Writers have only one advantage--are you you using it?

Brian Grazer is one of Hollywood's top writer-producers and the secret of his success, as he tells it, is one thing that all writers can do. Here's how he put it:

"My whole career has been built on one piece of advice that came from two people: [MCA founder] Jules Stein and [former MCA Chairman] Lew Wasserman. In 1975 I was a law clerk at Warner Bros. I'd spent about a year trying to get a meeting with these two men. Finally they let me in to see them. 

They both said, separately:

 

'In order for you to be in the entertainment business, you have to have leverage. Since you have none--no money, no pedigree, no valuable relationships--you must have creative leverage. That exists only in your mind. So you need to write--put what's in your mind on paper. Then you'll own a piece of paper. That's leverage.' 

With that advice, I wrote the story that became 'Splash,' which was a fantasy that I had about meeting a mermaid.

 

For years, I sent registered letters to myself--movie concepts and other ideas--so that I had my ideas officially on paper. I have about 1,000 letters in a vault.

 

To this day, I feel that my real power is only that--ideas and the confidence to write them down." 

THE ESSENTIAL FIRST STEP

Obviously there are a few more steps between that and success, but without this first step they can't exist. 

Sometimes people say ideas are a dime a dozen. It's true that an idea by itself isn't enough. You have to turn it into something tangible--an outline, a script, a manuscript, a book, a graphic novel or comic, a presentation, a film, a blog, a podcast...something others can experience. 

If you don't have a mechanism for recording your ideas or don't do so consistently, you may be missing out. I'm sure that not all 1000 of Grazer's ideas are great, but they sure give him a lot to choose from. Sometimes looking through a list of your ideas also is an effective way to conquer writer's block.

HOW TO RECORD YOUR IDEAS

Recording your ideas is simple. The traditional advice is to carry a notebook and pen with you at all times. I have a keychain that has a small pen attached, so even if I forget to carry another pen and paper I can always use that pen and write on the back of one of the business cards I carry in my wallet.

These days many people carry around a smart phone and there are lots of simple note-taking apps available. You can type it or use an audio recording app. Or you can email yourself the idea. Tablets allow you to do the same thing.

The rules are the same as for brainstorming. Focus on quantity first and don't judge, just record. That means noting even an idea that you suspect will not work. Later you may be able to combine two bad ideas into one good one. 

If you record ideas on the go, take time once a week or so to assemble and store them in a paper or computer file.

One idea can change your life (and sometimes the lives of many  others) for the better--don't let it get away.

In my book, Creativity Now, I give tips for three phases: getting into the right mindset; having and recording your ideas; and implementing your ideas. As a bonus, there are 25 case studies of people who have created value by doing all three. Creativity Now is available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.