charlton heston and edward g. robinson in soylent green
while relaxing on the set of soylent green (1973), which was to be his final film, cinema legend edward g. robinson overheard a young actor complaining about the length of time they had to wait between takes. edward g. robinson agreed that it was irritating then said,
“i figure that’s what they pay me for. the acting i do for free.”
now here is a guy who obviously loved what he did! a film career that spanned 57 years and 101 films including little caesar, double indemnity, key largo, the cincinnati kid and the aforementioned soylent green, is evidence of that.
there is something to be gained from robinson’s attitude to work. his approach to which elements of his job as an actor were most important to him can be adapted to any creative field. so let’s look at why it is important to condition yourself psychologically into working for ‘free’.
as i’m sure you’ve heard many times before, writing is not the best choice of occupation if you want to be rich. storytellers do it because they love it and are compelled to do it, and if they can crank out a living out of it then that is often enough. making a living, however, requires additional skills than simply being able to spin gold out of letters and words.
when you’re working on a project, there is more to do than writing a great script. if you’re working for a production company there will be (potentially annoying and soul destroying) notes sessions, treatments and outlines to write and possibly pitching to financiers and other creative talent. writers that enjoy all of these aspects are few and far between – if you are one of them, then my hat off to you – but for many writers, these are tasks that keep you from writing scripts.
in the same way, if you are writing on spec, there is a huge amount of legwork necessary in the attempt to get producers, agents, etc., interested in you and your work. researching which production companies or agencies to approach, and which employee at those companies are the right ones to contact first, is a time consuming process. and then there is the dreaded day job if you have one – the need to put food on the table and pay your rent can take a huge chunk of your day.
this is why i feel it is important to condition yourself psychologically into believing that when you sit down to write your scripts, you are doing it for love not money. sure, its a job, but it is one you have chosen because it is what you want to do!
it is your story and they are your characters that you have nurtured and grown to love. you enjoy spending time with them and you either wonder what they’re going to get up to or how they’re going to react to what you’re about to throw at them. even when you are hired to write on a project that isn’t yours, you should find yourself eager to get to know your new found friends and what makes them tick. you have to give yourself into it otherwise it will show in your work.
relatively few people have jobs that they absolutely love, so when it is time to write, free your mind of the pressures of the real world and any money that’s involved and simply enjoy the creativity – it is what you live for after all!
it worked for edward g. robinson – i hope it works for you too!
happy writing
phil
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