I own a cafe, and run an animal rescue- along with personal life stuff that takes up a lot of time. I was wondering if people could share their tricks and tips with me on how they stay focused and really get a lot of writing done at a given time. My issue- I find myself writing my ideas down, expanding on them- rewriting my ideas down, reexpanding on them. I feel like I have this great script idea, I have written some of it, I constantly re write the same stuff to perfect it. It is not that I can not focus- it is that my idea has grown so much, I have 5 seasons of a show in my head- I have all of the most important moments for it written down and ordered how I would like them to occur, I have how each thing will unfold- what I don’t have is the time to focus on banging out sections of the script. Not writers block- I have so much content that I couldn’t possibly have writers block- I have so much I want to get done that I jump around so much. Jumping around leads me to getting nothing accomplished. Does anyone have tips on how to really crack down and focus on a script? I know my question is very general- theirs no one answer I am looking for- I am just open to hearing how everyone does their writing
Anything Goes : Tips by Christopher Cafiero
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If I’m “physically” unable to write as in not put bum in chair I still carry idea around but execute it in other ways. I recently started dictating ideas into a phone app and carry a notebook all times. Revelations may come when least expected and with a previous unsolved plot point the penny may suddenly drop. Fighting time restrictions is futile, accept and relax so the story world will yield
The best thing I ever heard was anybody can find ten minutes in a day to write. Christopher your ideas are the start of a storyboard, what I do is look at what I have and start writing scenes out and eliminate what does not work. After reading this it sounds like you are trying to polish the story as you go along without having a complete story. Write the whole story first and the drafts will bring it into a polished industry ready script. The first writing should have all your beats included and do not worry if the first writing is bad before you start the drafts, its going to be bad.
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@Christopher You own a cafe & rescue animals so have you ever thought of a Cat Cafe? These businesses usually earn enough to keep a larger number of staff than just a food cafe so might free up some time for you.
Debbie, the cafe I own is a cat cafe actually. We are fairly new. Well, 3 years old, but with COVID it is hard to say exactly what time frame that would be equivalent to had the world not shut down. Food establishments have been in the family. My uncles own restaurants, my father in law had a deli, etc. and they all say how it takes 6 months to a year to know exactly what your clientele will look like. With Covid shutting us down it is hard to go by that 6months to a year time frame. Being fairly new though I have to be there all the time. Having the rescue as opposed to partnering with a rescue like 99% of cat cafes do causes a lot of revenue to go to vet bills. I do have the upside of being the boss though- so theirs is some days that I will sit down and write, but it’s hard to focus with customers coming in to chat with me and what not.
If you ever travel to Suffolk County Long Island, we are called CatPurrCcinos. Stop in!
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That's cute.
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Hey @Christopher I worship cats but travel too much to keep them, would love to visit your place but I’m in UK. But never say never!