Time to Write

Why you will hate your writing at some point (and what to do about it)

It's a fact of the writing life that at some point you will hate your project and will feel like giving up on it.

It's important to know that this is natural--and not a reason to give up.

This can happen at any point in the project but usually, it happens when we're about halfway through the first draft. At the mid-point, it sinks in that what we've written doesn't match the pristine, perfect version of it we had in mind. Also, there's still such a long way to go. 

This is when we may be tempted by another pristine, perfect vision. "Write me instead!" it cries. "I'll be better!" Spoiler alert: it won't. It will have the same or similar issues and you'll hit the same point again.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE GIVING UP ON YOUR PROJECT

Here's the process I recommend for when you feel like giving up on a project:

1: Step away from it for a week or two. During that time, don't work on it or even think about it. If you've been working hard, take a break. Read some books, see some movies, go to an art gallery or museum, spend some time in a park. See some friends you haven't seen for a while. Eat some ice cream. 

2: Return to the project, go somewhere other than your writing desk, and look at it as though somebody else wrote it. Make a list of its good points and weaknesses. You may be surprised to find that during your break from it your subconscious mind was still working on it and now presents you with some new ideas that will improve it.

3: Decide: If a good friend was working on this, would you advise them to give up?

If not, return to it, refreshed and with a better idea of what it requires. Ideally, finish the draft before going back to make changes in the first half. However, if you now have a  new approach that changes the first half in a major way, go back and do a quick new draft of the first half, too.

If yes, get a trusted outside opinion. Someone who approaches it with a fresh eye may well be able to suggest the fix that eludes you. 

If you still feel like quitting it, go ahead---but not before you think about what you have learned. What was wrong with it? How can you avoid making the same mistake in your next project? When I say dump it, I don't mean throw it away. Put it in a folder and when you've finished your next project go back to it. You may have gained a new perspective and want to take it up again, or you may discover you can use part of it in a new project. Or you may never want to see it again. Either way, you'll know that you gave it a fair shot.

How to Worry

How annoying is it when people tell you not to worry?

Very, right? It's almost like saying, don't be so tall or so short.

Simply willing yourself to stop sure isn't enough. However, I ran across an idea that might help:

Therapist Jenny Taitz tells her clients to schedule a 30-minute or two 15-minute sessions of worrying. You can worry about several things or focus on one. You can list the worries and jot down ideas for how you might deal with each one, or you can just review the worries. 

I tried this quite a while ago and I did find it helpful. It doesn't totally free you from worrying the rest of the time, of course, but I found it easier to dismiss the worries when they came up outside of the appointed times. I found that one fifteen-minute period was enough, and I set a timer so that I wouldn't get lost in thought and go over the time limit.

There's certainly enough to worry about these days and if you find yourself being overwhelmed, give this a try. Feel free to let me know how you get on, either in the comments or at [email protected]. Good luck!

 

 

Dealing with being stuck writing a scene

I happened across a question someone asked on Reddit about what to do when you get stuck in the course of writing a screenplay. The following answer is by "Hotspur Jr", a member of the Writers Guild of America (I'd credit him or her with their real name, but I don't know it):

This is what they do when they get stuck on how to write a particular scene:

"Write down what you know.

I need the scene to do X, Y, and Z. I need the scene to do blah. I'd like these three characters to be in the scene. The scene needs to feel like this. I'd love it if she said a line like "this". It can't happen at the beach house because of X. It needs to feel different from the car scene. The scene is difficult because of Z.

Just keeping writing down everything that you know about the scene. I do this in an open OmniOutliner document.

And at certain points, I'll just start sketching the scene out in an outline document. What would THIS version of the scene look like? I rough it out, and then look at what I roughed out.

Why does this not work? It doesn't work because of X and Y. What if I changed X to Z?

Rough it out again.

Repeat as necessary.

There are two things this does.

The first is that it takes that vague feeling of "This isn't working," and it breaks into concrete problems that I can fix. It takes what's in my subconscious and lets my conscious mind take a crack at it.

