Scrivening with Scrivener

I first came across the word “scrivener” when someone gave me Bartleby the Scrivener to act out in charades.  I didn’t do so well and I always remembered that word.  That darn word.  There is an application called Scrivener by Literature and Latte which is for writers.  It is a mac application, but they’ve developed a version for Windows which is in beta.

What is Scrivener?  Basically, it’s a word processor.   But it’s a word processor designed for the early drafts of a project.  You can work on regular fiction (novel, short story, etc.) or scripts (plays, screenplays, etc.).   The nice thing about it is that it allows you to easily break up your work into segments and move it around.  You can also keep all your research material in one place (the document itself) and not have to look all over the place for that information.

I read Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit a few years ago.  It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it.  One thing that I took from the book, which I still use today, is the concept of having a box for ideas related to a project.  Basically, it’s a place where you put ideas, clippings, songs, pictures, anything that relates to your project or that you think will serve as inspiration.

When I start a project I usually create a box file and jot down anything related to the story I’m going to work on.  As I’m writing, I will refer to that “box” when I get stuck to make sure that I’ve touched on everything that I wanted to.

The nice thing about Scrivener is that the file or box is part of the document itself.  So, you don’t have to flip from program to program.  Or search in folders to find that darn document.  (And what did I call it this time??) 

Scrivener is basically broken down into three parts: the document, the research and the trash.  The document section is where you do your writing or at least play with your writing.  Scrivener has different formats for you to use.  To be honest, I’m not crazy about the script writing.  I find it much easier to use Final Draft to write my script and then import it and play around with it in Scrivener. 

The research section is the part I really like.  You can import files (pictures, pdfs, music) into Scrivener and then refer to them when you write.  For example, a character in my current project has cancer and I put some notes in the research part.  Whenever my character is talking about her cancer, I do a quick look at my notes to see if I want to add something or at least inform what I’m going to write.  It’s a mouse click away.

Sometimes, I just start writing a project.  I don’t have an outline and I’m not sure exactly where it is going to go.  I can start writing, import the script into Scrivener and play around with “what” goes “where” and put in a place marker for events, beats or scenes and then go back to it.

Now, there are ways to do similar things in Final Draft or whatever word processing program you use.  But I like the ease in which it can be done with Scrivener.

There are still some bugs in the program.  It is a beta version, after all.  Currently, I have to export my Final Draft into rtf format and then import it in Scrivener.  And when I modify the script and export it to rtf to bring back into Final Draft, the formatting is all screwed up.  Me no likey.   But there will be an update out on Feb. 25, so we’ll see if those things are addressed.

If I was only going to use one tool, it would be Final Draft.  I find it much easier to write a script with it.  But I really like being able to play around with the script and have my research right where I can find it.  I’m going to continue to use both tools for my current project.  I’ll keep you updated.

P.S.  Super Bowl had an impact.  I gained two pounds.  Darn wings.  And chips.  And nachos.  And cake.  And brownies...

Perseverance trumps talent

Everyone knows the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, right? If not, where have you been for the last three thousand years?  Basically a rabbit and a turtle decide to have a long distance race and the rabbit is so fast and so far ahead that he takes a nap before reaching the finish line.  Of course, the turtle keeps moving slowly to the finish line and crosses over before the rabbit wakes from his nap.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Or as stated in Dan Pink’s book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: perseverance trumps talent.  That’s an important concept for us writers.  You have to plug away at this craft day by day and page by page.   You only get better by doing.  When we see a great piece of writing, we’re not looking at the first draft.  We’re looking at the crystallized, edited version.  It might be the fourth draft or the eleventh draft or the thirty-seventh draft.  We only see the finished work.

Sometimes when you look at your own writing and compare it to more established writers, it’s easy to think that you’ll never get there.  You’ll never be that good.  You don’t have the talent.  There’s only one cure for that.  Write more.  You have to write.  You have to persevere.  You have to strive to improve.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Outliers, he discusses the idea that maybe there is no such thing as talent.  People that we call talented have usually put in many, many hours towards that skill that makes them talented (hockey, music, writing, etc.).   How many hours?  Upwards of 10,000 hours.  And trust me, it takes a long time to spend 10,000 hours on something. 

Ray Bradbury said that you have to write a million words before you become a writer.  This blog is only 717 words.  So, you’d have to write about 1400 blogs to write that many words!  It’s not an easy task.

You better like that thing that you’re going to spend so much time on it.  Maybe the true talent of the “talented” is their love and/or commitment to the skill that keeps them going back to practice and get better every day.  If you want to be a writer, you have to write.  You have to write every day. 

One of the best ways to get to the place of daily writing is to set tiny goals and build on them.  I started the year wanting to write a page a day.  I had established the habit at the end of last year.  Obviously, I hadn’t established it strongly enough, because I let it lapse.  And I mistakenly thought I could jump right back where I stopped.

Two weeks ago, with a goal of writing a page a day, I wrote half a page.  Half a page for the entire week!  Last week, with a goal of writing a half page a day, I wrote 15 pages.  This week, I’ve increased my goal to ¾ of a page.  I will let you know next week how it turned out. 

