Do you get stuck when you set out to do another draft of a screenplay, novel, or other creative project?
Albert Einstein allegedly said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."
He wasn't talking about writing, but I think it applies.
When we write fiction, we're in a kind of dreaming state. We imagine what might happen and what people might say. It's a highly intuitive state, unless we are slavishly following a formula or template (not recommended if you want your work to be original).
If we stay in that state when we try to figure out how our first draft could be improved, often we'll either draw a blank or come up with something that makes the work different, but not necessarily better.
The trick (thanks, Mr Einstein) is to move to a different level. In this case, the critical level.
The creative level vs. the critical level
The writing process is subjective, the critical level is analytical.
When you write, you're on the inside, in the moment with your characters. When you critique, you're looking at them from the outside and you can take a step back to assess the big picture.
How to switch levels
One way to change your mental state is to change your physical state first.
- To snap out of the creative state, do a bit of movement--a brief brisk walk or a few stretches
- Move to a different location, even if just across the room from where you write
- Change your body position. Instead of sitting upright in a chair, lean back in an easy chair
Another strategy is to make the material seem less familiar, more like it's something someone else wrote since it's always easier for us to be objective about someone else's work.
- Print the script rather than viewing it on a screen
- Print it on different color paper
- Print it using a different font from the one on the screen
Remember you're a critic now, not a creator.
- Just like a professional critic would do, start by considering the totality of the work and identify any big problems. Read through the entire script and consider whether it has any major issues that will impact multiple scenes. Jot down your conclusions. For instance, a review I read recently said that the film couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a comedy, a satire, or a drama with amusing moments.
- Next, go through the script scene by scene and note weak points, inconsistencies, or other issues. For instance, when I go back to the first scene in a screenplay I ask myself whether it immediately creates a question in the minds of the reader (and, later, the audience). If they're curious, they'll want to continue reading or watching.
- Don't try to solve these problems. A critic's role is to point out the good and bad points of a work, not to fix it. If a solution occurs to you, go ahead and note it but do not make any changes in the script--doing so will flip you out of the critical state.
Time to go back to the creator's state
When you've finished making your critical notes, go back to your usual work station and get back into the creative state. You'll have a list of things to fix but not how to fix them.
For instance, maybe one note is that the opening scene, an argument between the protagonist and his father at the dad's apartment, is too talky and doesn't make a visual impression. Now you can imagine how it would play out if, for example, it took place in public, or if the father showed his anger physically. Because you'll be tuned back into the characters, you'll think of options that are what they would actually do, not an arbitrary solution.
Keep shuttling back and forth
You don't have to wait to make all the changes before you go back into the critical state. You can take a printout of an individual scene to your critic's easy chair and assess whether the problem has been solved. This back-and-forth continues until you've made it the best you can.
Warning: don't do this just in your head!
Resist the temptation to think that it's just as easy to make the mental switch without the other changes I've suggested above. Yes, some people can do it, especially after years of practice, but it's difficult and often trying to create and judge at the same time leads to writer's block.
