I was interviewing Tracey Scott Wilson for the monthly Dramatists Guild Writers' Workshop. She got this tip from playwright/tv writer Josh Brand when they were working on "The Americans": Do not write in order.
-make a mental list or physical list of the scenes you would love to see the most.
- start writing according to the scenes you're most passionate about, most interested in, the ones that make you laugh, the ones that frighten you.
At the time, I was 30 pages into a screenplay. Instinctively I do a little bit of non-linear writing when I'm diving into a new project. An ending may pop up or a scene later on that I want to see and I'll jot it down real quick. But what Tracey said COMPLETELY opened me up. The 'write from your nonlinear passion' tip, got me thinking about everything and anything I wanted to see related to this story. And then I started writing. No hesitation.
The next 90 pages poured out of me in 2 weeks. I was laughing, crying, pacing around the room. Around p 80, I started writing a scene that explained the entire structure of what was instinctively unfolding. I went back, plugged this scene into the first act, and then kept writing. And this was a screenplay.
Whenever I got stuck or things started to feel 'icky' it was because I was trying to think of 'order' or filler scenes to get to the next exciting scene. Trying to be the A+ student in the first draft is lethal. I would have to break out of it and start thinking about something interesting again.
Naturally the filler scenes became more interesting when I went back to them, the expositional moments had these little surprises in them b/c I was still in that first draft 'joy' mode.
And now I gotta rewrite this mofo. But I have joy, passion, and a structured full-length story. Thank you, Tracey and Josh.
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