When it comes to living a creative life, we’re in the director’s chair—so why don’t we act like it?
While most of the time it’s frustrating, I sometimes find it comical that we end up procrastinating on the things we want to accomplish the most, such as completing and marketing a screenplay. Yet, we manage to push ourselves through the things we dread—work obligations, household chores, and the expectations of others. We put off the things that will fulfill us, so much so we become drained and let every opportunity for our creative projects pass us by.
Here is where our productive procrastination skills will be put to the test. If you want to amp up your creativity this year:
1. Instead of facebook stalking while your laundry dries…
…read a book that will help you learn more about the craft of screenwriting, such as Essentials of Screenwriting by Richard Walter.
2. Instead of watching a mindless reality show to unwind…
…choose a movie that is similar in genre to the screenplay you want to write, and wind up! Keep a notebook nearby in case you think of new ideas for your own movie while you’re watching.
3. Instead of leafing through a catalogue of products you’ll never use/can’t afford…
…leaf through the screenplays of your favourite movies so you can become more fluent with structuring your own.
4. Instead of checking your e-mail every 15 seconds and replying to text messages the moment you receive them…
…turn your e-mail notifications off. Turn both your cell phone and home phone ringers off. Turn the television off. Turn the radio off. Kick everybody out. Practice the art of quiet so that the constant chatter going through your mind can subside, and you can reconnect with your creativity.
5. Instead of going to the same damn bar on the same damn night every week…
…stay home (gasp!), create a relaxed setting, and write! If you want to write a screenplay, then write a screenplay (I know, right?). You’ll have to find the time somewhere, and the easiest way to find the time is by chipping away at your social calendar and prioritizing. Setting yourself apart from the rest will be hard, but only at first. Eventually, you’ll feel so liberated, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
Look over your daily tasks: which ones must be done? Which ones can be put off until the next day? Which ones have no expiry date?
If you procrastinate on the right things, this time next year you and I (and that sister of mine) will be marketing our kick-ass screenplays!
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They might sound a bit basic, but these tips will bring you dozens of extra writing hours per month, and what you need is regular work – not long blocks that shatter you. We all have basically the same amount of time in a life. It just depends on what we choose to do with it.
michael recently posted Scriptwriters to make a mark at Cannes 2012.
I couldn’t have put it better myself!