“One [blank] at a time”

This is a handy screenwriting mantra:

“One [blank] at a time.”

When you write a script, you will have ups and downs, good days and bad days. And while it’s great to set writing goals [when I write a first draft, it’s 5 pages per day], sometimes that just ain’t gonna happen.

When your single task with a first draft is to “get the damn thing done,” if you are wallowing in a triple biorhythm low trough and every cell in your body is resisting the call to deposit your butt onto chair to write, your personal goals [daily, weekly, monthly] can feel like this strapped to your back:

Goals are only helpful if you can keep them. Hence: “One [blank] at a time.”

The [blank] can be any of the following:

* One scene at a time: Use this when you are feeling a general sense of funk.

* One page at a time: Use this when your funk has become malaise.

* One sentence at a time: Use this when your malaise has become despair.

* One word at a time: And this one? Use only in the most extreme and dire circumstances, when you it seems as if the entire universe has conspired against you, your creativity feels like a deceased anchovy, and the very act of even thinking about your story reduces you to a quivering heap of epiglottal spasms.

The point of writing a first draft is to make progress. Some progress. Any progress. One scene, one page, one sentence, yes, even one word puts you closer to FADE OUT.

Eventually you will cycle out of your own blue period, the bright light of creativity will shine on you again, and pages will flow from your fingertips with the succulence of a robust zinfandel.

But if you find yourself in a writer’s tomb, you know what to do:

“One [blank] at a time.”

“The Quest” has entered Week 15! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s a 24-week immersion in the screenwriting process and you can do it here — for free!

Today and every Monday through Friday for the next 10 weeks, I’ll use this slot to post something inspirational as GOYOQ participants pound out their first drafts.

For background on “Go Into The Story: The Quest,” go here and here.

For all the previous weeks of Go On Your Own Quest posts, go here.

Join the GOYOQ Forums, a free online hub where you and other Quest participants can go to support each other and share your stories. Go here.

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