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Can Screenwriters Be Realists and Optimists?

by Ken Miyamoto on August 23, 2016

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." — Albert Einstein

It's a common misconception (sorry Mr. Einstein) that there are only two kinds of people — realists and optimists. But in order to survive the grind of chasing that screenwriting dream — especially in the current Hollywood climate — screenwriters need to be both.

Optimists 

The word optimism is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning best. If you're an optimist, you generally expect the best possible outcome for any given situation.

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Research has proven that optimism can help people deal with stressful situations — and any screenwriter knows that working in Hollywood comes with much, much stress.

Optimism has also proven to create more resilience in people. This is particularly helpful for screenwriters as they are forced to cope with endless rejection.

Where optimists often fall short, however — especially in the world of screenwriting — is by being overly optimistic, sometimes thinking that with little to no effort, everything will all work out and their dreams will come to them.

Because of this upbeat mindset, optimistic screenwriters are often the most likely to be gullible and naive. They will not hesitate to believe that the Batman sequel they wrote on spec will somehow get picked up by Warner Brothers for the next franchise reboot or that the script they wrote specifically for Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg will be read and considered by them and their representatives.

For optimistic screenwriters, this leads to blind hope that never shines any light on them.

Realists

Realists are often caught in the present, viewing things as they are in this current time. They usually don't subscribe to lessons and actions of the past — although they are well aware of them — and don't dwell on what could be. And they often aren't big risk takers because of that, at least not compared with optimists. This defines a lot of the people you meet in Hollywood right now.

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Screenwriters that are realists are often focused and very in tune with how the business is today. When you go to Writers Conferences or listen to interviews, you can often spot Hollywood realists — which include successful screenwriters, managers, development executives, agents — because they are the ones saying essentially the same things over and over.

"You need to have something based on IP (intellectual property)."

"No one is going to green light that dark and grim screenplay." 

"No one is going to take a chance on a newcomer."

"Westerns and fantasy scripts won't sell."

While these types of people can often do well in the current Hollywood system, there's often no vision that can lead them to the next trends and hot concepts and properties — instead they rely on established big names to take the risk and make that step, which is something that Hollywood development is suffering from these days.

Realist screenwriters are caught in the same vortex. Either they are choosing their projects based on recent or currents trends — which happened especially in the last decade with vampire and zombie genres — or they are submitting to the hindrances of what the industry is going through today with Hollywood's obsession with IP, lack of original material getting greenlit, fear of taking chances with a newcomer, and not allowing dead genres to be revisited unless a major Hollywood name attempts to. They may be putting up a good front for today, but they aren't willing to even think about new ways to shine tomorrow.

Pessimists and Fatalists

Realists are often mistaken for pessimists or fatalists while, ironically, pessimists and fatalists look at them as optimists.

Pessimists are usually skeptics or doubters. They need concrete proof of something before they submit to whatever belief. They are the first to jump online in forums and Reddit threads or raise their hands in writers groups to question any projected hope that optimistic screenwriters may be communicating or considering. People think that because of this they are overly negative and never accomplish anything — that tag goes to fatalists (see below) when in all actuality, pessimists are often those that facilitate the most amount of change.

Fatalists take pessimism to a whole new level, focusing solely on all negative aspects of any subject they can get their hands on. They are the ones that preach the doom and gloom of any given topic.

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You'll find them in forums and Reddit threads, offering no concrete perspective beyond chastising another screenwriter's ideas or pushing the notion that Hollywood makes nothing but horrible movies. These types of people are often the conspiracy theorists, Doomsday preppers, and — in screenwriting context — are those in writers groups that give nothing but negative feedback and pick apart any movie that anyone likes.

Becoming a Realistic Optimist

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An optimist and a pessimist, Vladimir Makovsky, 1893

 

If you want to have the best possible chance of surviving the screenwriting grind and see at least some success as a screenwriter, you need to find some even ground between all of these personality types.

You certainly cannot be a fatalist, because that will never get you anywhere, yet you can utilize the skepticism of the pessimist in order to avoid the many pitfalls, scams, and dead ends that a screenwriter faces on a daily basis — but only in moderation.

The ideal perspective to have on life and business is realistic optimism.

You should go into any given situation with an optimistic attitude. This not only helps you, but also those around you, including any Hollywood contacts that you come across. When they see that you have a positive attitude and outlook on life and your career aspirations, they'll be more inclined to want to collaborate with you on something. Email exchanges, phone calls, Skype calls, and face-to-face Hollywood meetings are litmus tests to see if you are someone that they can — and want to — work with for an extended amount of time.

However, they also need to see a realistic side of you as well. They need to see that you know and understand the guidelines and expectations of the current industry and that your own expectations are on a level playing field with them and not floating somewhere in the clouds with unrealistic dreams and expectations for the possible collaboration at hand.

One of the founding fathers of modern psychology — Albert Bandura — believed that optimism is the basis for creating and maintaining motivation to reach realistic goals and that success is often achieved when an individual believes that they will succeed.

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As a screenwriter, you need to believe that there's more than just a minor chance that you'll break through. If you fall victim to pessimism — and especially fatalism — you'll spend your time thinking of reasons why you won't succeed instead of creating opportunities for you to succeed.

That said, unrealistic optimists believe that success will come to them effortlessly. They do the least amount of work yet have the biggest aspirations — two elements that when mixed don't compute to a realistic end.

A blend of realism and optimism will help you survive through the trials and tribulations of the screenwriting journey.

It's All About Survival

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Optimists are positive because it's a way for them to survive through the rough patches by always believing that success and hope lies over the next hill top.

Realists live in the now because it allows them to survive and manage expectations in the comfortable and current climate of the industry.

Pessimists take realism a step further by questioning and denouncing everything first, allowing them to survive by avoiding everything they can unless odds are in their favor.

Fatalists survive by declaring that everything is either rigged or doomed, thus every failure isn't their fault and every otherwise necessary effort to pursue this difficult dream isn't worth the pain and heartache.

Realistic Optimists have the best survival rate. The combination of perspectives balance each other well. The optimist offers the realist a positive outlook amidst otherwise negative current industry standards and practices. The realist pulls the optimist down from the clouds — both when things are going bad and when things are going great.

So take a look at yourself in the mirror.

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Do you have a positive attitude, or are you drowning in a sea of negativity?  Do you go with the flow of what the current Hollywood standards and practices are, or do you try new things and test going against the grain with hopes of a positive outcome? Do you refute any and all new ideas or do you pick and choose wisely with hope that you'll find something that takes you where you need to go in the pursuit of this dream? Do you point fingers and blame the system or do you realize that making movies is tough — good or bad — and that making it as a screenwriter takes a lot of time, effort, and a little luck?

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