I have a great idea for a TV show. How do I find a writer? Well, you don’t. That’s like saying “I have a great idea for a gymnastics flip. How do I find a gymnast who’ll flip it for me?” The hard part is not coming up with the idea. The hard part is flipping. Are you going to approach Simone Biles and whisper in her ear, “Hey Simone, I have a great idea for a floor mat routine. If I tell you what it is, will you give me a cut of your next gold medal?” Fool! She’s going to do a flip right over your head. There she goes. Bye, Simone!
That’s how it works. Same thing with writing. Okay. It’s not like we’re on a conveyor belt in a factory, on an assembly line, click, click, click, click, click, waiting for the next idea to come along. We’re creative people. We have our own ideas. We’re going to write those. That’s not to say that I often don’t write other people’s ideas because I often do.
Occasionally, a famous actor or a famous comedian will approach me and my writing partner, and say, “Hey, I have this idea for a show that I want to be in. Will you write it for me?” And we’re like, “Yeah, we’ll do that.” Same thing happens when a director, big-shot producer, or a studio executive has an idea that they want to do. “We’ll write it.
Why? Because their attachment to the project will help sell it. And I get paid when I sell. I don’t get paid if I don’t sell it. I get paid when I sell it. So it’s not the idea we’re responding to. It’s their attachment to the idea. Now, your idea may actually have some merit to it. Maybe a good idea. But what are you going to do? Well, here’s what you do you. You write it yourself. And you’re like, “Yeah, but I’m not a writer.” Well, no one’s born a writer. You have to learn how to write. You take a course.
I offer an online course at MichaelJamin.com/course. And you’re like, “Yeah, this guy tells the truth, but I don’t know if I trust him. Okay. Well, find someone else’s course to take and learn how to write from them. And two things will happen. You’ll discover, “Hey, this writing thing is kind of hard. Now I understand why writers aren’t lining up for my idea,” or you’ll discover that you’re actually good at writing, in which case you don’t need a writer anymore. You don’t have to cut anybody else in. You write it yourself, and you be the captain of your own destiny. Now does that make sense?
So for more on more tips on how to become a better writer, or how to break into Hollywood, you can follow me here. Subscribe right now, or you can follow me on Instagram @MichaelJaminWriter.
