What Screenwriters Can Learn From Black Belts

So my friend Margaux Froley earned a black belt last weekend. After seven long years of work. We went out to lunch the next day and as Margaux proudly showed me her bruises and talked about the long journey to earning the black belt it suddenly struck both of us how much like being an aspiring screenwriter her journey has been.

Seven years ago, Margaux told me, she and a friend thought – Oh! Black belt! I want one! – and joined a dojo. A year later they both quit. A year went by and Margaux rejoined. She kept showing up at every week’s session, no matter how tired she was or how inconvenient the class was. Months and years went by, as Margaux kept at it. I remember her telling me about a particularly hard punch, kick or exercise that knocked the wind out of her. She showed me enormous black-and-blue marks on her legs. She bowed out of activities and happy hours because it was Tae Kwon Do night. And she never gave up.

Finally, last weekend, she was awarded her black belt and as her picture was taken and she smiled proudly, she knew that it was an accomplishment that could only have happened because she never quit trying. Every bruise, every kick that left her flat on her back only served to inspire her to get back up and keep trying. She realized very quickly that you don’t just “go get” a black belt like some new jeans at Fred Segal. You have to earn it.

So here’s encouraging you aspiring screenwriters to ice those injuries, get back up and keep showing up again and again for your writing. Your writing will improve as long as you are open to feedback and learning. While not everyone who keeps at it will sell a script or have a lucrative career, I tell you one thing: Those who give up too soon have taken a possible negative outcome  and made it a guarantee. Eighty percent of success is showing up. Screenwriting is a game of attrition. How bad do you want it?

Here’s to you, Miss M.