Treasure Map Analogy
A screenplay is a treasure map
A screenplay is a treasure map.
You often hear that screenplays are blueprints - guide documents - for a piece of art. This is true. Screenwriting is not an art, it is a craft, like smithing or cartography.
A treasure map is a valuable item. What distinguishes it from being classified as a treasure itself is that it has no inherent value unless utilized. A screenplay must be realized in order to fulfill it’s value. The energy is entirely potential.
You are relaying the treasure you found to an expedition team. Sometimes they pay you to go on adventuring for it, other times you find it on your own and sell the map to the highest bidder. Either way, the hard work is on you to find the treasure.
One does not go drawing a map haphazardly guessing where the treasure is. Nor does one magically know the location before they start drawing. Treasure is found solely by adventuring. Dive into the deep, trudge through the swamplands, pass through the villages, climb the mountains. Live life. Explore the world and its wonders. Keep keen your eyes and ears. You never know who or what will point you in the direction of treasure.
Record your journey. Fill in the map as you go. Mark the dangerous areas and the safe zones. With enough tenacity, you’ll arrive at some kind of treasure, even if it isn’t quite the one you imagined.
Now, the real work begins. Now that you know the treasure’s location, you have to use your knowledge of the land to chart the best path to it. Refine the path. Retrace your steps. Erect signposts for guidance, but don’t make them so obvious that a roving band of thieves would find them. Now that you know the destination, subtlety is your friend. Texture the map. Make sure the expedition team knows exactly what they’re in for. You’re the authority, after all.
It’s your map.