On Writing: “Look for magic, but do good work”
Tom Benedek and I have got an incredible inaugural group of writers currently taking an array of classes with us at Screenwriting Master Class, a great balance of creative types outside the industry as well as many who work in some aspect of the entertainment business. A writer in one of my classes lived in NYC for many years working as an editor at a big book publishing company. I posted something on the forums about how we, as writers, look for “magic” in our stories. Here was her response:
We all dream of “magic.” It’s nice. It’s exciting. But more often than not, I’d advise my authors to just keep going. And the best ones kept going without any prompting. Anyone who’s been in this game for longer than not knows that it’s truly rare to find a hit-making machine. Even rarer is the author that hits it out of the park with any consistency AND who tries each time to write something genuinely novel. In books we’ve got our own version of the sequel I, II, III IV phenom and it’s called genre writers. These are the folks that establish a character and return to them time and time again. Could be mystery, could be thriller, could be romance. Doesn’t really matter. Change the plot, it’s still the same central character. Is the last of the books in the series anywhere near as good as the first (or fourth)? Rarely. Sometimes writers peak in the middle of the series, getting better as they go along. But, at some point, all authors hit the downhill slope. People keep reading the series. Readers love the character. We want to see the new plots. We’ve gotten a little less picky maybe. Or we just tolerate the fact that the magic’s gone because we like the formula. Point is genre is the bread and butter of many publishers. Because these writers keep at it. They keep going. They know the game and they play it. And they get lots of respect and love for that.
Now think of the more literary writer. Every time they write they have to start completely over. Do they get the “magic” every time? No way. Philip Roth is a great example. What if he’d stopped after his early successes? He certainly had more than his share of turkeys in the middle — and end. (I don’t even particularly love the early stuff, but that’s a different, probably generational story.) But man, I can’t imagine having missed out on the richness of his later work, particularly American Pastoral.
Now I know that Hollywood and the book industry can’t be compared. Many, many more books are published each year than movies shot (though now with Red Camera and YouTube, who knows what will happen.) So the market for writing in Hollywood is a very different one than for book authors (though NY publishing’s a tough one to crack as well.) But I don’t think the principles for a working writer are all that different. Look for magic but do good work.
Point is, feeling, really feeling it. That’s rare. But keeping at it. And continuing to just plug away until you get there. That’s what makes a writer. I feel like I’m probably putting this a bit too sharply, but I often think Magic’s overrated. Being a professional writer is about putting in the work. Picking yourself up and trying again — and again — after the failures. Approaching the task with optimism and renewed interest in the world and your new creation. That’s what makes a real writer.
“Look for magic, but do good work.” What a great writing mantra that is. My response that observation:
That’s a terrific post. And precisely what every working writer knows: A writer writes. Yes, we can dream of magic, as we ought, but while we’ve got our head in the clouds, our fingers should be clamped to our keyboards, pounding out pages.
It’s amazing how much I learn through teaching. I love it!