Do you have "good" work ethic? What does that even mean to you? And how does that apply to screenwriting? And what does the opening picture of this blog post have to do with work ethic anyway?
Well-p, the opening picture was of me, E.C. Henry, and my 4-year-old nephew: Brycen, or Obo, as I like to call him.
And on this particular Sunday afternoon I was washing my Toyota Corolla. And with Obo lurking about I thought it would be a good idea to have him try his hand at helping out. You see even at a tender age of four, it's never to early to start working on one's work ethic.
So how'd little Obo do? Well-p. His work ethic left a lot to be desired, as evident by the 2nd picture which I now submit for your consideration:
THIS is a more accurate portrail of what it's like when you try to get a 4-year-old to "help out". I know with slave labor tactics like this what am I doing in this country I should be in Malasia, or Micro-nesia, as Hansel from "Zoolander" (2001) would say.
Work ethic can mean different things to different people, but to me I see work ethic as being, do you try hard at what you're doing. It's an effort thing. Now to a male model like Ben Stiller's Derek Zoolander, or to Owen Wilson's Hansel, work ethic can just merely mean just show up and let others revel in your beauty and presense. But that's pretty weak -- if you asked me.
So do I, E.C. Henry, have good work ethic? You bess believe. I work my tuckus off at work. Wouldn't even take breaks or lunch, if left to my own devices. My lead at work has to remind me/force me to take breaks. Much of this has to do with an inner fire inside of me that wants to get everything done. I TRY to set the shift that follows mine for the best success I can. I work as hard as I can, and try to be as accurate as I can too. Basically, I just try real, real hard.
Does the same mind-set transfer to my writing, I do call myself a pre-pro screenwriter after all. Yes, and no. Yes, I do try. But no in that I don't think I try hard enough to write on a regular basis. I still think it's in the pre-pro screenwriter's best interest to carve out 1-2 hours EVERYDAY to write. You need the consistency of that. And through I try, for past 2 years I really haven't been doing that, and my productivity has suffered as a result. Truth.
Juggling "real life" and one's creative life can be hard at times. In the back of your mind you know what the creative life needs -- it needs your time. But real life matters too: family, jobs, paying bills, maintaining one's health.
True, I need to amp up the hours spent at the keyboard, but I also need to make sure I'm living a ballanced life and meeting other's needs too.
As far as being a writer overall I think I have great work ethic. One of my bedrock writing principals is: FINISH WHAT YOU START. If I start a script, I finish that script. True, it always feels like I should have been faster at doing it and getting it done. BUT there are a lot of factor which slow the process down. A key component of having "good" work ethic is one's ability to bring projects to completion. And E.C. Henry the writer does just that.
Speed. Does speed play a role in having "good" work ethic. No. It does not. I have seen a lot of people work fast and cut corners. Sometimes that comes back to bite them in the butt, other times they "get away with it." Sure sometimes it's nice to work fast, but you need to temper that with the resolve that the end product of your work is worthy, that it is good.
Another thing about work ethic is that it comes from withing. It's the about being able to look oneself in the mirror and say you did the best you could. Your brand of having good work ethic or not does not come from those outside you, it comes from within.
I am always looking to become a better writer. Right now my focus is on scene articulation; breaking down action after a main slug line has been called out. I want to get good at this, as I think this the heart of screenwriting: one's ability to write description in a manner that directors respond well too. And it's not like I wanna do the director's job for him. He has the ultimate say in what gets shot and what doesn't. But I really want the reader of my scripts to be able to visualize the movie I've written. Like or hate it, I want the cinema of the mind through the words on the page to come through.
Now little Obohas a long way to go before he's proven to me that he has "good" work ethic, but I'm resolved to keep working with that little tike until he has it. That's what uncles do. And in my own life I'm resolved to keep working on my own work ethic. Back to 1-2 hours behind the keyboard starting tomorrow. And who know still got some time today to put some time behind the keyboard.
And as for "Zoolander", I just looked on IMBD and there is a "Zoolander 2" in the works for a 2014 release. LOVED "Zoolander" (2001), remember it being VERY FUNNY, best of any movie that Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson has ever been in by a long shot.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
P.S. Hopefully at mid-week I'll have another post made. As that's always the goal. Big post over the weekend, smaller post at mid-week.
P.S.S. The two pictures of me and Brycen washing my car were part of my birthday present from my brother and his wife.
Comments