An answer to my consistent Prayer

I used to have a prayer that I prayed consistently over a period of time and the prayer goes thus " God, please bring my way whatever is connected to my destiny...be it a book, a person or whatever". After a while and it seems God wasn't responding, I moved on to push another request God might be interested in answering.

But on the day I got a screenwriting engagement with a production outfit, I was given a book, 'Teach yourself screenwriting by Raymond Frensham'. I took it without much enthusiasm but after I read the first two pages, I knew the book was an answer to my age-long prayer.

I believe every writer will enjoy reading this book as much as I did.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story | Video on TED.com

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story | Video on TED.com
Chimamanda is a storyteller just like you and I but obviously has more laurels to her name than you and I which gives her a voice that can not be ignored. In this piece she talked about "The danger of a single story". If I bring it to screenplay context, it translate to mean "the danger of a one dimensional character". Her ability to segue into different episodes with a gripping fluidity of thought makes this video worth listening to.
I have listened to it more than thrice and so must every storyteller.

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

After I listened to Elizabeth, I had tears in my eyes that needed to be wiped away. She captured the essence and life of a creative person and I could identify with her more because I am also a writer. This piece brought me down to my knees and freed my anxiety. I believe every creative person will find inner peace after listening to this.

The figure head Producer

I promised to tell you how my producer designate experience went...so here it is. I turned out to be a figurehead Producer because the Director my Executive Producer dumped on me became ambitious. She simply took on the producer's garb so I gave her the pleasure to enjoy her dual responsibilities.

I did that with no hard feeling but because I had bigger and more financially rewarding project to manage. Do you blame me? As for the output of the shoot...I will try not to find out.

The lesson for me is to clearly define the role of each member in a team and let a common goal resonates. The next time I get a Producer's garb...I will do well to actually produce a movie.

Screenwriting Mantra

As a writer, you read different stuffs in order to hone your skills but I was attracted to read Linda Seger's book, 'making a good script great' because the title itself sold itself and it turns out to be a good resource. I recommend it to every screenwriter.


There is a screenwriting mantra she emphasized in her book and that is...writing is rewriting. I recently came in contact with an aspiring screenwriter who has no screen credit to her name and yet feels her first rough draft is a master piece and no one is qualified to pick holes in it...including me. 


May no writer be like her. For the screenwriter out there who wants to go very far...another mantra is...you don't write a script, you rewrite it. This book is all about rewriting that first rough draft and making it great.
Enjoy reading it.

Screenwriter cum Producer

Someday a screenwriter will be a producer, somehow...it just happens, it's up to you to decide the extent to which you want to go. And the reason is simple, most screenwriter cum Producer/Director ultimately give up writing and begin to commission writers to write for them. The sad truth is that presently Producers and Directors earn more than the screenwriter.

I have produced a documentary before but this is the first time i will be producing a short film...in fact two of them to be precise. The experience is golden because i have to work with a trainee director. I can only pray that she is as good as widely proclaimed. Will keep you posted on how the final output turned out.

But i love the feel of being a Producer...kinda dignifying.

When it's time to move on

Screenwriting is my racket. i don't want to say it's my life cos it isn't but i've come to love the profession. However, there are times like this when i ask myself if it is really worth it...financially. The remuneration is not that bad but when Producers refuse to pay for completed screenplays, three weeks after submission, it makes me think of putting out my CV.

One of the Producers owing me, is quite nice but has an Accountant who thinks he is doing me a favor. I know just what need to be said to someone like that but i've decided to hold my peace till my Producer is done reading my screenplay. Aside from the fact that i need money urgently, my ethics also include customer satisfaction first before demanding for my pay. So the waiting continues.

The other Producer owing me has just moved into his new house in Ikorodu. He is a nice guy too and really respects me a lot so i can't fight him except to pray that he gets money to pay for my screenwriting services. My fear is that he might have used MY MONEY to complete his house but i have faith that he will pay one day. So the waiting continues.

Meanwhile, funds are low and debts are high. It's beginning to get worrisome because someone might soon tell me to get a better job and to be candid, i'm considering it. Adding another string of income is seriously on my plate now. I've thought about pimping rides...as crazy as it sounds, i know it's going to make me happy... and very rich

A Screenwriter's Attitude

Attitude is everything according to Keith Harrell’s book. In life, generally, what takes anybody far and beyond one’s peers is competence and character.

You might be a fantastic screenwriter but if your character stinks, sooner or later, a screenwriter who combines the two qualities will displace you and give you a good run for your money.

So what makes a screenwriter tick?

1. Teach-ability is that strength of character to take corrections from the headwriter and quickly do a rewrite. It is not a time to insist on doing it your own way or style, because likes it or not screenwriting is methodical.