And the other thing it does is occupy my conscious mind with concrete tasks so that my subconscious is free to zoom around, put weird ideas together, and come up with aha! out of the box solutions.

It's also a scientifically proven method for trying to solve difficult conceptual problems: don't try to solve the problem. Just talk about the problem without specifically aiming for a solution. In this case, the "talking" is the conversation I'm having with myself by writing stuff down. (Writing it does is important. What you write down is not, but the fact that you're writing it down stops you from going in loops).

Lastly, there's one more step, and it's very important. After I've done that for an hour or two, I go do something else. Play a game of chess. Go for a walk. Pick up my guitar. I mean, why do y'all think I post on reddit so damn much?

Something that takes my conscious mind off the problem entirely. This is, again, a tool that is scientifically proven to work."

Good advice!

Writing: it's a job!

Screenwriter Michael McDowell said this to his potential screenwriting partner:

"If you’re going to work with me, look at it like we’re working in a bank.

We get in at nine, we have a cup of coffee, we say good morning, then we go to work.

And we write until lunch.

We go have our lunch.

We come back. We write again until three o’clock in the afternoon.

We fold up the writing. We return whatever phone calls and whatever business of writing we have to do.

And we do this five, six days a week.

And it’s a job.

It’s not you sitting with a metaphorical beret in a metaphorical loft waiting for inspiration to strike.

It’s a job.'”

I have to admit I have never worked that way. Part of my motivation in becoming a writer was to get away from the 9 to 5 routine. I've always felt more creative in the evenings, so frequently I write until the early hours of the morning and then hit the sack and sleep late.

However, the part of it that is true for all professionals is that you have to have discipline. You have to put in the time, consistently.

Even if you sleep until noon, you have to devote a certain number of hours to writing and to the business aspect of writing. 

FOR PART-TIME WRITERS

Even if you're writing as a sideline, if you want to be productive, setting aside a specific time to write and to do the important writing-related tasks (e.g., finding an agent, learning more about the craft, etc.) is the key to moving forward.

Treat it as a part-time job, even if you're not getting paid at this point. 

GO BIG OR GO SMALL, BUT GO

Which works better for you: finding 30 minutes a day several days a week to write, maybe getting up early or staying up late, or working during your lunch hour; or setting aside a big chunk of time on the weekend?

Use trial and error to discover the way you find easiest to be consistent.

NO BLOCKS ALLOWED

In a regular job you're not allowed to say, "You know, I'm just not feeling it today, so I'm going home. I'll be back in the office when I feel inspired again."

It should be the same with writing.

If you are blocked, you have lots of options. They include:

• working on something else for a bit, then returning to the project
  
  
• trying to work in a different environment (the park, a cafe, etc.)
  
  
• devoting the time for brainstorming sessions on how to move forward
  
  
• pretending your best writing friend has this problem--what would you advise them to do? (Then do it.)
  
  
• if it's a story problem, getting help from a writing group or another writer you respect
  
  
• if it's a problem in the middle of your script or novel, looking for the source of the problem in the earlier sections

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE GOOD--YET

There's at least one point in every project when I convince myself that it's no good and I should just stop and move on to something else. Fortunately, most of the time that's not true, it's just the normal "dip" that happens in the middle. 

The solution is to keep going. Even if it really isn't good you can make it better in the next draft and the one after that.

The work comes first, the payoff comes later--if you're lucky and, even more important, if you're dedicated.

The two things you have to know about your screenplay or novel plot

Screenplay and novel plots are ambitious, complicated things. I've found that making sure you know the answer to two questions is helpful from start to finish.

 

1. What's the story about?
   
   
2. What's the story REALLY about?
   

 

WHAT'S THE STORY ABOUT?

This simply means, what's the basic idea?

It's similar to a logline, but since the latter is designed to get somebody else interested in the story, it needs to be carefully crafted. That's not necessary here. All that's required is a simple statement like:

"It's about a husband and wife who let their divorce turn into a force that destroys both of them."

