Taking Control of Your Creative Process
by Hal Croasmun

Part of being a great screenwriter is finding your optimal creative process -- the set of rituals that will have your creativity blossom and your life be happy at the same time.

Can you imagine that?

As you write each screenplay, you can start identifying what works for you and what doesn't.   Many times, just recognizing a negative pattern will change it or recognizing a positive pattern will assist you to make it a habit.

Over the years, I've noticed TWO patterns that are common  -- one that damages and tortures a writer and the other that liberates a writer to be their most creative and happy.

Which one are you using?  

See if this feels familiar.

A writer will torture themselves on a first draft, rewriting lines over and over again, trying to make sure it is perfect.  Then spend three or four drafts combing over their "perfect feeling" script.  By the sixth draft (or 10th or whatever), they tire of the process and send the script into a contest or producer -- knowing there are things that need to be improved -- but not having the solutions.

It is a paradox that can disable a person's creative process:

First draft:   Overly critical, obsessing to make sure it is perfect.
Sixth draft:  Become lax, turning in work that you are dissatisfied
                   with and know needs improvement.

How do you know if you do that?  On your first draft, do you really allow yourself the freedom to write without rewriting as you go?  Or are you trying to have the first draft look as good as it can?

Then, on a later draft, have you ever just wanted the script finished and sent it off to a contest hoping it might be better than other scripts, even though you know it has problems?

If you've experienced that, you're not alone.   But as I said above, discovering a pattern like that can help you change it.

 

WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?

What if you try this pattern instead...

First draft:  Relax and give yourself permission to just write.  Give
                  your "inner critic" a vacation during this draft.

Second to fifth draft:  Solve the problems and elevate the quality
                  one step at a time, while discovering more depth.

Sixth draft:  Do what it takes to make sure it is perfect.  Be precise.

Whew.  Isn't that better?

What I'm talking about here is allowing the creative process to work in a way that increases your creativity as you write.

Consider this:

A first draft is about broad strokes.  You are starting something from brand new.  You are working with structure, characters, scenes,
and some essential dialogue.   But you don't want to obsess over every word for two reasons:  First, that reduces creativity at this stage of the writing process.  Second, tomorrow, you may cut that scene and will have wasted a huge amount of time on tiny details.

The second to fifth drafts are about solving problems and elevating quality.  But with every draft, you should gain a deeper understanding of your story and characters.  By the time you get to that final draft, you have doubled the quality -- and you've doubled the depth of your story.

The sixth draft is about the tiny details.  By this point, your story, characters, scenes, etc. all work and you are down to the fine touches -- writing more descriptive nouns and active verbs, editing dialogue to increase emotion and power, and cutting every word you can.

Don't get me wrong about this.  The creative process doesn't stop until the movie is on the screen.  And at every stage, there is an opportunity to have a major creative breakthrough and bring some level of genius to the project.  But there are different quality requirements for different drafts.

 

YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS FOR SUCCESS

A.  Give yourself permission to write a real first draft.

When they start a script, most writers want to write a fifth draft, not a first draft.  They aren't willing to just write the scene without editing as they go.  I've often heard stories of someone agonizing over the first draft of a single page for hours, days, and even weeks.

I don't think there's anything wrong with thinking about a scene before you write, in fact, I believe it is valuable to outline and plan a scene.  But when someone is writing a first draft and editing every single word, there's something else going on.

Essentially, they have their internal critic on "full power" and are torturing themselves with every word.  Guess what?  Criticizing ideas as fast as they come out is what causes writer's block.

When you are writing a first draft, give yourself permission to write absolutely terrible stuff.  In fact, you should reward yourself for writing really bad first drafts.  Why?  Because that is a big part of what first drafts are about -- getting something on the page and discovering the diamonds in the midst of the coal.

The faster you can get something on the page, the faster you can work with it.  And if you train yourself to pour your ideas onto the page and edit later, you'll be surprised how many times you'll generate some great ideas, lines, and situations.

KEY:  Don't worry about the "bad stuff" when you write a first draft.  You can always edit that out later.

The purpose of a first draft is three things:

         1.  To get the creative process flowing.

         2.  To give your initial ideas life on paper.

         3.  To give you something to edit later.

Of the three, the first is the most important.  As you write a first draft, you give your mind a "world" to start creating for.  You set all kinds of creative processes in motion just by giving yourself the freedom to write bad stuff for the first draft.

B.  Be willing to make huge changes in the middle drafts.

You've got your first few drafts on the computer.  Now is the time to look for the big changes that will really elevate this story.

Check things like this:

      - Are these characters the best for this story?
      - Is the plot as powerful as it can be?
      - Is every scene structure the best it can be?
      - Do the character relationships add to the story in magical ways?
      - Are there any dull places in this story?

Don't get stuck with what you wrote in the first draft.  Allow the creative process to continue.  This story deserves to grow and reach its potential.

 

C.  Go for maximum quality in later drafts.

Wait!  Before you sent that script to a contest or producer, make sure it is the best it can be.

I've heard hundreds of writers say they sent scripts into contests that they knew weren't ready.  I've worked with writers who kept asking us to market their script when it isn't even close to ready.

If I could inspire you to do anything, it would be to present ONLY the most amazing writing you can to the world.

What's it take to get to that level?

Take ONE SCENE and do this process.

1. Get really clear on the purpose of the scene.
2. Make sure it has the most interesting situation that will create drama for the characters. If not, rewrite it.
3. Make sure there is meaningful action in the scene.
4. Conclude the scene as powerfully as possible.
5. Flag every line of dialogue that isn't the best it can be and brainstorm 10 or more ways to write those lines.
6. Flag every line of description that isn't the best it can be and brainstorm 5 other ways to write that line.
7. Cut anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

The next day, do that process with another scene.  Then, keep doing it until every scene in your script is absolutely amazing.  As you do this process over and over, the overall quality of your writing will improve significantly and your script will bring a much more positive response from anyone who reads it.

Take control of your creative process by shifting this "Paradox of Quality" in your favor and your whole creative life can change for the better.

You'll be more relaxed as you write first drafts.  You'll be energized as you make major changes during the middle drafts. And you'll be empowered as you send out your final drafts because they truly will be the best they can be.