Ian Dawson's Blog - Posts Tagged "write-badly-with-pride"
Writing Tip of the Week: Giving Yourself Permission as a Writer
Creativity begins within the privacy of our minds. We all have thoughts, ideas, plans, goals, and dreams, but not everyone takes those elements and artistically expresses them. Whether through writing, art, dance, song, or film, creative expression can be a hurdle that prevents many from getting their vision out of their head and into a tangible space.
But why? Why do creative people often have hang-ups and issues taking what they know in their heads and hearts is a good idea and making it more than a passive internal flirtation with their Muse?
I think it comes from fear.
Fear that what’s in your head won’t translate to the page on the first try. Fear that people won’t enjoy or understand your intentions with the creative work you’ve molded and shaped for months or years. Fear of rejection, of failure, of the unknown.
But you haven’t written a word yet, so how do you know any of the above will happen?
You don’t.
And you won’t know if it will be a success or not until you give yourself permission to get the ideas out of your head.
Today, I’m going to offer up five statements for you to think about the next time you’re hesitant about bringing an idea to life. Remember that this initial version of the idea is for your eyes only. Take the fear out of the equation. Know that you and your words are in their own Circle of Trust.
Now, I encourage you, whenever doubt creeps in, or fear enters your mind as you embark on a new creative endeavor, that you say one or all of these statements to yourself to help move your forward in your creative journey:
I Give Myself Permission to…Write Badly with Pride
You can’t edit what doesn’t exist, and every writer has to start their story at some level of quality, so don’t be afraid to write crap in exchange for knowing you can go back and fix it later. The key is to get the ideas on the page so they can evolve.
Be proud that you wrote them down and now can make them better.
I Give Myself Permission to…Change Things in the Story That Aren’t Working
Outlines, Beat Sheets, Notecards, and other forms of structuring your story are great but don’t marry yourself to what you planned out 100%. Give yourself the ability to go on tangents and explore new possibilities, new story arcs, and new character developments.
A story is a road trip. You’re going from Point A to Point B, but a few detours to some unknown places can always add to the adventure. Allow yourself to travel these pathways and see what happens.
I Give Myself Permission to…Challenge Myself as a Writer
If you ever wanted to explore writing in a new genre or medium, do it. If you write short stories but want to write a screenplay, learn what it takes to format and create a 110-page screen story and make it a reality. If you are a novelist who writes romance and want to try writing horror, go for it.
Experimenting and challenging yourself as a writer gives you the ability to stretch your creative muscles. Along the way, you may pick up some writing advice from this other area that can help strengthen the genre or medium you are comfortable in.
This can also be used as a writing exercise. You challenge yourself to write a paragraph without using a certain commonly overused word like ‘that,’ or even challenging yourself to write stronger dialogue or description.
I Give Myself Permission to…Accept Constructive Criticism as Helpful
The word ‘Constructive’ is the key here. If it’s advice or notes that can make your writing stronger, or assist in making your future work better, then add that to your toolbox. If it’s not something that will help you now or in the future, ignore it.
I once gave notes to a woman on her screenplay. She had a Russian character who was always drunk on Vodka. I said that this was a cliché, and she should consider changing some aspect of the character to make him less of a stereotype. Her response: “F-ck you!” Needless to say, that was when we parted ways because this was the least of the scripts issues, and if she was unable to handle something fairly benign, I knew my other notes would not be helpful, either.
My goal was to help make her script stronger and better, but she was focused on the criticism and not the constructive aspect. When you receive a note on your work, divorce yourself from being its creator. Ask yourself if you were reading this as an outsider, would you have the same comment or question? More than likely, yes.
Remember: Constructive = Helpful.
I Give Myself Permission to…Have Fun When Writing!
No matter what you write, you have to enjoy the process, enjoy the journey, and enjoy what you’re working on. It’s reflected in your work. If you had a good time, invested in the characters and their story, laughed at their jokes, cried with their tragedies, and held your breath while they were in peril, you can bet the audience will do the same.
Passion can transfer from the page to the reader or from the screen to the viewer, and the more heart and energy and love and fun you put into it, the greater reward it is for the audience.
If you don’t like your story, figure out why and change it for yourself. Write the story you want to write, that you want to see, that you want people to enjoy.
I hope these statements or affirmations give you the permission your need to move past those blocks that plague all writers, new and experienced. You have a story to tell. Don’t let fear stop you from making it a reality.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you in two weeks!
But why? Why do creative people often have hang-ups and issues taking what they know in their heads and hearts is a good idea and making it more than a passive internal flirtation with their Muse?
