How to trust the writing process
When I had just moved to LA with the dream of becoming a professional screenwriter and only had one or two scripts under my belt, I became friends with a much more senior screenwriter. He was a good writer and I relied on him for guidance.
He often told me to “trust the process”. I hated when he told me that. In my head I’d say “come on man, you’ve been doing this for years. I want you to tell me what to do but all you’re saying is to trust the process!!!”
In retrospect, I wasn’t able to trust the process because I didn’t know the process yet. I hadn’t been writing long enough to recognize and understand it. The best thing a young writer can do is to get to know the writing process by writing. Write as many scripts as you can. This will take a while, so in the meantime, I want to help you get to know the writing process so you feel more comfortable putting blind faith in it.
What is the writing process?
A series of phases which – if properly passed through – will result in a finished product. In our case, a screenplay. This is why it’s safe to trust it - the process promises the outcome. The writing process is an ACT OF CREATION, and like any creative act, it has three distinct stages that unfold naturally.
Thoughts: Everything begins with a thought. Any work of art. Any business. Any invention. If you take it back as far as you can you will see that it always begins with an idea. Thoughts are the seeds of all creation.
Words: When the thoughts are strong and good you will naturally want to tell someone about it. Or if it’s not speech ready yet, you’ll write it down somewhere. Either way, when we speak or write about thoughts, they become more dense, more alive, and therefore start to take on greater energy.
Actions: Actions are the tangible steps that bring thoughts and words into the physical world. These actions demonstrate a genuine belief in the thoughts from which they originate. The stronger the belief, the more energy created. The more energy, the more likely the physical manifestation of the original thought.
These steps are the container that hold your creative journey, which might feel messy and directionless at times, but is ultimately held in a state of order and inevitability by the process. Another way to look at these steps is as the banks of a river, giving direction and shape to the rushing water of the creative journey.
Let’s take a closer look at the three stages of the creative process as they relate to screenwriting as well as some tips for success as you journey through.
Stage 1: The flash of inspiration
The muse strikes. This moment looks different every time. Sometimes it’s a fully formed idea, sometimes just a character. Or maybe it’s a book you love. A dream you had. Either way, something has come alive. Something invisible wants to become visible. This is ground zero, and it always starts with a thought. Thoughts are the birthplace of all things creative.
After you receive the idea, set aside protected time to simply think about your idea. Resist the urge to write anything down. Just concentrate. Do things that encourage you to slip into a state of reverie. For me, it’s jogging while listening to music that’s in line with my idea. Maybe for you it’s driving on the open road. Going for a walk in nature. I know a writer who takes long showers and sets the intention before stepping in that all they are going to do is stand there and think about their idea. Most important thing here is to set the intention and the frame. “I’m going to do this thing that gets me into a state of reverie for 30 minutes a day so that my idea can start to come to life.”
Stage 2: Talk/journal it into existence
When you receive a powerful thought or idea it will naturally want to be transformed into words. This is the part of the process where you tell somebody about the idea. Or maybe you don’t tell anyone yet, but you start writing notes so you don’t forget.
As you do this, the original thought becomes a little more real in your head. You can start to see it more clearly. The characters and the story are literally coming to life. MAYBE GIVE AN EXAMPLE? You don’t have a screenplay yet, but you are seeing the necessary elements start to take form. Something is being created.
Pitch the idea to your friends and family. Listen to their feedback. Get a nice notebook dedicated to this specific idea. Personally, when I’m in this stage, I always make sure the notebook I buy is expensive. I love Leuchtturm1917 for this. There’s something about spending thirty bucks on a notebook that makes the idea feel even more valuable. Write down as much as you possibly can about your idea.
Set aside time to free write in your journal about your idea. What is your theme? Write about your protagonist. Who are they? What do they do? Who are their friends and family? What do they want? What happens if they don’t get it? As you do this, your plot will start to naturally reveal itself. You’ll start to get clear on how to introduce your protagonist. You’ll know what needs to happen to them in order to send them on the journey they need to go on. Keep fleshing it out on paper.
Stage 3: Constructing the screenplay
Now is when you take everything you have and start to fit it into the structure that is recognizable as a screenplay. If you’re unclear on exactly what that structure looks like, this is where you might read a book about the mechanics of writing a screenplay. Ask a friend for help. This is inspired action, and eventually it will lead to the completion of a first draft.
Here is where you’ll most likely start to organize all your words into a plan or document of some sort. An outline or a treatment. If you were building a house, the contractor wouldn’t show up with the guys to start actually building until the plans from the architect were received. Same goes for a screenplay.
I’ve found that the best treatments are ones that contain the foundation that your story will be built upon but nothing more. Four or five pages is good. The more detail you have in your treatment the less opportunity your story will have to surprise you while you’re writing it.
Now you’re ready to start constructing the screenplay. Design your workday with intention. Create a sacred space and time to devote to writing. Guard it like it’s the most important thing in the world, because it is. Consistency is king. Remember, at this point you’re not trying to write a perfect script. You’re simply trying to finish a first draft. One rule I lke to live by when writing a first draft is to only look forward, never backward. I don’t go back and reread pages from previous days. When you’re finished with the script, I always encourage people to print it out. Hold it. Feel it. Read it. It’s an amazing feeling to see the thing that started out as an abstract idea sitting there on your desk – a living, breathing, concrete thing in the real world, reminding you that you can trust the process.
Why should you care about this?
Because you can’t write a screenplay without progressing through these three stages. When I was younger I used to blast through the first two stages, not giving them nearly the amount of time and energy they required. I was so excited to start writing the script, I would skip over important steps of the process. Eventually I would hit a wall. I would blame it on writer’s block or my lack of experience. Sometimes I would even abandon the idea all together. All because I jumped ahead to stage three of the writing process without giving the first two stages enough love.
Now that we’ve deconstructed the writing process and examined each of its parts, you should be able to, when writing your next screenplay, locate yourself and know what stage of the process you are currently in. Try to pay attention to it all. The more you do this the more that you will notice that the writing process always unfolds naturally if you allow it to. You will see that writing can be easeful. And in time you will start to, as my mentor used to say, trust the process.