Every “no” is one step closer to a “yes.”
That’s a little motto my producer father taught me. And he knew. He proved that “get up off the mat and hit ’em again” works.
My dad’s motto is more than a lesson in persistence; it is a mathematical certainty, and a spiritual one. It means there are x number of “no’s” between you and victory, so why not get through them?
And do so with a smile?
Why not look at that “pass,” that “no thanks,” that “sorry, we already have something like it” as getting closer not farther away from your goal. We are closer every time we even assay the field.
I love this philosophy. It helps me stay in the game when a string of “no’s” urges me to quit. We are indeed getting closer each time out.
But we must also ask an important question: closer to what?
You say you are closer, but what does that mean?
What is your goal for today? What is your goal for this month? What is your goal for this year?
Are you getting closer to these goals, or do you have to re-tool, change goals, and figure out a new way?
We are half way through your best year ever! This is the year you succeed wildly. This is the year you become what you always wanted to be. This is the year, 2008, when all your dreams come true.
What does that look like?
Do you have a clear picture of what you’re wearing when the phone call comes? Have you picked out the pool that will be in the backyard of the house you buy with the proceeds from your amazing spec screenplay sale that everyone in town is talking about? Do you know what charity you’re going to give to with the money that comes flooding in your door — and maybe it’s not a bad idea to start tithing now?
The routine of pursuing our goals sometimes becomes exactly that — routine. We write x number of pages per day, send out x number of email queries per month, attend x number of meetings with our writers groups. All good. It’s the process.
Yet occasionally we must take a beat and look around. As we push toward our goal, let’s pause and assess exactly where we’re going.
Failure is not an option for us. We are here to succeed. We are here to get closer to our goals by becoming better in the face of a “no.” And that alone is a “yes” I can proudly claim every hour of every day!
How is your year progressing? What is your assessment of how you’re doing — and what changes do you have to make either in your goals, or your approach to them, to make this year the best ever?
Mostly, what can we do to help? That’s also why we’re here. If you need help, ask for it. If you want feedback, get it. Ask for help. And ask for success. Say it out loud, and every “no” will become a “yes.”
Blake Snyder
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Very nice post, Blake. Thanks.
Amen, brother!!
Ack! Didn’t mean to post it twice! Oh well. ‘S true!!
What an inspiring blog! Just the pick me up I needed today :) Thanks for all your wisdom!
Blake, you’re like the coach that gets up pumped-up during the fifth round of the fight when we’re sitting on the stool, our face a pulpy mess, and we’re saying “I can’t do it, I’m not going to make it. Call off the fight.”
You know what would be great? If the computer gurus who wrote your software could come up with a little Max Headroom version of you that we could have on our desktops (like a Widget, or something) that would give us random pep talks and advice. “Every n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no, is closer to a yes yes yes!”
For my part, I have a screenplay in competition with the Nicholl and the Final Draft screenplay competition. I’m visualizing myself winning both of them! Why not? I can see myself going up to accept my award. I’m already working on my acceptance speeches.
But more importantly, I’m currently working on my summer tent pole movie, which will be finished by September, so that when all the opportunities flood in I’ll be ready with even more product for my agent to throw into the ring. And the strange thing is, that ever since I’ve been doing more visualizations of my success, my writing has been getting better. Last night I was reading what I had just written during one of my frequent trips to Starbucks with my iBook, and I even blew myself away. “Wow, did I really write that?”
You’re right! This is the year! Years from now, when I’m being interviewed for the cover story in Script magazine and I’m asked about how I broke in, I’ll be saying, “Well, back in 2008…”
I wish everyone here all the success in the world.
Well Blake, I guess you’ve put as all in a reflective mode today. So I’m just thinking; why shouldn’t we get to the bottom of it?
You make as wonder about our goals and their hierarchy. Most of us probably can easily define the everyday tasks which help us to climb higher and higher in a pursuit of the first big goal — breaking in. Maybe I am not there yet, but anticipating the facts, I guess the real question about personal goals pops out just then. Because isn’t a goal only a point in a distance we are trying to reach? And what if we finally do? Pick another after another? In that case, what would the goal of all our goals be?
That brings me to reflection on our ultimate goals which seem to be rarely discussed among screenwriters. Why do we do what we do? What do we want to achieve at the end? Or in other words; what’s our ambition? Is it strictly personal or universal? Do we just want to take or give? Do we actually have anything to give to the world?
Perhaps it’s a matter of age, but I believe in ambition and power of individual. History shows that sometimes one man (or woman, of course) can actually change the world, even if the main thing he (she) does is inspiring the others. Do we have this kind of ambition or would we be easily satisfied by a writer-manufacturer with a nice check status?
Whatever our motives are, the most thrilling thing is that right now, among us, there are young people waiting to be discovered. A new wave that may change the face of the Industry one day. Interesting how many of them will derive from STC! philosophy.
Great Encouragement, Blake! A healthy balance of a positive outlook, determination to succeed and the reality of where you are and want to be are key to anything in life worth having. On that note, I’ll be talking with you very soon!
Shane, I appreciated your words and attitude. I look forward to entering competitions someday. Best of luck to you!
Yes, yes, yes.
I think when I “make it” things aren’t going to really change all that much. (Hopefully) – In a way, I’ve already made it, now I just want to write some phenomenal stories in a movie format. I live where I want, have many blessings, and do what I want (ev en if it’s not for a living yet) – i.e. break stories which come in through my “antenna” and try to make them hit the beats, so that they’ll carry the message to the powers that be.
