Lesson 18 – The Writing Process Continued
Learning about the writing process with David Mamet continues today. David dives deeper into his process. He says naps are okay and help prevent burn out. He becomes a master of simplifying his scripts in movie format. What does that mean?
David creates an outline by breaking down his movie into about 15 scenes. He makes them simple so that he can show up on set and visual every shot of the camera. You should be able to know every scene without using notes. He uses to pitch his movie scripts. You can’t pitch if you don’t know what you’re talking about. Using notes doesn’t look right. You wouldn’t do this for a job interview, and writing is a job. If he can’t see the shot, then it’s left out of his outline.
This method is just like creating a visual storyboard of your novel with scenes or shots. The story should play out easily in your head. If you get confused, so will your audience. If you can’t visualize what’s happening it will show in your words. Your audience feels your emotions because they come out when you type. The clearer and more connected you are, the more your audience will be able to see what you see.
Writers will go through their process at least 3 times – once you start, again when you edit, and when you finalize. “Writing is rewriting because it’s getting rid of your bad ideas.”
The lessons I have with David, the more I realize how much he simplifies his techniques and his words. Like Hemingway, he keeps his writing simple and it’s about creating the one true sentence.
His next point is about being clinical when it comes to your writing. You need to look at your work from a distance to see the plot holes after the first time you write it down. He went on to say that writers should be like an ER Doctor going through their checklist to save their patient. You will go in out of the process as the patient and as the doctor.
Finally, his last point restates a truth to writing. He said that the only difference between him and a dreamer is that he wrote it down. Daydreaming is normal but when you put pen to paper, you become an author.
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~Yoon Ju
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