Time to Write

It's not about the setback, it's about the (writing) comeback

"It's not about the setback, it's about the comeback" is a phrase I saw the other day and it really stood out to me.

Some people have used this weird time to double down on their writing, but many others have found even if they had more time it has been really hard to focus. That can easily spiral down into a long-term abandonment of your writing.

If you've had a writing setback, let's start thinking about your comeback.

Sometimes comebacks take the form of a splash of glory: a dramatic event that shows you're back. In writing terms, this could be putting aside a full weekend for nothing but re-starting your writing. Turn off your internet access, warn your significant others that you're going to be busy and not to be interrupted unless bleeding is involved. Turn off your inner critic, too. This session is about cranking out a lot of words. You'll be rewriting some of them later but, for now, just get the flow going again.

Other comebacks take the form of small steps. Fifteen minutes a day, maybe thirty. In this form, consistency is the key. Make a commitment to yourself and maybe to others that you're going to write for at least fifteen minutes per day for the next thirty days. On days when it's flowing and you have time, keep writing. On days it's not flowing, write something anyway. You can always throw it out later. 

With either approach, it won't be long before the comeback overshadows the setback!

ps: If you need some guidance, see my book, Your Writing Coach, available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.

Writing the all-important first page/ first scene of your novel or screenplay

The first page of your novel or the first scene of your screenplay is really important--it can make the difference between somebody immediately being hooked or breathing a sigh of 'been there, done that.' 

At the same time, being weird just for the sake of being weird won't work, either--if the first thing that happens doesn't have a strong connection to what follows, the reader will feel like how we all feel when we fall for click-bait on the internet. Cheated.

It's easy to get hung up on what the first scene should be, which is why it's a mistake to assume you have to get this right in your first draft.

For the first draft, do the best you can but know that you will come back to it when rewriting. It's much easier to come up with a powerful first scene when you've written the whole work. Often, a new opening will be inspired by something that happens later in the story.

DEAD MAN TALKING!

One of the most memorable opening scenes is from "Sunset Boulevard." It shows the street sign, Sunset Blvd, and police cars and speeding somewhere. Cops and reporters rush to a swimming pool in which floats the body of a dead man.

That's already an arresting image (no pun intended), but it gets better. In voice-over, a man describes the scene...and then we realize that it's the dead man himself, setting up how it all got to this point. 

It was a daring move, it could easily have been considered funny, but it was done so smoothly that it worked, an integral part of one of my top ten movies of all time.

Can you think of an equally daring start to your novel or screenplay? It's worth giving a lot of thought!

 

How does Pixar do it? Read the Toy Story 4 script and find out.

Pixar may be the most successful production company in terms of number of hits per number of films made. One of the most beloved franchises is the Toy Story movies, Here you can read the script for Toy Story 4. Does it hold up? You be the judge (reading scripts is an important part of getting better at writing them).

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/toy-story-4-script-1.pdf

The script is for educational purposes only, not for resale.