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In This Chapter
Over 40 years ago I made a career decision that changed the course of my personal and professional life. At the time I was a telephone company supervisor with a crew of installers and repair technicians. It was good work and I enjoyed it, but I was also somewhat of a career split personality. At heart I was a writer. I knew that words had enormous power and I loved finding ways to explore that power. I happened to be visually inclined as well.
In the late 1970s an opportunity came my way to write a series of half-hour telecourse scripts for a local PBS TV station, and that sealed the deal. I found that scriptwriting fit perfectly with both my writing and visual aspirations, and my desire to make a living as a writer. But I was still a telephone company supervisor, so most of my time was spent in the field keeping track of my crew.
It was a few years later when another opportunity presented itself—a chance to leave the field as a supervisor and move to the company’s video production facility, which, at the time, was a well-funded and professionally outfitted television studio. After some serious soul searching, and discussions with my wife, I made the decision to leave behind my previous role and take on a different type of work and new challenges—those of a full-time scriptwriter.
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That journey has been amazing. The creative challenges have been some of the most intense, but personally rewarding, of my life. Graduating from a writer to a director, and eventually a producer, was a period of incredible growth that I wouldn’t change for the world.
And in recent years, new challenges: I am honoured to be able to pass on some of what I have learned to new writers, producers and directors, in hopes that I may help guide their careers to be as rich and rewarding as my own.
If you are one of those newcomers, or perhaps a media professional wanting to move into writing, producing or directing, my advice is very simple:
Write: Write everything you can think of and, whether it’s good or bad, just keep writing. Like making shoes, practicing tennis or repairing cars, the more you do it, the more accomplished you will become. Of course, it’s also advisable to find writing classes, but most important is simply the act of writing—a lot!
Direct: When you feel you’re ready, direct. It may not be some high-end project financed by a company that is paying you, but you can still find (or invent) projects. With the advent of today’s ultra-simple, inexpensive and easily obtainable production and editing gear, there is no reason not to direct. And like writing, keep doing it. Strive to improve your skills. Look at what you’ve done with an objective eye and find ways to improve. Also, search out new ideas and creative ways to express yourself on the screen.
And yes, produce. This might not come right away, just as directing may not come until you’ve become an accomplished writer, but it will come if you keep at it and make it your mission to continually challenge yourself by learning new skills and putting them to work on the screen.
So there it is. Now, the last piece of advice—the shortest but most important one of all:
Go for it!