2. Tenacity is that doggedness to get your screenplay better. Because writing is essentially rewriting and there are times when you are required to do rewrites of your original work more than thrice. It takes a good screenwriter to get his or her butt on the chair and do a rewrite for the umpteenth time and not grumble or give up.

3. Problem-solving mentality is that deftness to detect the weakness of a screenplay and how it can be fixed. One has to think like a skilled mechanic who by just hearing a car’s sound can detect what is wrong with it and knows which spare part to use in replacing it.

4. Self- confidence is very important because without it, a screenwriter will personalize the critique made on his or her work. So there is need to separate the criticism given to your work from the one made against your person. A weak confidence will assume the criticism is against his person and nurse grudges against whoever said it which is quite unprofessional.

5. Integrity is the ability to protect your client’s intellectual property from theft as well as deliver your scripts as at when due. Peradventure something happens that impedes you from submitting on the agreed date, it is imperative you call before time and notify your client on why your work will come later than the agreed date. You don’t have to behave like the local artisans, who disappoint with impunity and hide under the bed when their clients come knocking at the door.

You can do better than that.

Certificate Or Skill

My first screenwriting certificate was from PEFTI and i get a lot of sneers each time i mention it in public, so i was eager to earn another screenwriting certificate from a more prestigious institution; Goldsmith University of London. I did and i went to town, brandishing my hard earned certificate to whoever cares to peep. I got the shock of my life.

The first Producer i met was not in the least impressed with the certificate. She was very critical of it and condemned it in strong terms. I got a writing engagement with her eventually because of my skill and not because of the certificate.

Screenwriting, like other form of skill does not emphasize on the certifcate and where you got it from, but particular about what you can deliver. I have been writing for the past four years and not once have any producer/director asked to see my Certificate. All they ask for is an excerpt of my work.

Certificate is good, training is an added advantage but don't graduate thinking a certificate will open doors for you. What opens doors for you as a screenwriter is the skill you bring to the table.

Get trained but don't wear the certificate on your sleeve.

Walk for Screenwriters

Kate was an ambitious and passionate writer whose dream is to write screenplays for famous producers and directors when she came to Lagos. She met two or three producers who read her scripts and returned it because the story didn’t work for them. Kate could stake her life on it that the producers used her story but since she doesn’t have the financial muscle to fight legally, she left the screenwriting career on the shelf for good.

That is the story of many Nigerian aspiring writers but I am one of the few blessed one who didn’t get ripped off at the inception. I am so blessed that my first writing engagement fee was a verbal contract and the man paid on the due date.

Many years have passed but cases of rip off still happens everyday. I feel that every writer’s journey doesn’t have to be stalled by fraudsters and sequel to that, stellarmovies.com, a screenwriting agency was born to be the first contact point for green screenwriters.

The vision is to provide a sense of direction for their lives and an assurance about the future. If stellarmovies.com is to do a walk-protest, banners will have slogans like, ‘don’t dupe screenwriters’, ‘screenwriters; the foundation of every movie’ and stuffs like that.

The walk has begun already, so call on every Kate you know to remove their screenwriting skills off the shelf, dust it and bring it to the altar of creativity and competence and character.

“For every screenwriter who has a story to tell, your voice will be heard”.

Between Actors and Screenwriters

Screenwriting, aside from being a solitary work is also a behind the scene work. A screenwriter functions in the back stage and gets a closing screen credit which is written in small print and made to scroll up very quickly before the eyes can pick out the names.

These days however, a writer/producer ensures that the name is bolder and gets a place in the opening credit. That’s a milestone really. In Nollywood, very few producers accord the screenwriter, the respect he deserves, so getting a paltry sum for a screenplay is common place. Not so with the actors.

Because the actor takes the centre stage and has a large fan base, he enjoys fame and fortune. The temptation is there for a screenwriter to want to change career and take on the actor’s garb in a bid to get fame and fortune.

The differences between an actor and a screenwriter

1. Actors reign for a season while a screenwriter reigns through seasons.

2. The earning rate between an actor and a screenwriter is 7:3

3. An actor’s reigning season could last for as long as 5years whereas a screenwriter’s relevance could last for 30years.

4. An actor’s fame and fortune decline with his age but a screenwriter’s dexterity increases with age.

5. Most famous actors are young, sexy and good looking while a famous screenwriter could be an old nerd man.

So screenwriters occupy the back stage to write screenplays that make an actor famous and occupy the center stage. We know our roles are different and we grumble not at our seemingly obscure profession. We are content with our calling as screenwriters, taking the backstage.

Ultimately, our fame resonates amongst executive producers who value our expertise.