"Words, words, words!"

The title of this blog entry? Oh, that's Shakespeare! It's also the name of a play about three monkeys and three typewriters.

I'm wrestling with my own words at the moment. The screenplay is coming along, slowly but surely. I often say that the hardest part of writing is actually sitting down to write. And it sounds rudimentary; almost condescending, BUT THAT SHIT IS HARD! It's so easy to refresh Twitter, or watch Hulu or do Google Image searches for Amanda Bynes Nipple Slips (of which there are none, don't even waste your time. Unless you find some, then please hook a brutha up), but that's not going to get a screenplay written.

Now, I'm by no means an expert on writing. I'm no Tyler Perry. But, I've found a few tricks that help me get back on track whenever I find my mind wandering.

• WASH YA ASS!- I can't stress how much this makes a difference in your work output. If you're going to spend your day writing, do not just roll out of bed and onto the computer. Treat it like a work day. Try and get something to eat, scrub your loins, put on grown people clothes (read: NOT pajama bottoms and that free t-shirt you won at bar trivia) and then set yourself up for at least five hours of writing and research. Take yourself seriously, and subconsciously, you'll be more serious about your writing.
• PUSH THROUGH THAT FIRST DRAFT- You already know the story you want to tell. You've got your themes, character arcs and conflicts. It's all clear and up in your melon. I say, get that shit out of your dome and onto paper as soon as possible. That means hammering out a first draft just as fast as your little fingers will type. Don't over-think and re-think. I believe that's what slows down the process. Trust yourself. The story is good, or at least you think it's good enough to write. So trust your instincts and get things down as soon as possible.
• Critiquers Gonna Critique- Learn to differentiate between hatin' ass haters and constructive criticism. You should have people critiquing your work. A critical, outside eye is the difference between that weird dream that only you would find interesting and a consumable intellectual property for a wider audience. But, not everything in the critique is going to be helpful. I would even go so far as to say that about 20% of any critque is bullshit. It's either an attempt to flex intellectual superiority by nitpicking or sugar-coating to pad out a cursory reading. Either way, learn to glean the useful bits and throw up two-fingers to the rest.

And that's how I gets down. As a matter of fact, let me post a small piece of the screenplay. Critique if you'd like, but please see the above bullet point list. Particularly that last one. And also review the Amanda Bynes Nipple Slip quandary. Ya know... Because it'll help my writing.