Screenwriting : Today's Wish and Creative Tip by Laurie A…

Today's Wish and Creative Tip

Perfection is the death of all good things. Especially in creative endeavors. Perfection is a disease of addiction that pretends to be an asset, it is the creator’s monster. It is the cause of unfinished novels, screenplays, scores, sculptures and paintings that could fill a warehouse or hundred. No matter how much we strive to finish a piece of work, we cannot resist to give it one more pass – until it’s noodled to death and has no spirit of the creative surge of curiosity that created it. All creators are guilty of this. But illustrators and painters go into the endeavor fully aware of this tendency and they give themselves permission to do 30 second figure drawings, 30 minute iPad paintings... Ironically, these works that are given permission to be loose often end up being so alive that the artist then adapts it to a fully realized expression. Two things: 1) As writers, give yourself 10 minutes to write freeform about anything that piqued your interest in the day – it can be cashier, someone with road rage, a news story, a bug hanging on for dear life on your wiper blade. Do this at minimum once a week, ideally everyday. 2) Recognize in your characters that their need (or lack thereof) to perfect something is a flaw – not an asset. This in no way is meant to be a ticket to typos, nonsensical story logic and poor craftsmanship, it is acknowledging that even though writing is rewriting, deadlines serve a purpose – give yourself one, meet it, and write, the end.