"It's about a group of middle-aged male friends whose attempt to re-create a wild night they had when they were in high school ends in disillusion about their past."

"It's about a superhero who has to give up the love of his life in order to keep saving the world."

Notice the elements: the protagonist(s), the conflict, and the outcome.

The answer will guide you through the rest of the process.

If you developed the plot of the first one, for instance, you would check that every major scene revolves around the husband and/or wife, that whatever they do keeps escalating in destructiveness, and that by the end they've both been destroyed (financially, emotionally, or literally).

Sometimes this kind of simple statement reveals that the story is flawed, and it's good to find that out at the start rather than after you've written the whole script or novel. 

For instance: "A man turns to crime in order to raise money for expensive medical treatment for his child but is able to return to the honest ways he prefers when he wins the lottery." What's wrong with this, of course, is that the solution to his problem comes out of nowhere instead of somehow being the result of his struggles.

WHAT IS IT REALLY ABOUT?

Here we're talking about the theme. If you don't decide on one it's more likely you'll lose your way in the writing process.

The three elements (character, conflict, outcome) will point toward the theme.

If the divorcing couple is fighting over who gets what, the theme might be that greed is destructive.

If their conflict stems from a desire for revenge because each thinks the other was responsible for betraying them, the theme could be that revenge is destructive to both parties.

Since the story about the middle-aged men ends badly, the theme could be that it's better to look forward rather than back.

If your story was, "By recreating a night they experienced when they were in high school, a group of middle-aged men rediscover the sense of fun they'd lost," the theme could be that it's never too late to experience the fun of youth."

Which one is right? Whichever one you believe.

If you have a story description for which you can't identify a theme, that may be an indication that the story is flawed.

Going back to the earlier example, what's the theme of, "A man turns to crime in order to raise money for expensive medical treatment for his young son but is able to return to the honest ways he prefers when he wins the lottery?"

I can't think of one.

If the ending is that he gets caught but not before he's paid for the child's treatment, then the theme might be, "No sacrifice is too great for the life of your child."

If the ending is that he gets caught and then it comes out that the child's illness was misdiagnosed and he never actually needed expensive treatment, then the theme might be, "Life is a joker and the joke is on us."

WHICH COMES FIRST, PLOT OR THEME?

Some writers start with a theme they consider important and fashion a story that fits, but in my experience, most start with a character, a moment, or the seed of a story, and then figure out what it's really about.

For example, I'm working on a script about a small group of people who go to a personal development retreat, struggle with their inner demons, and end up getting not what they want but what they need.

The theme is that when you try to find yourself, the person who turns up may not be the one you want to meet.

Note that this story, like most, could be a comedy or a tragedy. Because my experience is that life is a combination of the two, so is my story. 

WHAT IF YOU'RE NOT SURE OF THE THEME AT THE START?

Sometimes it happens that you're not sure of the theme at the start. That's fine, just develop the story until you figure out its basics, especially the ending. When you've done that, the theme will emerge.

AREN'T THESE THEMES SIMPLISTIC?

Yep. That's why you build a story that represents a more sophisticated embodiment of the theme. The theme should be so well clothed in the story that the viewer or reader is not aware of it until much later--if at all. We're telling stories, not preaching sermons. The theme will have an impact on the subconscious level even if the reader or viewer never thinks about it.

"Love conquers all" has spawned a million stories and there's room for a million more. There's also room for stories which suggest that "Love can't conquer all," for those writers who believe that.

KEEP THEM VISIBLE

I recommend that you write the answers to the two questions on an index card or a sticky note that you keep visible as you write. If you get stuck, go back to these and the chances are you'll find your solution.

 

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.

How Albert Einstein can help you rewrite your book or screenplay

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.

