DIE TRYING 006

Not too many years ago, former Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh announced that he would beat arch-rival Ohio State or die trying.

People laughed at him. The Wolverines had been unable to beat the hated Buckeyes for many years. Until they reeled off four consecutive wins in The Game after Harbaugh’s war cry.

As an obsessive Michigan fan, I adopt Harbaugh’s do-or-die proposition. I’m not trying to win at ball. Instead, I’m a plucky writer trying to sell my latest screenplay, publish it as a novel or die trying.

In DIE TRYING, you will get an unvarnished look at a bitterly honest writer struggling to make it. No name-dropping or Hollywood phoniness. Just the facts ma’am on what the media landscape really is like behind the curtain.

In TODAY’S ISSUE, we see light at the end of the tunnel and demonstrate how a planted seed can pay off a yes on your next business deal.

The oppressive midday Florida heat beat down on me, melting my ankles ensconced in uniroinically uncool white tube socks into Adidas Superstars, one of which had a rubber sole beginning to flap off.

I was playing basketball with my eight-year-old daughter, and a collection of cool kids was on the other side of the court, warming up. Drilling shots nonchalantly.

Dad decided to peacock, so I told my daughter, “Watch this,” and launched a three-point shot.

Air ball.

Well, fellow wannabe screenwriters, entertainment journalist and Emmy-nominated thespian Matt Belloni has declared on his podcast The Town that the three-point line has moved closer.

The spec script (one written without pay with hopes of selling) marketplace has warmed up.

Twenty-three sales of original spec scripts this past summer.

Belloni’s guest and literary manager/producer Geoff Shaevitz declared that superhero fatigue has studios and streamers exploring non-IP or original scripts not based on a comic book or other intellectual property.

Shaevitz: “We work for the audience, everyone in this industry, and it is at least my belief that originality is making a comeback.”

Shooters shoot. Writers write.

It’s time to start launching.

Planting and payoff is a screenwriting technique where you plant a seed that you harvest as a critical plot point later in the script.

For example, in Die Hard, hero McClane sees his estranged wife Holly’s Rolex, which was given to her for closing a big deal. At the end of the film, baddie Hans Gruber is precariously hanging out of a broken high-rise window, clutching all but Holly’s Rolex. McClane unclasps the watch, and the best villain in film history falls to his death.

How can planting and payoff help you with sales?

Plant and pay off microagreements.

If you’re meeting with a prospect, ask a series of small permissions.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Do you mind if I show you our deck?”

The prospect gets conditioned into saying yes. When you finally ask for the sale, a payoff YEP becomes more manageable.

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