I think it comes from fear.
Fear that what’s in your head won’t translate to the page on the first try. Fear that people won’t enjoy or understand your intentions with the creative work you’ve molded and shaped for months or years. Fear of rejection, of failure, of the unknown.
But you haven’t written a word yet, so how do you know any of the above will happen?
You don’t.
And you won’t know if it will be a success or not until you give yourself permission to get the ideas out of your head.
Today, I’m going to offer up five statements for you to think about the next time you’re hesitant about bringing an idea to life. Remember that this initial version of the idea is for your eyes only. Take the fear out of the equation. Know that you and your words are in their own Circle of Trust.
Now, I encourage you, whenever doubt creeps in, or fear enters your mind as you embark on a new creative endeavor, that you say one or all of these statements to yourself to help move your forward in your creative journey:
I Give Myself Permission to…Write Badly with Pride
You can’t edit what doesn’t exist, and every writer has to start their story at some level of quality, so don’t be afraid to write crap in exchange for knowing you can go back and fix it later. The key is to get the ideas on the page so they can evolve.
Be proud that you wrote them down and now can make them better.
I Give Myself Permission to…Change Things in the Story That Aren’t Working
Outlines, Beat Sheets, Notecards, and other forms of structuring your story are great but don’t marry yourself to what you planned out 100%. Give yourself the ability to go on tangents and explore new possibilities, new story arcs, and new character developments.
A story is a road trip. You’re going from Point A to Point B, but a few detours to some unknown places can always add to the adventure. Allow yourself to travel these pathways and see what happens.
I Give Myself Permission to…Challenge Myself as a Writer
If you ever wanted to explore writing in a new genre or medium, do it. If you write short stories but want to write a screenplay, learn what it takes to format and create a 110-page screen story and make it a reality. If you are a novelist who writes romance and want to try writing horror, go for it.
Experimenting and challenging yourself as a writer gives you the ability to stretch your creative muscles. Along the way, you may pick up some writing advice from this other area that can help strengthen the genre or medium you are comfortable in.
This can also be used as a writing exercise. You challenge yourself to write a paragraph without using a certain commonly overused word like ‘that,’ or even challenging yourself to write stronger dialogue or description.
I Give Myself Permission to…Accept Constructive Criticism as Helpful
The word ‘Constructive’ is the key here. If it’s advice or notes that can make your writing stronger, or assist in making your future work better, then add that to your toolbox. If it’s not something that will help you now or in the future, ignore it.
I once gave notes to a woman on her screenplay. She had a Russian character who was always drunk on Vodka. I said that this was a cliché, and she should consider changing some aspect of the character to make him less of a stereotype. Her response: “F-ck you!” Needless to say, that was when we parted ways because this was the least of the scripts issues, and if she was unable to handle something fairly benign, I knew my other notes would not be helpful, either.
My goal was to help make her script stronger and better, but she was focused on the criticism and not the constructive aspect. When you receive a note on your work, divorce yourself from being its creator. Ask yourself if you were reading this as an outsider, would you have the same comment or question? More than likely, yes.
Remember: Constructive = Helpful.
I Give Myself Permission to…Have Fun When Writing!
No matter what you write, you have to enjoy the process, enjoy the journey, and enjoy what you’re working on. It’s reflected in your work. If you had a good time, invested in the characters and their story, laughed at their jokes, cried with their tragedies, and held your breath while they were in peril, you can bet the audience will do the same.
Passion can transfer from the page to the reader or from the screen to the viewer, and the more heart and energy and love and fun you put into it, the greater reward it is for the audience.
If you don’t like your story, figure out why and change it for yourself. Write the story you want to write, that you want to see, that you want people to enjoy.
I hope these statements or affirmations give you the permission your need to move past those blocks that plague all writers, new and experienced. You have a story to tell. Don’t let fear stop you from making it a reality.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you in two weeks!
Writing Tip of the Week: Write Badly with Pride
As media consumers, we are presented with the best possible versions of products sold in stores, online, and in movie theaters. This “final product” can lead some to believe that what they’re seeing was indeed lightning in a bottle, that the project from idea to distribution was a seamless process for all involved.
And that would be 100% incorrect.
Screenplays, TV scripts, novels, short films, poetry, and all other forms of written media never start as the final version. Everyone starts from the same place: nothing. The key is to craft nothing into something that can become a final product, but you can’t do that if you haven’t written anything.
This is where writing badly with pride comes into play.
Why Write Badly?
