Find Your Rhythm And Stick To The Discipline Of That Rhythm

“Find Your Rhythm And Stick To The Discipline Of That Rhythm” Advises A.E. Jones From Stagecoach Entertainment:

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Stagecoach

What’s the worst advice you’ve heard given writers?

“You must write every day in order to be a writer.” I really can’t stand this advice – it presupposes that only the act of putting words on paper or a screen is what counts as ‘writing.’ However, most people who take on this creative endeavor know that there is so much more work that surrounds the ‘writing’ part – noodling, sketching, outlining, workshopping, writing, looking for gigs, networking, getting feedback, rewriting, venting on Twitter, rinse, repeat.

The better version of this advice is, I think, “Find your rhythm and stick to the discipline of that rhythm.” Deadlines are our friend, so if you know that you need a day or two to stare into space before getting your thoughts on paper, build that into your schedule and stick. To. It. Your process to produce pages and hit deadlines only needs to work for you, whatever that looks like.

How many scripts should a writer be writing each year?

As many as are needed in order to grow your skillset, progress creatively and in commercial understanding, and challenge yourself as a writer. While that might sound frustratingly vague, let me explain because this is an area where quantity over quality can really hurt a writer.

Whenever I meet with writers, one question I’m always asking is, “Why?” – why did you write this script? What did you want to achieve from it? Why was that important to you? Did you grow a skillset or challenge yourself in some other way? What did you learn from it? How will you apply that to your next project? The writer with two samples but can thoughtfully answers those questions will usually hold my attention more than someone who cranked out five or more scripts but didn’t spend the time to think about what to do next and why before diving into more writing.

The caveat to all this is, of course, age of sample – if the script you’re sending me is much more than 18 months old, I’m going to have a lot of questions about what’s been happening for you creatively in that gap.

What else should they be doing to advance their careers?

Get involved in your creative community! One thing I’m always looking for and working to create is a sense of community while I’m working. What attracted me to the entertainment industry in the first place is that it’s the ultimate team sport, where projects can get killed for an infinite number of reasons that have nothing to do with the merit of a script or how well it’s written, and we figure out ways to get that project made anyway. Navigating that incredible field of landmines requires teammates that you know, trust, share values with, and have a united goal. You need to be surrounded by those people even more when it comes to the part all of us hate: having to kill a project and move on to the next thing.

The way that I’ve found a pool of great humans I trust and work with regularly is by openly sharing with others in ways that help move a bunch of us forward. In my business, that’s sharing information, ideas, projects, and writers. For you, maybe it’s giving feedback with group of people who want to be comedy writers for TV, or brainstorming with a group of cozy murder mystery novelists building a following, or even hanging out with a random group of industry people who play DnD regularly. Find your humans, share your genuine self (and often your career advances when you stop actively trying to advance your career everywhere you go).

How much should writers pay attention to the trades in terms of what scripts have been sold recently?

We should back up half a step to this question before moving forward. Before you can pay attention, you need to know what you’re looking for and why.

Odd story, but go with me on this one. When I was a kid, I used to get involved in organizing games for my mom’s annual company picnic. My favorite game was “Find the Needle in the Haystack,” expect plot twist, I got to be the one hiding the needles and watching other people trying to find them. Playing this game taught me not only how valuable it was to know what you were looking for, but to have an organized and methodical way of searching for it.

Personally, I never look at trades without first asking myself, “Whose needles am I looking for today?” If that’s an hour-long drama writer who writes elevated soap, that’s where I’m going to focus attention for that client. What needles are you looking for to move yourself forward as a writer? Focus your searches and tracking on those.

Describe the best pitch you’ve had. What elements did it contain?

I’m kind of an eternal optimist in the sense that I feel like I’m always looking forward to the best pitch I ever hear. Knowing that, there are a few elements I look for, and what gets me excited when they hit:

-Clear story engine: This is clearly my television experience talking, so your mileage may vary here. To me, the most exciting story engines are the ones that are part thesis statement, part architectural blueprint, and part business case. It’s enough for me to want to see a way to build on and play with the idea, where I see a path through to potential commercial viability.

-Fully fleshed out, “human” characters: The best pitches I’ve been in feature characters that I feel like I can hear, see, and get a vibe for. Personally, I’m a stickler for as much nuance and complexity in a character as possible (and that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m only looking for ‘humans.’ Hands down, the best written character I’ve seen in 2021 is Wammawink, from the brilliant, animated show Centaurworld, and she’s a pink llama centaur).

-Relaxed Passion: I know that sounds weird. That being said, the most fun I have in pitches are with the writers who are relaxed in their own skin and the story they’re telling. It’s totally okay to be nervous, but I encourage you to push that energy into having fun sharing your story. The only way I know how to do that is by a ton of practice and getting feedback along the way.

What’s the best way to writers to reach out to you and what preparation should they have done prior to doing so?

I do a fair amount of outreach on my own, but most writers get to me by referral. The other way is getting on one of my spouse’s Dr. Who RPG teams. I love guest starring when he runs games because then I get to eavesdrop on the players’ story and character skills.

Should a writer seeking representation have a few script in a similar genre or should they display their versatility and write across a range of genres?

We’re in a time where showing range and flexibility is increasingly what gains traction, rather than being a specialist in one field, so I tend to look for writers whose portfolio shows a few different angles on their writing, whether that’s different formats, genres, what have you. What I think is key in having a library where you are crossing formats, it’s knowing what elements link between them to create a through line that showcases your voice as a writer.