Unknowing Mentors

Oh, how I envy Drew Goddard. First he had Joss Whedon as a mentor and then he bounced under J.J. Abrams’ wing for a couple of years. You think this guy knows how to write yet?

Mentors are crucial in any business but they’re almost essential in a closed society like TV writing – the more experience, the better. Being able to ask basic questions and not worry about being judged is possibly the most important weapon you can have in your arsenal when assaulting Hollywood.

But what if you can’t find someone who sparks to your talent and actually offers their assistance as an ongoing mentor? Do not walk away! I’ve had great success taking whatever nuggets get kicked my way by *anyone* with more experience than me.

Example: a family friend has been writing for TV since the late 80s. His resumé was full of Top Ten shows before he created a seminal 90s series that won tons of awards and launched him into the ridiculously-lucrative world of script doctoring.

Unfortunately, he made it clear when we first met that he had little time to help me – but he agreed to read my woefully-underdeveloped (at the time) Office spec. He gave me some great notes but – more importantly – he gave me some strong advice:

“I know a lot of talented writers who can’t get arrested right now. But I also know a lot of medium talents who are so persistent they never *stopped* working. So don’t give up.”

That was exactly what I needed to hear and I’ve used persistence to land more than one job since then. Would he say he was mentoring me? Of course not. Do I consider him a mentor? Of course – just an unknowing one.

And that’s what I’m trying to get across – just because you can’t get someone to sign up 100%, doesn’t mean you can’t glean genius from whatever they’ll toss your way. I hit this guy up with an “update email” every six months to stay on his radar. And, as I grow, that relationship could potentially send back massive rewards. But, if it doesn’t, I still got some great forward momentum from the time he *was* willing to give me.