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...is to literally write. Simple as that. Experience is the best teacher, one way to find out HOW you do it well is by doing it all the time. Think of it in terms of a scientist; you have to have enough data to make a proper analysis. Write alot, all the time to figure out the how/when/why of your writing. I personally think it paramount to have an intense connection to the work you write. The material, the desire to see it finished (performed/sold to a studio/on a shelf at B&N), the act of writing, whatever it may be - there needs to be some strong reasoning behind it. If there's one thing I can't stand as a writer as well as a reader is half ass. If you don't care, sorry homie, neither will I. Just the apathetic times we live in. As for my approach, I'm currently in something of a shift. Close to 90% of what I've written has come out of a desire to write it, a feeling of "Oh my Jesus, I have to get this out of my head and onto paper if for no other reason than to get it out of here." coupled with enjoying the actual process of writing. That other 10%, and pretty much everything I've written in the past 2 years, has been stuff I want to write coupled with a deadline. "I've got to write this memoir now while this particular part of my life is fresh in my mind.", "I've got to finish this play adaptation because the other guy is waiting for it." "I've got to finish the screenplay because we're already months into pre-production and we only have months to do it." (all of these responses are actual responses I've used in the past year) In thinking about it, I much rather prefer the former to the latter. The latter is just too related to the idea of "finishing" and not "writing", a slippery slope more concerned with "getting it done" than "making it good". I work well under a deadline, but I fault and see the deadline in a dreadful way. The last thing I should be feeling when I write is dread. It also doesn't help that I purposely slowed down my output (I was writing A LOT) in the past couple years. I don't get the impression you are at the same point of your writing career as I am, but I've hit a point where I have more than enough material but need to focus more on the industry aspect of it (meaning who cares how many plays/books/scripts you've written if you don't know any directors/agents/producers?), so I'm trying to marry the two so to speak. Like all things in life, you got to want it. Trust, if you want it enough, you'll say "Fuck it!" to your own neurosis and start writing because you wont' be able to stand not doing it anymore (make sense?). A sort of 'driving yourself crazy to get there', but it is 'there'. I've written over 40 plays, about a book's worth of poetry, a novel, half dozen NF books, a couple screenplays - I don't know, I hate when I get advice from people and not know their credentials. So if it does anything for ya, there ya go. Hope this helps. Peace
"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams
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