YOUR NEXT SPEC

"How do you choose your next spec wisely, knowing how much of an investment of time it is?" - @KoshaEngler on Twitter.

Great question! It's especially pertinent for me having been lucky enough to be commissioned for six features in a row. For a long time I didn't have much free time to work on my own ideas and when I did I had to make sure the screenplay I chose was the right one. So how do I choose the right idea?

Don't write what is current. Once you've written it, polished it and sent it out, the subject matter or genre will be yesterday's news and everyone else would have moved on to the next big thing.

Write what interests you. This is especially important if you have very little time. You're more likely to drag your heels if you're not 100% committed to what you're writing. There's nothing worse than finding yourself working on a new screenplay and you're not enjoying it. It doesn't motivate you and you're more likely to end up with something that isn't your best work. If it's a subject, genre or story that interests you, you will automatically work harder at it and it will show on the page.

Give it everything you've got. Don't write the screenplay with an eye to selling it. This sounds daft, right? Actually, it isn't. I know that if I deliberately try to write something commercial it tends to be watered down and the screenplay ends up being not as strong as it could be. Be bold with your writing. Forget budget restraints. Don't hold back. Give this screenplay everything you have. Why? That's simple.

I wrote my spec feature FAITH while I was going through a really tough time in my personal life. I poured all of my feelings, my angst, my anger, my dispair and my disillusionment with the world and people in general into the words I put on the page. FAITH won an award and it's still the screenplay that gets me all of my commissioned work. It's my calling card script and it does a fantastic job as an advert for what I can do. What I'm saying is, the screenplay might never sell, but if it's a shining example of your work people are going to read it and sit up and take notice of you. It'll get you work. It will lead to other opportunities. It will be that career boost you need.

Happy writing.