As far as inspiration, I had a moment that came from a place completely unexpected – ROCKY BALBOA – giving the “fire up” speech to his son out front of Rocky’s restaurant, about how you don’t blame everybody else for things not going your way – if there’s something you want in life, you go get it. And then he threw it really down – “It’s not about how hard you can hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” That stuff gave me goose bumps – I need to have that cued up on the DVD player. Wake up, sip some coffee, brush my teeth – watch the PRIME 20 seconds of ROCKY – then get to work!!
Afterall, I got a Bentley I gotta buy. Just Kidding!!
Bravo. Thank you Blake. Magically, your inspiration continues just when I need it.
Along with my latest rejection, they added:
But the door’s wide open if you wanna pitch future projects…
And back to writing I go. You will be the first to hear when it is a YES. Thanks from all of the Chicago Cool Cats.
Blake – amazing post! These are things we all need to internalize and remember. Years ago I worked with Flash Forward, an organization that urges entertainment folks (and others) to set specific goals, set milestones, and most of all never give up. It’s the old saw about Edison trying a thousand times to create the first light bulb. What if he stopped a 999?
Charging forward…
I haven’t been around here long, but I have to say that the enthusiasm, determination, COURTESY, encouragement, great senses of humor, practical pointers and insight found in the posts and comments here have made me a regular reader. I came here as a novelist just looking for “Hollywood” help with story structure. I am getting so much more.
Thanks and all the best to everyone here.
Blake:
You’ve raised a philosophical point that can generate many strong plots.
Good, commercially viable, stories come from listening to the popular philosophical undercurrents — assumptions people use but don’t challenge. Dramatize a challenge to one of those blythe assumptions and you generate a dynamite plot.
And you’ve done just that with this post.
There is a powerful, popular saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
You have said keep doing it and you WILL generate different results – at least once, and once is all you need.
Our prevailing culture nurtures a “failure” attitude. If it doesn’t work the first time, quit, or make random changes to avoid being thought “insane.”
You have expressed the “heroic” attitude prevalent in science fiction, fantasy and action/adventure. Die hard.
These attitudes are diametric opposites. These two attitudes are “in conflict.” Thus they form the backbone of a plot!
Science says we live in a world governed by probability. But science also says two people, in different places, doing the same thing will get the same results. Results are repeatable. That’s the key to the scientific method.
Yet, science also says that you can throw the dice a certain way hundreds or thousands of times — and no matter who does it or where, the dice will fall a specific way an exact percentage of the time. That is — do the same thing over and over and get differing results in the short term but predictable results in the long term.
You have said in this blog that in the long term, the well constructed script will sell.
We know that if our dice are precision crafted (i.e. our scripts are properly structured), that it is a matter of random chance whether a given production company will need that particular script right at that particular moment.
We know that if the script is solid and we keep it on the market, it will sell — or attract attention to another script we would love to sell.
One time in a thousand, or one time in ten thousand, we win. Persistence pays because the longer something has not happened, the more likely it is to happen. Keep at it long enough, and science says it is inevitable, repeatable and reliable.
But another good old saying holds that it’s better to work smart than to work hard.
We need to spend the rest of this year on adjusting the ODDS, increasing efficiency, targeting specific markets.
Maybe a dramatized discussion of the definition of insanity would sell.
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://www.simegen.com/jl/
Very inspiring post, Blake, thanks for that! Especially as this was the week in which I received one of those potentially demoralizing Dear Johns myself …
It’s no coincidence that a lot of screenwriters write about how to deal with rejection; it’s an inescapable part of the career path.
I absolutely agree that the “get straight back in the saddle” approach is the only sensible one. Recognize the reality of the situation, refocus on the next goal and get going again. But that requires motivation, so it’s important to know how to motivate yourself in difficult times.
One way I find helpful to muster motivation, is to remind myself why I write. Besides the potential fortune I intend to earn, writing that summer blockbuster, there is also an immaterial goal to my writing, which I believe most writers share:
Imagine the thrill of your film becoming a milestone in someone else’s life. That romantic date when they met their fiancé, that inspiring night out which tipped the balance in some life-changing decision, that unforgettable family gathering when Aunt Sadie wet herself laughing, etc.
I wrote a little piece about this on my blog: http://ravingdaveherman.blogspot.com/.
Someone else who often writes about rejection and how to deal with it, is the wonderful Jurgen Wolff, whose blog Time To Write (http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/) is absolutely worth checking out!
Time for me to get back into the saddle.
Regards,
Dave Herman
A thousand times thank you, Blake.
YES! I am convinced this is our year, and we only have to keep pushing, no matter what. And these positive posts of you remind us of it.
This is so important, because you keep us focused in our goal, which after the All is lost of a “No” and in the midst of the DNOTS of the “what went wrong?” your words become Realization to Break Into 3 to keep on fighting and believing we can make it.
Your words are much needed fresh water on a walk through the desert.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
An update on me: I am waiting for a producer’s response on the cooks script, and the other day I received feedback on my boxer’s script from another. They won’t buy it, but they liked the writing, and something amazing happened: they snuck me into a real production meeting where the execs were discussing brand new ideas to develop.
As the only writer in the room, and with my pitch-homework done, I coud deliver three pitches that they seemed to like. They asked me for a little development on that ideas, which is what I am doing now, so if they like it, in some time I might have my first assignment!
You’re right! Success is the only option.
I’ll let you know what happens! And a million times thanks.
All the luck for you and your life!
You’re only a failure when you stop!