or any writing? 

We're competing with professionals. Getting my M.F.A. a few years ago at U.G.A. I realized that nobody has ever "made it" in the industry. Every writer - even those with big past success - is hustling for the next gig and is one flop away from irrelevancy. You have heat, you lose heat, and few can regain heat again once lost.

We have to speed up to merge. We have to improve the quality of our writing to a professional level, or it'll get run over. It'll get cast aside quickly as "not pro-level" execution. It isn't enough anymore to just have a great concept. You have to execute it at a professional level. 

For me, that's draft after draft - with pro-quality coverage notes between drafts - and 30 to 40 drafts later I've got something ready to be seen.   

"It's art..."

 I recently scored a "Double Recommend" from Stage 32. This read was done by a development exec and the "recommend" score is a top 1% evaluation. These readers often have read thousands of scripts.  The "double" is when they recommend both the script AND the writer.  Seems odd you'd get one but not the other ... but they're different categories in the evaluation. Stage 32 sends out an email blast promoting the project, which will generate reads.

I addressed the notes that were included in the "double recommend" and did yet another draft.  Then got a "meh" reaction with even more notes from the next reader.  

I tend to "box car" reads - do one; address those notes; do the next; then repeat.  Thirty to forty drafts later... should be scoring "recommend" consistently.  But not always.

My kvetching to a friend about this who is a contest administrator led to this response:

"It's art!"

"Huh?" 

"Go look on Rotten Tomatoes.  A hundred critics will be widely divided on the same film and the audience may be on a completely different page than them. It's art. Everyone has an opinion."

"Ugh!"

So, that said, what do we as creatives do to navigate all this?

We follow our instincts and do the best job we can do. If you agree with a note - even if your draft has scored highly - address the note. Incorporate what is useful to make your script the best it can be. That's all we can do.

Not everyone is going to love your story. Not everyone is meant to love your story. You'll find your fans and your tribe. You'll find readers who have your back and help you see weaknesses in the story or character development. And you'll make it the best you can make it.

Then move on to the next story and do it again...