Passion is another key ingredient to becoming a professional screenwriter. You must have passion when you choose your subject matter, passion when you write it, passion when you complete it, and, most importantly perhaps, passion when you go to pitch it in the marketplace.
Because it’s passion that closes the deal.
Producers and agents are looking for writers who believe in their work and who understand that the feeling of “This is everything that I ever wanted to say” is what will make a movie or a television pilot a success.
Passion will give you the advantage over a colleague whose script may be as good as yours but who lacks the energy and drive to make others believe in it. In addition, passion frees you from the desperate need we sometimes feel for approval from other people whom we’re trying to sell our work to. Because we already know our work is good!
Remember, every screenplay is its own project, a deal that provides the possibility for many people to have success—not just you. So, when pitching or writing something new, be sure that you are completely and genuinely passionate about it. Only then will you be able to convey that enthusiasm to others.
