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THREAD: Before I was manager, before I was a producer, I wanted to be a writer. And while that didn't end up being the right path for me, I learned a lot from it that I use today. And there's one lesson that I discovered near the end, that I wish I'd learned a lot earlier. 1/
I'd initially wanted to be a director, but directing shorts at NYU cured me of that ambition. Kenneth Lonergan has said that while he was directing YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, he woke up every morning and threw up. I didn't vomit, but I understood what he meant, even on a short. 2/
So I segued to writing, which was far more my speed. The first feature script I wrote won the Sloan Foundation's screenplay competition at NYU, which awards cash prizes to outstanding scripts that focus on science or scientists. I was (and still am) very proud of that! 3/
After graduation, I worked as an assistant at Appian Way, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company. I worked alongside @franklinleonard, who was an exec there, before he created the Black List. Hollywood is a very small town! 4/
Eventually, I left Appian to take a job as an assistant to @AndrewWMarlowe and @TerriEdda, and that led to a job working as a Writer's Assistant on CASTLE. 5/
The entire time I was working on my own writing. Coming up with ideas, writing pilots and screenplays. But, honestly, I ended up with a lot of ideas, half-done outlines and first acts. Not many completed scripts. I had a real problem making myself sit down to write. 6/
Ever since high school, I'd scoured interviews with screenwriters, looking for what I considered "The Secret." That is... the Secret Writing Process that would unlock me writing great scripts in a timely manner. 7/
I'd read @CreativeScreen religiously and they'd always ask writers about their process. I remember Robert Rodriguez talking about waking up at 5 AM and writing for hours before anyone else was up. I tried that and, as the least morning person ever, it did NOT work for me. 8/
There was never finishing a scene and picking it up next time. There was ALWAYS finishing a scene and stopping. So on, so forth. I tried them all, but still hadn't found THE SECRET. I was convinced that once I found it, everything would click for me. Like a key turns a lock. 9/
Then I started working on CASTLE. I was there for 3 seasons surrounded by so many talented writers -- some starting their careers, some already well into theirs. I had a chance to sit in the room with them, see them break story. To spellcheck their outlines and drafts. 10/
And I finally had a realization. There was no SECRET PROCESS. All these successful writers wrote incredibly differently. At different times of the day. At different speeds. They all had their idiosyncrasies. There was no one uniform process they'd figured out. 11/
Maybe that realization was one of the reasons I transitioned from writing into producing. Because I couldn't make the excuse of searching for The Secret anymore. It was clear that whatever issues held me back were mine and mine alone. 12/
But I also found that realization so incredibly freeing. There were no secrets here. It was absolutely up to the writer. Whatever worked best for them, that was the best way to do things. They just had to figure out a process that worked for them. 13/
I say all this so that up & coming writers don't feel artificially shut out or that more successful writers have figured out some Secret. The only thing they've figured out is the process that works for them. And that's all YOU need to figure out as well. 14/
This all may seem counter-intuitive since I give a lot of writing and process tips here on Twitter. But take the tips that work for you and ignore the ones that don't. It's all about learning what works and discarding what doesn't. Don't try to force anything. 15/
At a macro level, that's what I've done with my career. I've taken what I learnt working in feature development, on a TV show, as a producer, and as a writer -- and put it all towards the role that works best for me, being a literary manager. 16/
Every day I use knowledge from the various paths of my career to help push my clients' careers forward. I didn't become a producer until I was 30. And I didn't become a manager until I was 35. I don't view that as a late start, I view it as happening when I was ready. 17/
It's rare that any career is a linear path. Mine certainly wasn't. But how you get there isn't dependent on figuring out some secret that everyone but you knows. It's about taking what you've learned along the way, from success and failures, and using it. 18/
I learned I wasn't meant to be a writer. But I did learn that I had a gift for spotting great movie ideas. Today I use that for my clients, but I was pretty good even back in college, when I won that Sloan Foundation Award in 2000 for my first script. END https://bit.ly/39wxjnN
