Why are there more incompetent failures and charlatans offering courses, teach-ins, books and webinars in screenwriting than any other artistic endeavor ?
Screenwriting : Education by Mark Dowie
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Well I look at it as weeding a garden to find the true beautiful fruit of effort. I tend to believe that failure is also the only true prerequisite to becoming an established screenwriter. As I'm considered "New" I must always maintain hope. Hope you do too if it is your passion.
Lyse, You're right, and i have to admit that I have learned something, albeit one small thing, from every "teacher" I've had, particularly the failures who are willing to admit their shortcomings, know why they failed and share their experiences. That said, it would also be nice to find more writers of truly good scripts, that became truly good films on the learning circuit. There just appears to be a more lucrative market for writing books than there is for writers. So there are dozens of redundant, formulaic screenwriting texts (I have a shelf-full) out there, and more appearing every week.
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If I were advising writers to read only one book on the topic of writing it would be Stephen King's, and his advice on the subject can really be reduced to a single word: READ !!! That said, I will check out the others you suggest.
There's an old adage in my former profession (journalism) that is, I'm sure, true of other professions: "If you can't do it, teach it." It is from there that my cynicism about the screenwriting education industry grows, there and the countless, redundant and completely useless books and courses I have tried.
Its the secret to wealth ~~
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We are the reason, we are the very marketplace which allows supposed failures and charlatans to thrive. It's not so much that we are foolish or gullible, just that we are lost and desperate for guidance.
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Why? Everyone thinks they have an amazing, original story to tell and everyone thinks they can write. Everyone. As long as there are people with dreams there will be people that try to take advantage of them, in any profession, but with writers it all comes down to everyone having a story to tell and many of them really not being good at telling that story. But, if you want to talk about charlatans... be a producer looking for money. ;)