This week's Answer: THE
FEAR OF SCREENPLAY SELLING I
think all screenwriters have that fear at one time or
another (most likely at a time before they sell their
first screenplays). The American Medical Board of
Medicine and Drugs That Won't Kill You have recently come
up with an official name for that very fear. It's
called, "NoScreenplaysaleophobia," the fear of
never selling a screenplay. The best remedy is to
face that fear by going to a therapist in Los Angeles who
is also a producer who, so that he can cure you, will buy
your first screenplay.
Or there's another way to solve this
problem. It's possible, Sera, that, instead of
trying to sell a screenplay, you've actually been...
TRYING TO NOT NOT
SELL A SCREENPLAY
That may seem a little
convoluted. I'll put it another way: Instead
of trying to sell a screenplay, you've been...
TRYING TO AVOID
FEELING THE FEAR OF NOT SELLING A SCREENPLAY
And trying to avoid
feeling the fear of not selling a screenplay and trying to
sell a screenplay are two entirely different things.
I recommend that this
shadow part of your personality that continues to daunt
you with fears about never selling a screenplay needs to
be embraced as Carl Jung, I believe, recommended (or Neil
Young when he sang about his Cinnamon Girl, I think it
was). Either way, it's best not to run from that
fear, or any fear, for that matter. Let's always
recall Winston Churchill's prophetic and sagacious
words...
"The
only thing to fear is the fear of not
selling a screenplay itself."
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