Blank Page

Mad Mad Mad Men

So the other night the Emmy's were on and like most awards shows, I have my own private Kanye West moments (the only difference being that I'm not sitting next to the stage). But there was something said at the awards show that I thought was really interesting, and of course it came from Matthew Weiner, the creator of 'Mad Men'. He said, "When you get something like this, it makes writing look fun, but it's not." Now, I'm aware that many young writers would look at that quote and be puzzled by it. 99% of people who choose writing as a career, think of it as something fun when they're starting out. But that quote really stuck with me because it shows me that while writing can be incredibly rewarding, it is something incredibly difficult. People who are not writers, tend to look at writer's and think, "oh, how fun, you get to write. I have a great story idea," and then also, "I have to work for my money." Well, writer's have to work for their money too (though I make no money writing, at this stage I just become further in debt). But what I can attest to is the hard work that accompanies the inspiration. Anyone can come up with a good idea. Yet, how to translate that idea into a meaningful story is something everyone struggles with.

 I think about screenwriter's and wonder how many drafts they do. Well, let me rephrase, I think about people like Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino and think, "how many drafts do they go through before they send it out?" If you listen to interviews with both of them, they make it sound as if the thing comes out in one fell swoop and then they pass it on to their agent and voila! Philip Seymour Hoffman loves it and is starring in it, or Brad Pitt is in it.

At this point, I don't feel like I can say "well this is how I do it," because who am I? What have I had produced? Oh, that's right, nothing. I am no one, but I am okay with this fact because I'm working towards something. And I must take motivation from anywhere I can get it, like working as a salesman when I really don't want to. The motivation comes from thinking "I really don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life." However, it's not the type of feeling that "things would be so much easier if I were a writer," because I know the exhaustion that occurs when extensively revising and rewriting a piece. Writing is something many people in the general population take for granted. Having Matthew Weiner say those words, that writing is not something fun, just changes everything in the public opinion.

You may be thinking, "well if it's not fun, then why do it?" And, this is where things get tricky. I don't think Weiner is saying that it's awful, soul crushing work that he loathes. I think what he's saying is, it's not always a party. There is a lot that goes into writing something of quality. When you look at the show 'Mad Men' just think about how much detail and care is put into each episode. The amount of research everyone has done for that show must be astronomical. Things of quality very rarely get accomplished in one draft and with little effort.

 In closing, "BEYONCE HAD ONE OF THE GREATEST VIDEOS OF ALL TIME!" And don't you forget it!