“Writing equals butt on chair” (*)
I can’t take credit for this line. I’ve seen it associated with Oliver Stone:
“Writing equals butt on chair.” (*)
Seems simple enough, right? At some point, you have to plant your ass on seat and write the damn pages.
However you will notice the (*) I added to this particular writing mantra. And that asterisk signifies this:
(*) = If you actually spend the time writing.
Let’s say it’s that time of day you have set aside to write. You go to your office. Your study. The kitchen. Starbucks. Wherever. And you dutifully deposit derriere onto chair.
Good start.
You open your screenwriting software. Open your story file. Set your fingers onto the keyboard, ready to pound out some pages.
Then you decide you will check out Facebook, just for a couple of minutes. And someone posted a link to “Underwater Dogs”. Click. And you see this:
Before you know it, you have spent 73 minutes in Click Through Hell, downloaded dozens of cute puppy photos… and not written one page!
Hence: Writing equals butt on chair… if you actually spend the time writing.
Now I could just end this post here and… you know… be an asshole, attempting to guilt you into writing when your butt is on a chair. But that’s not me. I’m a nice guy.
So I’m going to give you the single most helpful tip I have about how to make your writing time actual writing time, and not pursuing pooch pictures on the Internet.
Read it. Use it. Do it. When you click the Go button, you write. Period. And you write until it says, “Well done.”
So remember…
Writing equals butt on chair… if you actually spend the time writing.
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.
Why not use the structure of this 24-week workshop to Go On Your Own Quest? That was an idea that gathered energy among many members of the GITS community which I described here.
For more information on Go On Your Own Quest, go here.
Onward!