Short stories and poems can sometimes come in flashes of inspiration. When they do you write them down furiously with the force of an explosive sprinter.
Conversely, novels and screenplays are long term projects. No one writes a novel or screenplay in one sitting. To successfully accomplish your writing goals you'll need to treat your project like a sustained marathon effort not a dynamic sprint.
Interestingly, I've also found that a screenplay or other long work is more like a marathon of hurdles. You will encounter one bump in the road after the other. Scenes you thought were brilliant one day won't work when you reread them a week later. Some days you'll feel like you're running in place, not making any progress a all, your destination no closer as a result of your efforts. It's especially on these days that you've got to make sure you carve out your writing time and just get through it.
One way I managed to get through my first script was to set mini-goals for myself that I could reach within a day or two at most. Hitting these goals day after day helped to build my confidence which in turn kept me motivated.
Naturally, this approach isn't meant for all writers. So, in the spirit of fun, here's a completely different philosophy and approach. Viki King's How To Write A Movie in 21 Days
, baffles and excites me. Ms. King offers some great insights and exercises regardless of how fast you ultimately write your screenplay. A really fun and informative read. I highly recommend it.This week's suggested website: Book-in-a-Week - (www.book-in-a-week.com) This site is for ambitious people only. Book-in-a-Week encourages writers to write as much as possible during the first week of every month.
This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time. Consider the project you're currently working on. Give yourself realistic daily mini-goals for the coming week, e.g., Monday - 1,000 words in the novel, Tuesday - research my main character's favorite hobby, Wednesday - re-read and clean up scene #3, etc. The idea here is to build your masterpiece slowly and methodically. Be sure to set a goal that matches your current skill level and comfortability. This will reinforce your writing practice. Have a great writing week.
