Celebrity screenwriter

A certain king, who was the hero of his century, had declared war on one of his neighbours. The enemy, who was poor in resources, had not been able to make the necessary preparations, and was at a loss to defend his kingdom. Accordingly, the King sent a spy to meet the advancing host.

This spy, watching from a distance, saw advancing an innumerable host of soldiers armed with lances. Straight-away he galloped back to his sovereign. 'Lord,' he said, 'you are going to be attacked by an army as vast as a fortune; for I have seen so many lances advancing that they will hide the sun!' 'Take this robe of honour,' said the Monarch, 'If it pleases God, we will fight today in the shadow cast by the enemies' lances.' By this war-like answer he inspired his followers with unconquerable courage and valour."

So what does this story have to do with you? The truth is, as a screenwriter, it sometimes feels as if you are faced with insurmountable odds when it comes to succeeding in Nollywood. But you've got 2 choices in the matter. 

1. You can think about how the odds are stacked against you and despair.

      2. Or you can believe wholeheartedly in your dreams, use the resources you've got, and "fight today in the shadow cast by the enemies' lances." 

To hell with the odds.

To be Nollywood's most successful writers, one of the most significant traits you must have is often overlooked. And here it is... Successful screenwriters are simply better informed than other screenwriters. That's it. Sounds simple right? But the thing is, you can tell immediately when you're having a conversation with a writer who is committed to their career – as opposed to a writer who is just a "wannabe". How?

* Because they can speak intelligently about what their market wants.
* They know exactly what genre they are writing for.
* They know the difference between writing a commercially viable screenplay with a clear marketing hook - and writing a fuzzy drama that has no built-in audience.

Truly successful writers will go to great lengths to collect even the smallest bit of insider information, because they know that such information will give them that slight competitive edge that could mean the difference between their success and failure.

Do you have this depth of knowledge? Do you share this critical success characteristic of being an information maven? If you don't, it's time to start accumulating as much information as you can.

* Information about the commercially successful power-players around town.
* Information about Nollywood executives you'd like to work with.
* Updated information about who sold what to whom and for how much.
This is what separates the real writers from those who pretend to be screenwriters.

It is almost a given that a creative writer will someday get a defining career break sometimes in the course of duty but that is just luck. There are four basic things that make a writer get the big break:

Research

Timing

Skill and...

Luck.

You definitely don’t want to rely on luck alone and not hone your skill; neither do you want to carry on as if your talent is enough.

A combination of timing and research with your skill is what unlocks the millionaire’s code for you. Luck is an unprecedented windfall that happens once in a lifetime and may never happen. I will replace the word luck with ‘the God-factor’, the invisible providence that guarantees the writer’s big break and which is more certain and awaits a screenwriter who is diligent in his work. Cheers