The Mission Statement

Many Wavers may have heard the story about Zach Helm (Stranger than Fiction) and how he wrote a mission statement as a way of establishing a clear vision and control over his career and his future. What? You never heard that? Yeah, he's making a lot of money right now, guys.

How many Rouge Wavers have articulated definite goals about their writing and their careers? Interestingly, we often plan our weekends far in advance. Our holidays and get-togethers are meticulously planned. How many here already have some sort of plan for Labor Day? A fair percentage do. And yet - what is your plan for your writing? Really - not a dreamy plan, not a fuzzy, philosophical plan but a real, business-oriented career plan. And that, Rouge Wavers, is how you use "plan" or a "plan" derivative seven times in one paragraph. Watch and learn.

The Wave-inatrix is loathe to wander into Oprah/The Secret-Land (though she is in fact an admirer but we can argue about that another day) but articulating and comitting to paper your writing goals really is an empowering experience. Something about staring at: I will get a manager by January 1st, 2008 makes one sit up and pay attention. Really? How? Uh, okay how many scripts have I written? What kind of shape are they in? Better start doing some research and buy a Hollywood Creative Directory!

The Wave-inatrix, like many writers, used to have visions, in her less experienced (read: naive) days, of success being defined as something like...oh...a million dollar spec sale. Whoooo everybody do the Wave! High five!

But now, several scripts and years later (shut up) a realization has dawned upon me. And that realization is that it is better to set smaller, more realistic goals. A million dollar spec sale is about as likely to happen to a newer writer (though I suppose I now qualify as medium-rare) as is a Narwhal sighting off the Santa Monica Pier.

Make realistic goals, dependent upon where you are as a writer. Things in an ascending scale, like:

I will finish this script by September 1st
I will finish another script by January 1st
I will find representation by the end of 2008
I will be a WGA member by mid-2009
I will pick up my socks

But that's not really a mission statement - wait - let's capitalize that: Mission Statement. See? Already it feels real and important.

What do you want, ultimately, as a writer? Anyone who just said "million dollar spec sale" even under their breath, even with the 3-beer excuse does not get a cupcake. And I really mean it this time. Go ahead, look at the nice picture up there. You don't get one.

Seriously - what do you want? To earn your living as a writer? Okay. To do that you're going to need to be a WGA member. To do that you're going to need a rep. To do that you're going to need write some excellent material. See how it's all connected? Set short, medium and long-term goals.

First, write a Mission Statement. It might be a one, two or three page manifesto of your life as a writer exactly as you would like it to be six months, two years or five years from now. Be realistic. You know where you are as a writer and you know you have to put the time in.

Write your Mission Statement in the present tense. Be specific.

I live in a spacious home in Venice. With two dogs. Not the kind that shed. I am a member of the WGA and I drive to meetings in my lime green Ferrari. With the top down. Unless it's chilly. I work on assignment and do rewrites and "script doctor" jobs. I get paid over $50K for each job. I am great at pitching and am respected. I am working on a feature film that will be sold for over a million dollars and because of my experience and talent, I can expect that amount easily. The movie will be shot in Rome, and I will be on set while it is. For now, when I return from my meetings, I work poolside on my laptop and watch the pool boy clean the leaves from my pool. I have great health insurance through the guild and so I can afford to leap off the diving board as I show off. I beckon for the pool boy to please call 911.

That's just MY Mission Statement - each person's will be unique. But imagine it. Exactly what kind of life do you want to lead as a writer? Jump ahead, in your imagination. Get your head out of this particular frustrating script. Look to the future, write down what you see there - as if it's already happening - and then commit, on paper, to just how you're going to get there. Visualize every step and believe you can do it. Imagine the wind blowing through your hair in that lime green Ferrari. Imagine the joy of working on assignment, of being sought-after and respected.

It might be a cliche, you might even have this on your coffee cup but it bears repeating, because many things mom used to say really are true. You will get cramps and die if you swim after lunch. And -

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.”

William Arthur Ward

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