The Art Of Warp Speed (Or, How Not To Get Stuck In The Mud)

If you're a writer, then you've probably heard tell of a mysterious disease known as "Writer's Block" that slips into your head and pours wet cement all over your well laid plans. This can make you feel trapped, hopeless, helpless, and occasionally hungry.

Other writers suffer from a syndrome I call "Restart-itus", where they just can't seem to finish a project because once they hit a roadblock, they move on to another idea with the hopes that this one will somehow come to them magically unhindered. Until they get stuck again, and start something new (again).

Whether you are in one camp or both (you overachiever!), there are a few simple rules of thumb that will help get you back on track.

RULE #1: KEEP WRITING. Always. You won't finish anything unless you start, and you won't finish anything until you finish. One way to get things going is to set yourself a reasonable goal, and stick to it.

Since screenplays generally run about 90-120 pages, writing a mere 3 pages a day guarantees you'll be done with your first draft in just 30-40 days. And chances are, once you get into the groove, you may find yourself writing much more. Either way, that's a completed rough draft in about a month's time. (Go you!)

RULE #2: SAVE THE RESEARCH FOR LATER. It's easier to get bogged down in researching unknown elements for your script than you think.

Partly because there's so much information out there that you can get caught up in the Google-Wikipedia vortex for hours, and partly because utilizing the internet puts you just one glorious, procrastinating click away from YouTube and dancing cat memes.

Of course you want your script to be accurate, and there's no harm in doing a little research, but you may want to save the bulk of that for when you're editing. Try just putting an "X" where you want to look up information later, even if that "X" ends up in the middle of someone's dialogue. It'll be easy to find when you start editing.

By not stopping your flow now with the desire to be perfect, you'll write much faster.

RULE #3: LOOK AHEAD, NOT BEHIND. Rereading slows you down.

I've taken quite a few screenwriting courses, and one of the tips I've received is to resist the urge to go over your work every time you sit down to write. What I mean is this -- unless you need to double check something to make sure you're not racing headlong into some massive inconsistency, don't reread everything you've written up until now. Otherwise you run the risk of wanting to clean up and edit what you already have. Don't do it.

Just keep writing, and when that First Draft is said and done, you'll have all the time in the world to go back and make things nice and shiny. And -- bonus -- you'll have a completed project.

WARP WRITING -- ENGAGE!