 

Three Dark Writing Moments More Common Than You Thought

Most writers would agree that while writing can be a great joy, it also carries its share of dark moments. When we're in the middle of one, it's easy to assume that we're alone feeling that way. Members of a panel of screenwriters discussed some of the darker moments they've experienced:

Noah Baumbach (writer/director, "Marriage Story") said for him it's starting each new project feeling overwhelmed and like he's forgotten how to write.

Rian Johnson (writer/director, "Knives Out") said it's the moment on every project when the initial excitement for the idea wears off.

Taiki Waititi
(writer/director "Jojo Rabbit") said it was when he was pitching "Jojo Rabbit" and nobody understood the tone he was going for.

Hmm, dark moments when you're starting to write, in the middle, and when you're done and trying to sell the script. One for each phase of the process!

So what's the solution?

I don't think it's trying to fight these feelings.

It's accepting that they are normal.

That it's not just us. 

That they'll pass.

...if we just keep putting down the words. 

 

Screenwriters (and others): Reject Rejection!

Getting rejected is a normal part of every screenwriter's life but it can make it difficult to stay motivated. 

Fortunately, cognitive therapy offers a lot of useful tools for making sure we don't let rejection affect us negatively.

Here are three distortions that are very common among writers when their work is rejected or they have other setbacks. As you read them, ask yourself whether any of these reflect your thinking.

Overgeneralization: the tendency to think that one event represents a pattern.

Example: Your screenplay is rejected, and you think, “This script is never going to sell!” Or you read an article about how a producer ripped off a writer, and you assume, “All these producers are out to cheat writers.”

Disqualifying the positive: the tendency to ignore or discount positive developments.

Example: You get a rejection but it includes an encouraging comment on it, and you think, “Who cares about positive comments, it still didn't sell.”

Or someone wants to produce a script for a short film you’ve written, and you think, “Yeah, but it isn’t for a feature script, so it doesn’t really count.”

Mind reading: the tendency to assume you know what someone else is thinking or their motivation.

Example: A producer says your script isn’t right for them, and you conclude, “They obviously think my writing isn’t good enough.”

The reality may be that it’s well-written but too close to something else they have in the works, or not in a genre they’re interested in at the moment.

Or you submit a query letter and don’t get an answer, and assume, “They must have hated that idea, probably it’s no good."

Unfortunately, not answering is the new “no” but that doesn’t mean they hated it, just that it wasn’t right for them at this point.

The solutions

By the way, you may have noticed that these are mistakes we make about rejection of all kinds, so knowing how to deal with it can come in handy in many contexts. Here's how to do it:

Notice it's happening.

It's hard to think clearly when you're upset, so start by sitting down, taking a deep breath and noticing what you're saying to yourself in response to the rejection.

Write down those thoughts. Then use the following methods to challenge the statements you've written down.

Overcoming overgeneralizations

If you’re thinking something “always” happens—does it, really?

Can you think of times when it didn't happen?

If you can't (because your thinking is clouded) ask someone close to you whether they can think of counter-examples.

It's unlikely, but what if it DOES always happen--every time? Then think about what you could do differently in order to get a different outcome.

If you tend to be so excited about what you've written that you send it out immediately to agents or producers and they consistently reject it, try holding back. Put it aside for a while. Get outside feedback. Rewrite as necessary. Repeat. Only when you're sure it's as good as you can make it, send it out.

Another example: If people never respond well to your spoken pitches, get some feedback on whether you're doing your ideas justice with how you present them. If necessary, get some coaching in public speaking or storytelling.

How to avoid disqualifying the positive

If you’re discounting something, ask what is genuinely positive about it.

Again, you may need to get someone who is more objective to help you with this.

An encouraging comment is a good sign that you're on the right track, even if it came jotted on a rejection slip.

Getting a short film made is great--many short films have attracted attention for their writers or even have become the basis of feature films.

If you absolutely can't think of anything positive, commit to withholding judgment. The positive element may become clear in time.

I'll give you a personal example: when my house burned to the ground years ago, I had a hard time finding the silver lining. Especially because not long afterward I found myself hospitalized with a blood clot. But those two events led me to re-evaluate what I wanted from life. I decided to move from Los Angeles to London, and I'm happier here than I was there.

