Craft Your Own Tale: Prepare, Pen, Create
In the world of screenwriting, the line between preparation and procrastination can often blur. However, understanding the nature and outcome of your delay is crucial in moving forward with your project.
Needless to say, preparation is an essential part of the screenwriting process. It involves research, outlining, or planning that moves your project forward and sets a foundation for actual writing. This deliberate, purposeful work is productive and generally reduces anxiety about starting because it builds your confidence and readiness.
On the other hand, procrastination is a self-defeating behavior that writers often encounter. It's the act of avoiding starting or progressing in your writing, often due to fear, anxiety, perfectionism, or low confidence. Procrastination usually provides short-term relief from stress but causes long-term stress and delays. It is often marked by distractions, avoidance, or repetitive "preparation" without actual progression to writing.
To differentiate between the two, focus on the purpose, outcome, and emotional tone of your work. Needing more preparation is characterized by gaining necessary clarity, information, or framework, leading to concrete progress (notes, outlines, ideas). Procrastination, on the other hand, is avoidance of the writing task.
Moreover, the relationship to perfectionism also plays a significant role. While preparation can be motivated by wanting a solid foundation, procrastination can be driven by perfectionism causing delay.
It's essential to remember that setting clear goals and time limits can help differentiate and manage these states. Committing to writing for a set time daily or targeting specific milestones can push beyond endless preparation into actual writing.
So, if you find yourself struggling to start writing, remember that fear, disguised as not being ready, is often the culprit. Taking the plunge and starting to write, even before you feel completely ready, is necessary to make progress with your project.
With a high concept, plot points, a step outline, detailed scene summaries, descriptions of the world, characters, and backstory, you have the tools you need to begin. Don't let fear of not living up to your story idea or generating quality enough work hold you back. Embrace the challenge and watch your script come to life.
- In the realm of screenwriting, the fine line between preparatory work and procrastination is frequently indistinct.
- Preparation, an integral part of the screenwriting process, encompasses research, outlining, and planning that advances your project and lays a basis for actual writing.
- Departing from productive, purposeful work, procrastination is a self-sabotaging behavior that writers often grapple with.
- A procrastinator tends to postpone starting or progressing in the writing process due to fear, anxiety, perfectionism, or low self-confidence.
- Differentiation between preparation and procrastination can be achieved by considering the purpose, outcome, and emotional tone of your work.
- Preparation, motivated by the desire for a solid foundation, fosters concrete progress, resulting in notes, outlines, and ideas.
- Conversely, procrastination, driven by perfectionism, hampers progress and results in distractions, avoidance, or repetitive preparation without substantial writing.
- Establishing clear goals and time limits can help manage these states effectively. Committing to a daily writing schedule or targeting specific milestones encourages progress toward the final draft of your script and personal growth through education and self-development.
