Having Something to Say and Saying It Well

Abstract

It is no secret that screenwriting is a difficult industry to “break into” and in which to work, both in Australia and internationally. According to surveys by the Australia Council of the Arts, most writers in Australia earn less than half their overall income from their creative output. However, with the advent of online screen platforms, the output of international screen content is on the rise. While this means that there are more opportunities for screenwriters to see their work produced, it also means that it is increasingly important for writers to create content with unique voices and personal perspectives in order to compete with the overload of material on offer. Screenwriting training programmes and “how-to” publications have a tendency to focus on the technical skills of screenwriting; for example, structure, format and pitching to the marketplace. This vocational approach seems aimed at training writers to get a job, rather than developing them as artists and writers of interesting or important screenplays. This chapter argues that there is value in training screenwriters in skills beyond the merely technical, through broader fields within the humanities such as philosophy, politics, history and rhetoric—that it is important to teach writers to be artists rather than technicians. Through analysis of case studies and research into the Australian and international screenwriting industry, this chapter will explore a framework for screenwriting training that develops writers who create unique and personal work, and look at how this is valuable both to the writer and to the industry as a whole.