Are You an Amateur Writer or an Undiscovered Writer?

Story Analysts, such as myself, often use the work "amateur" when writing about or discussing scripts. "This reads like an amateur script..." Or, "Such-and-such is clearly an amateur writer." So, do we mean this in the pejorative sense? Generally, yes. Is that fair? Probably not. While "amateur" can mean someone who isn't getting paid to write, or hasn't landed representation, "amateur" is often used as a shorthand to denote work that doesn't look or read like a professional script. There's something about it, maybe it's clunky exposition or incorrect formatting, that doesn't pass muster. But sometimes writers who are not getting paid to write or haven't landed representation write well enough to pass their work off as professional. I consider these writers "undiscovered." There's nothing pejorative about that. It actually sounds quite hopeful and full of possibilities. So, are you an amateur writer or are you undiscovered?