First, you must accept that whatever you initially put down on the page will not be your best work. It just won’t be, and that’s okay. It’s essential to have it down on the page so it can be reworked, tweaked, and edited later to make it the best it can be.
When I write drafts, the first iteration of anything written is garbage. But, since the basic idea is out of my head and there’s a visual representation on my computer or paper, my mind can now work on the chapter or scene and improve it.
Even if you’re tempted to go back and change things, force yourself to keep moving forward in this poorly written draft and work to get to the end. The last thing you want to do is get into a cycle of write-rewrite-edit-rewrite-rework-rewrite-tweak, only to be on page ten six months later.
Once you have a draft that’s 10% good, your eventual goal is to work on it and help it evolve into the 100% version you’ve brainstormed and dreamed about. But if you overthink and aim for perfection from page one of your rough draft, getting to that final page and The End will be a challenge.
Why Write Badly with Pride?
You’re a writer. Writers write. Whether it’s good, bad, or mediocre, taking pride in your work and having the confidence to get it out on the page by any means necessary should be your top priority. This means no matter how poor the rough draft’s quality is, you should be confident enough in yourself as a writer to know that you will make it better over time.
It’s what all writers have to do. It’s part of the job.
Yes, even a screenplay that wins an Academy Award or a novel that becomes a New York Times bestseller had to be thrown out onto the page in some haphazard form before getting to its final form.
A Cure for Writer’s Block?
Writing badly with pride is an excellent way to destroy writer’s block from its foundation. There’s no fear of writing something that isn’t great since that’s no longer the point! Your goal is to write anything in any form so you can fix it later.
It shouldn’t be like building a house where getting it right the first time is ideal. With writing, you can always go back and revise, which means getting the ideas out on the page in whatever form is a great way to go from garbage to gold.
Final Thoughts
My screenwriting professor, Eric Edson, wrote “Write Badly with Pride” on the whiteboard on the first day of his class, and I’ve never forgotten it. It should be the motto of all writers, whether they are starting out or are pros. I encourage everyone to type the motto in big, bold letters, print it out, and hang it above their writing space.
Write Badly with Pride, and I’ll see you next time!
And that would be 100% incorrect.
Screenplays, TV scripts, novels, short films, poetry, and all other forms of written media never start as the final version. Everyone starts from the same place: nothing. The key is to craft nothing into something that can become a final product, but you can’t do that if you haven’t written anything.
This is where writing badly with pride comes into play.
Why Write Badly?
First, you must accept that whatever you initially put down on the page will not be your best work. It just won’t be, and that’s okay. It’s essential to have it down on the page so it can be reworked, tweaked, and edited later to make it the best it can be.
When I write drafts, the first iteration of anything written is garbage. But, since the basic idea is out of my head and there’s a visual representation on my computer or paper, my mind can now work on the chapter or scene and improve it.
Even if you’re tempted to go back and change things, force yourself to keep moving forward in this poorly written draft and work to get to the end. The last thing you want to do is get into a cycle of write-rewrite-edit-rewrite-rework-rewrite-tweak, only to be on page ten six months later.
Once you have a draft that’s 10% good, your eventual goal is to work on it and help it evolve into the 100% version you’ve brainstormed and dreamed about. But if you overthink and aim for perfection from page one of your rough draft, getting to that final page and The End will be a challenge.
Why Write Badly with Pride?
You’re a writer. Writers write. Whether it’s good, bad, or mediocre, taking pride in your work and having the confidence to get it out on the page by any means necessary should be your top priority. This means no matter how poor the rough draft’s quality is, you should be confident enough in yourself as a writer to know that you will make it better over time.
It’s what all writers have to do. It’s part of the job.
Yes, even a screenplay that wins an Academy Award or a novel that becomes a New York Times bestseller had to be thrown out onto the page in some haphazard form before getting to its final form.
A Cure for Writer’s Block?
Writing badly with pride is an excellent way to destroy writer’s block from its foundation. There’s no fear of writing something that isn’t great since that’s no longer the point! Your goal is to write anything in any form so you can fix it later.
It shouldn’t be like building a house where getting it right the first time is ideal. With writing, you can always go back and revise, which means getting the ideas out on the page in whatever form is a great way to go from garbage to gold.
Final Thoughts
My screenwriting professor, Eric Edson, wrote “Write Badly with Pride” on the whiteboard on the first day of his class, and I’ve never forgotten it. It should be the motto of all writers, whether they are starting out or are pros. I encourage everyone to type the motto in big, bold letters, print it out, and hang it above their writing space.
Write Badly with Pride, and I’ll see you next time!
