Question: Is there a better term to use than “aspiring screenwriter”?
The most common term I see used to describe someone who is working to become a professional Hollywood writer is “aspiring screenwriter.” Yet there are some folks I have run across in the online writing community who take umbrage at that description. I’m not sure precisely why that is the case, but I suppose it’s not surprising that some would offer up a different term: “pre-pro”.
I can see why that might appeal to writers because a “pre-pro screenwriter” sounds like they would be further along in their journey than an “aspiring screenwriter”. However “pre-pro” carries with it an implication that the writer is just one step away from becoming a “pro” writer. In some ways, that is true: All it takes is a great spec script falling in front of the right set of eyeballs to make that happen. Conversely, as we all know, there are no guarantees anyone will successfully make that transition. In other words, it’s not like a “prep-pro screenwriter” is in college and once they graduate, they become a “pro screenwriter.” It just doesn’t work that way, the path to becoming a Hollywood writer is much more about creativity, talent, voice and persistence than anything else.
So my question: Is there a better term to use than “aspiring screenwriter”? And given the long odds against becoming a “pro screenwriter,” something other than “pre-pro” as well. Has anyone run into a better description? Or perhaps folks will generate one in comments. Maybe someone will offer an argument why “aspiring screenwriter” works just fine. Or defend “pre-pro”.
Let me end with an anecdote. Years ago, I was teaching a four day writing workshop at UCLA. My featured guest was Lisa Joy, who had taken two online screenwriting classes with me, then gone on to considerable success in TV and feature films. In the workshop, Lisa made an interesting point. She told the group that before she had landed a gig writing for the ABC series “Pushing Daisies,” the job that launched her Hollywood career, she had stopped thinking she was an aspiring screenwriter and began to act like a professional. That is, she thought of the ways she imagined how a pro writer would approach the craft, then adopted those practices into her writing life even when she was outside looking in.
I think that is great advice. The more you act like a pro in the daily practice of being a writer, the more you will be prepared if you do make the transition from outside to insider.
Write every day. Track the business. Stack projects. Generate story ideas. Network. Read scripts. Watch movies. Analyze them both.
Establishing those ‘pro’ habits will not only set you up to succeed once Hollywood calls, they should also help you to be more productive and enhance your odds at breaking in.
Sounds like a great time to remind people of my 1, 2, 7, 14 plan: A simple formula to be a more productive and better screenwriter.
Bottom line, no matter what you call yourself — aspiring, pre-pro, or something else — get those solid work habits in place.
And if you do have an alternative descriptor for writers who have yet to break into Hollywood, I’d love to see your suggestions in comments.
UPDATE: Go to Geoff LaTulippe’s twitter feed (@DrGMLaTulippe) to Wednesday, January 28 at around 1PM Pacific to catch his thoughts on why a writer should not use the term “pre-pro”.
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