The fear

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  • The fear

    Hey, all.

    Many a good writer has shyed away from completing his/her masterpieces solely because he/she was too afraid of dishing out a bad script/whatever. I'm curious how you all have gotten past that, as I - for the first time - am facing a bit of it. Thanks.

  • #2
    Fear

    Give yourself permission to do a rough draft, and tell yourself you'll fix it in the rewrite. For the first draft, you just want to get it down, not necessarily get it right. Turn off the inner critic. Don't keep rereading and revising.

    Having a good outline helps, because you'll know what's supposed to come next. You won't be additionally paralyzed by dead ends or forks in the road. You'll get to a scene and know what's supposed to be there, so you can tell yourself you'll write a placeholder scene, just for the first draft.

    Once the whole first draft is done, you can read it in its entirety and get a better perspective on what it needs.

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    • #3
      fear not

      You'll never know if it's a masterpiece if you don't write it. You never know what can happen----maybe it will suck, but somewhere out of it will come your true masterpiece. I'm sure many here have experienced beginning a script and having it go somewhere completely different. Minor character becomes the main one, subplot takes over as main plot, love story somehow transforms into a slam-bang shoot-em-up, etc...

      Bottom line is----write it. Otherwise you will always wonder "what if?"

      Brian

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      • #4
        Re: Fear

        <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote>Quote:<hr> "Give yourself permission to do a rough draft, and tell yourself you'll fix it in the rewrite."<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END-->

        Great advice, Joan. I came up with the same philosophy, long ago, in almost the same words: "You have permission to write something that is bad, because you can make it really good when you revise."

        I am just starting to work in the area of screenplays, but I have used that same approach in lots of other kinds of writing, such as articles, technical writing, and poetry. And it really works! If you get something down on paper, you can do the Rumpelstiltskin trick of turning straw into gold.

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        • #5
          Re: Fear

          Defer judgement.

          Sacred Zen task of writing. When working on a rough draft I keep telling myself - "write the bad version, write the cliche, write the first thing that comes into your head". Trying to do it fast can get you ahead of your inner critic. The crucial thing is just get the damn thing on paper come hell or high water. Write "blah blah blah" if you have to to get through a scene.

          And promise yourself, silently, that you will do additional drafts. If your "shadow" believes you, it will chill out enough to let you finish.

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          • #6
            RE &quot;the Shadow&quot;

            Beating it with Zen takes years. Beating it with a Flexoril and a Screwdriver or Greyhound takes a trip to the Pharmacy and Safeway.

            After that, your shadow will believe just about anything.

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            • #7
              the fear

              "The first draft of anything is @#%$."
              Ernest Hemingway

              And Papa wasn't kidding! Let yourself be bad - it's the only way to ever be good. Tao is right on the mark. Run ahead of the inner critic - he's a bastard anyway, far too bitter by half. There will be plenty of time to converse with him/her once the writing is done. If you're still hellbent on persecuting yourself, the fwuffykosak method will certainly loosen you up. Just don't drool on the keyboard!

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              • #8
                Aw, c'mon, Naudikom, you've had plenty of experience with this kind of thing.

                It's no different from
                the first kiss,
                the first time on skis,
                the first time behind the wheel,
                the first time on stage,
                the first time at the stove,
                the first time at a paid job.

                Or do you want forever to be an unemployed, non-skiier who's never been kissed, can't drive, can't act and can't cook?

                There is no real answer to your question except the action itself. Pucker up and do what you've done before.

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                • #9
                  Just recalling the only memorable line (at least for me, and if I can remember it correctly) from the movie "Finding Forrester":

                  "Write from your heart. Rewrite from your head."

                  I find that if I write something out in draft form, even an entire novella, put it aside for 3 months, and come back to it, I read it with fresh eyes and can spot the awkward stuff more easily. That's why it's good to keep a kind of round-robin of stuff going on, work on one thing, then another, then a third. Unless you're under a deadline, it's a way to always keep a fresh perspective on your stuff.

                  At least, that's what I find to be true. :hat

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                  • #10
                    Hi Naudikom!

                    First, read FEARLESS CREATING, by Eric Maisel.

                    Then, open yourself up to your expansive imagination. Like everyone else here has said so wonderfully, it's okay to be raw.

                    Then, when you have a kick-ass idea, spend time with your characters BEFORE you put them to page. Create them, know them.

                    Next, outline your story. Like JoanEasley said. I really like her. She's smart, and she's right. Outlining, while dissed by certain writers, gives you the strength to write a formidable script.

                    Once you know your characters and have established a "frame-work" for the movie...magic happens.

                    I wish upon you, the best writing experience you can hold.

                    Respectfully,

                    Janea

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                    • #11
                      Masterpieces of sh*t

                      According to WGA stats the average pro writer wrote 9 scripts before he made any money... that means you have the whole world's permission to write 9 scripts that aren't brilliant. Learning experiences.

                      Hemingway said he threw his first novel away - it was awful. But he had to write it in order to learn how to write a novel.

                      You're learning how to write scripts. The first few may not turn out as planned (I have scripts NOW that don't turn out as planned - I throw them away).

                      First drafts don't have to be good - they just have to be FINISHED. You can always go back and fix it. You can always tinker with it. But if it doesn't exist yet, you can't do anything!

                      Think of it as practice. Take the pressure off yourself.

                      Get to FADE OUT, put it away and start on a new script. You can't do a good job of rewriting a script if you only have one script - that makes the script too powerful. You need to be more powerful than your script! The more scripts you've written, the more savage you can be in your rewrites - you'll do whatever it takes to make it good. If you only have one script, you'll be afraid of doing something that might harm your only script.

                      Do whatever it takes to get to FADE OUT, then get on to the next script. It doesn't have to be good, it just has to be finished.

                      - Bill

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                      • #12
                        Re: Masterpieces of sh*t

                        It seems I've acquired a slew of mentors - thanks, guys. I appreciate it a lot... here goes...

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          seattle

                          I agree with seattleperson. Why do you think tv staff rooms are filled with writers punching up the same script, because they have a deadline and dont have the luxury of returning to the same script with the fresh perspective that passing time gives.

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                          • #14
                            Re: seattle

                            I just finished two classes at UCLA.
                            Invaluable for story and structure.

                            Was taught to jot three main things
                            that occur in Act 1, six for Act 2, and
                            three for Act 3. This formula helped
                            keep me on track of where the story
                            needed to go, and drop lazy but pet
                            scenes and characters. If you're taking
                            someone from Hollywood
                            to San Diego, no need to visit Sedona
                            just cos it's a nifty place.

                            Then when you have a true story
                            spine, keep adding sequences for
                            plot and arc, turning them into story
                            beats.

                            I applied this technique on a story
                            idea I got last night. Jotted today
                            and have twelve pages of a
                            treatment done.

                            I'm sold!

                            I also set goals for first drafts.
                            Most used:
                            10 pages of crap today!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Everything is crap.

                              So why not just put out some of your own crap?

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