What Screenwriters Can Learn from… The Navy SEALs
Welcome to a brand new Writing Chops series, where we deliver some of the most impactful screenwriting lessons from some of the most unlikely places.
Today’s mentors are none other than the brave and bold Special Operations Force, who handle missions in the Sea, Air, and Land. That’s right, it’s the Navy SEALs.
As part of the Naval Special Warfare Command, the SEALs are a highly skilled small-unit combat and reconnaissance team that executes missions in all types of environments. From jungle to urban, from arctic to desert, this elite group of hand-selected operatives is trained to endure and succeed in some of the most hazardous conditions and situations.
The Navy SEAL training alone is legendary, as it takes a certain amount of grit, determination, and skill to even take part, never mind pass.
But within this famed and decorated Special Ops Force, there are many unique and powerful lessons to be learned. And for this series, we chop up some of the most potent concepts that will motivate and propel screenwriters to smash their goals.
Let’s get started!
Stay in your 3-Foot World
It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the macro issues in life. And it’s understandable how quickly spirits can dampen when trying to break the seemingly impenetrable wall of professional screenwriting.
However, the Navy SEALs have a saying: Stay in your 3-foot world.
This is a promise to yourself to only focus on what you can directly control. Push the unmanageable obstacles, challenges, and forces out of the way. Instead, just dedicate yourself to working on what you can control at this very moment in time.
For the SEALs, this is invaluable when it comes to tackling the untackle-able. When a SEAL is scaling the side of a mountain, they don’t calculate how far they could fall. They don’t stress about the distance between themselves and their teammate… Instead, they just work on the three feet around them as this is the only thing, at this moment, that they can control. Little by little, they climb that rock until they reach the top.
For screenwriters, your 3-foot world is the script you are writing, the relationships you are building, and the effort you are putting in.
🔸 If you lose out on an opportunity to be part of a Writer’s Room, take the hit and get back up. Can you change their mind? Should you apply elsewhere?
🔸 If your script doesn’t make it into a competition, keep writing and entering.
🔸 If a producer or a decision-maker passes on your work, this isn’t an invitation to stop. Just push through until you find the right collaborator.
Put your energy and focus into mastering your three-foot world!
Start Singing When You are Up to Your Neck in Mud
Adversity shouldn’t be something to be avoided. It’s something to be confronted, overcome and even embraced.
At a Commencement Address for the University of Texas at Austin, Naval Admiral William H. McRaven described a bone-chilling moment during “Hell Week” when he and the other recruits were buried up to their heads in mud for 8 hours.
If 5 of the recruits quit, then they could all leave the mud. But no one budged. And as the slick freezing night pushed the recruits to the brink, a strange sound could be heard - Out of tune singing.
One of the recruits started to belt out a song while trapped until sunrise. At first, the rest of the crew was surprised and perplexed,
But then “one voice became two and two became three and before long everyone in the class was singing. And somehow— the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.”
For screenwriting, it is easy to stay positive when things go your way. But what can completely derail you is how you handle the obstacles and adversity that will happen in your burgeoning career.
So even in the darkest of hours, it is so important to find a way to keep singing!
Everybody wants to be a SEAL on Friday
It's very easy to call yourself a screenwriter. But it's putting in the work that counts.
Relaxation is important, no doubt. And busy schedules can steal so much of our time. But being a screenwriter means getting those pages done. It means putting the work into your career, building and nurturing relationships that can eventually lead to creative prosperity - and not just enjoying the idea of saying that you are a screenwriter or posting quotes online from famous writers.
For the Navy SEALs, this is an important concept. Sure, it was easy to be a SEAL when they were out at the bar with their friends. But cut to the dead of night when they are trying to take control of an oil tanker in a rebel-controlled Libyan port - This is what it’s really about.
The Battle Is Never Won Alone
It’s not just the discipline and the extreme ownership strategies that shape the Navy SEALs. So much of their training comes down to communication and teamwork.
And this makes total sense when we talk about an advanced military unit. Proper team structure and communication is the difference between mission success and failure. The difference between living and dying.
But how does this relate to the screenwriting life?
First off, it’s not a push to get a co-writer. Instead, it’s an understanding that the best way to succeed is to surround yourself with a positive, supportive group of people. There will be tough days ahead. But these days will be made easier if you don’t approach them alone.
There will be times when your motivation has plummeted. Having fellow screenwriters, industry professionals, or loved ones can help keep you accountable because they know it’s in your best interest.
For more of a deeper dive into this point, check out our Cheerleader & Mentor article. With these two supporters on your side, you can touch the moon!
The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.
Navy SEALs are built on exposing themselves to difficult scenarios and hostile environments. And one of the core philosophies that keep them ready and prepared is the concept that the only easy day was yesterday.
This is a mindset strategy that pushes you to always be growing, learning, and bettering yourself. And look, I get it, it can be so easy to settle into a groove or even coast for a bit. I’ve done it myself (Probably for too long 🙈).
But what I love about this concept is that it keeps you hungry and motivated for the next opportunity, while preparing you for the next obstacle as well!
And this goes for times when you have found success as well. Certainly, enjoy the moment and the accomplishment. But don’t let it derail your momentum or progress as well:
Laurels aren’t meant to be rested on, they are meant to be the symbol of encouragement to reach for the next goal.
If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.
“If you want to change the world, start by making your bed.”
This is another amazing quote from Naval Adm. William H. McRaven. Basically, it’s a reminder to not jump over the little thing in pursuit of the bigger picture.
In fact, it’s the collection of small, bite-sized actions that will eventually lead you to success on the larger scale.
But if you don’t manage to do the little things correctly, then the main goal may never come to fruition.
As screenwriters, you currently follow this exact philosophy when it comes to your work:
How do you write a script? One page at a time.
Now let’s embed this concept into your career and your goals and take the time and the pride in even the smallest actions - Because they matter!
Writing Success Comes From Small Steps Taken Often
Just think about the big picture with me for a moment. What are some of your ultimate goals?
Do you want to write for a major studio? Do you want to see your own work on the silver screen with your name sliding across the credits?
Then every step on the journey matters, no matter how small:
🔸 If you keep putting off writing the next three pages of your screenplay, then how could you hit a deadline if a big opportunity comes? - Finish that script
🔸 If you didn’t get a response from that producer you met at a film festival, so you never emailed them again, how do you expect to build a network that counts - Email them again
🔸 If you don’t feel like reading the screenplay of a fellow writer, then how do you expect help you when it’s your time of need? - Read their work
It all counts… and it will all be worth it in the end.
“And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
For more on this concept, I definitely recommend you check out Naval Admiral McRaven’s speech right here:
And that’s it! Screenwriting lessons straight from the Navy SEALs!
Pretty inspiring, right? Which one of these five concepts resonated with you? We’d love to hear it. And don’t forget to subscribe, as we’ll be delivering even more screenwriter insights from the most unlikely of places…
Now, let’s get to work, Rascals!
The track I listened to while writing this article was: Hans Zimmer’s What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving the World from Man of Steel
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