Without a major wake-up call and not having to worry about all my possessions (since they all burned up), I don't know whether I would have made that move.

How to stop mind-misreading

If you’re mind-reading, come up with at least three other things the other person might be thinking. That's still mind-reading, but it opens you up to the fact that we can't know what's on another person's mind.

NLP guru Richard Bandler once said he likes to practice pronoia: the idea that the universe is conspiring to make him happy. Even if you don't go that far, I'm sure you can think of times when you assumed someone was thinking something and it turned out that wasn't it at all.

But even if someone did think, for example, that your script stinks, so what? That's one person's opinion. Almost every script or book that was accepted first had a bunch of rejections.

The bottom line

If you remind yourself that rejection is part of the process and not a catastrophe you'll find it much easier to move on.

 

Unleash your Creativity by Writing from Within

Drawing from Within: Unleashing Your Creative Potential is a book by Nick Meglin that has a lot of great thoughts about drawing that apply equally to writing: 

"We make the mistake of looking outside ourselves for validation of what is, in fact, an inner experience. We look to others for approval, for them to tell us how good our work is before we can feel good about having done it!"

Of course, we want to sell what we write so eventually others will have to think our work is good, but worrying about that too soon can cripple your creative process.

Meglin adds, "The wonderful paradox is that the work that is sincere, personal, and created for one's own satisfaction is what is most often celebrated by both critics and the public alike."

"People learn to draw through the experience of drawing."

"The goal is not to make a pretty drawing, a neat drawing, a good drawing, etc., but just to draw." A good thing to keep in mind when doing your first draft.

AND IF YOU'RE TOO CRITICAL OF YOURSELF:

"We must focus our energies on identifying that part of ourselves that 'finds fault' with or 'disapproves' of our own work--that voice which tends to be self-deprecating, insecure, and negative. And we must learn how to cognitively reframe these negative voices and turn those destructive energies around."

 

Will your screenplay or novel be a hit?

It's easy to expend a lot of energy worrying about whether what you're working on will be a success.

I've done it and I'm sure I'll do it again, but it's wasted energy. It can even lead to writer's block.

In his book, Drawing From Within, artist Nick Meglin writes:

"I once asked a writer friend what he was working on and he said wryly, 'I'm writing a hit play.' He knows what all playwrights know: You can't write a hit.

You can only write a play and have it performed. The public will then determine if it's a hit. 

Neil Simon wrote more commercial hits than any other living playwright, but even he would be the first to tell you he never knew which of his plays would be a 'hit.' It's totally out of his control. What he does control is the time and energy he devotes, and the personal statement he makes in his writing. When he writes 'The End,' the curtain goes down on both his play and his control of its success."

That's worth repeating: The only thing we control is the time and energy we devote to our writing and the personal statement we make with it. If we find ourselves fretting over whether the world will judge our writing to be any good, that's a cue to focus on those three elements instead. 

WISE ADVICE FROM ANDY WARHOL

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make more art."

--Andy Warhol

What to write about

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you;

figure out what you have to say.

It's the one and only thing

you have to offer."

Barbara Kingfisher

 

The danger of focusing on "what if's"

As writers, it's natural for us to focus on "what if's":

• what if nobody wants to buy what we write?
• what if it's not good enough?
• what if I should have been writing that other thing instead?
• what if I don't figure out the ending? 

I'm sure you can think of some more!

Of course sometimes we come up with "what if's" that are more fun: "What if it's a best-seller? What if it makes me a LOT of money? What if it turns out as well as I hope it will?"

If we spend too much time on either (or both) what if's, it can hold us back, according to professors and co-authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans in this video.

 

David Lynch on Creativity

This short film from The Atlantic magazine animates some of film director David Lynch's thoughts on creativity (recorded in 2008):

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/491738/david-lynch-on-where-great-ideas-come-from/