The key is that even if I only write three quarters of a page a day, that’s five and a quarter pages at the end of the week.   It’s way more than the output was when I set my goal higher than I was ready to accomplish.  More importantly, the daily amount isn’t so big that it’s discouraging.  And because it is attainable, I’m completing the work every day; often surpassing the daily quota.

If you are finding that you aren’t meeting your writing goals, instead of getting pissed off with yourself and beating yourself up, set a smaller goal.  Consistency is the real goal here.   Consistency of output.  Regular writing.  Putting the seat of the pants into the seat of the chair and writing.  

Once you can meet your smaller goal consistently, then you can consider increasing it.   Maybe you need to keep it small and attainable for a long time.   Even if you only write half a page every day for a year, that’s a draft and half of a play. 

Be persistent.  Have a “turtle mind” and set some attainable goals that you can do consistently.  Slow and steady wins the race.

P.S.  I lost two pounds last week.

Falling Down redux

Okay, so this is the first blog after “publicizing” my goals and what do I have to report?  Uh, I guess it’s a kind of good news/bad news thing.  I like to get the bad news first, so here it is:  I only wrote half a page of script last week.  Half a page?!?

I thought I would be able to jump right back to the level I was at (i.e. a page a day), but I think I need to step more slowly into this goal.  So instead of going right to a page a day, I will start with half a page a day.  So, for this week’s total, I should have three and a half pages.  It’s better to start small and consistently, so I can build momentum rather than just start with the main goal.  (And not get there at all.)

Next week, I will write three quarters of a page a day (five and a quarter pages for the week).  And the following week, I will be at my target of one page a day or seven pages a week.

I am a little disappointed, but I really should have started easily in the first place.  Although, I know that I can do the page a day, I wasn’t there, so I should have built to it.  The bright spot is that I wrote a half page.  Yay for me.  It was the most writing I had done in a month, so it was definitely an improvement.

Another important aspect of this is trying to get it done as soon as possible.  So, today, I’ve already done my quota.  Yay!

Did you see that?  I just used two of the components of setting goals.  Looking for bright spots and relying on planning not willpower.  So, here’s the plan: I will do my writing either before I leave the house or on the train into work.  That way, I will have met my most important writing goal for the day and focus on other things.

So, what was the good news?

I lost a pound.  I now weigh 216lbs.  I also lost 2cm off my waist and was able to fit into a pair of jeans that my wife bought me for Christmas.  I could barely get them on at Christmas and I couldn’t button them up!  It’s a great feeling to be able to wear them now.

I’m also at more than 25% of my goal weight.  On that front, I am way ahead of schedule.  The key to my success (so far) is that there has been more planning involved than my writing goals.  I have been following the “Slow Carb Diet” as outlined in Timothy Ferris’ book The Four Hour Body.   I plan to follow it for a month and then assess how it’s going.

It certainly seems more sustainable than some other diets I’ve tried.  I really liked The Zone diet, but I found it tricky to follow.  The Slow Carb is much less complicated.  And you get a “cheat day” every week!  Ah, glorious cheat day...

Anyway, I’m starting this week very happy with my weight goals and optimistic about my writing goals.  I also think the success of one goal helps feed the commitment to the other goal. 

How are you doing in your goals?

Resolutions 2011

Now that we are three weeks into the New Year and the giddy effects of eggnog and champagne are wearing off, I thought I would look soberly at my resolutions for 2011.  I know, resolutions get a bad rap, because we tend to make grandiose resolutions thinking of what we could accomplish in a year, but after a few weeks the realization that it requires effort to keep those goals eats away at our will power.

I enjoyed the book Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath; which is about the process of making changes.  (Their book Made to Stick is very good as well.)  Anyway, I signed up for their infrequent newsletter and received the following suggestions for resolutions:

FIVE TIPS FOR (FINALLY) GETTING YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION RIGHT

1. Don't be ambitious. When change is hard, aim low. A friend of ours, the editor of a wellness magazine, has a "1-Song Workout" that she does on days when she doesn't feel like working out. She tells herself, "All I have to do is work out for one song," but of course she often gets in a groove and finishes a full workout. So don't set an ambitious New Year's resolution like "I'll work out four times a week." Instead, plan to do "1-Song Workouts" on Monday and Thursday. Leave yourself room to overachieve -- that feeling of "nailing it" is what will keep you hooked.

2. Watch for bright spots. If you're trying to eat healthier, for instance, don't obsess about all the times that you slip and eat an Oreo. Instead, keep a constant watch on what does work. If you ate healthy food all day yesterday, how did you get away with it? Was it because you had healthy "heat & eat" food that was easy to fix? Was it because you never let yourself get so hungry that you'd crave fatty foods? Did you avoid the office lunch at the Mexican place? If you can understand what allowed you to succeed, you can do more of it. That's bright-spots thinking. (Need a refresher on "bright spots"?)

3. Make simple tweaks in your environment. If you're trying to increase your savings, pay with cash and leave your cards at home. If you're trying to diet, carry around a Ziploc of apple slices. If you're trying to jog, lay out your clothes the night before. If you're trying to stop oversleeping, set up a double (or triple?) alarm system. (Or buy a Clocky with your Xmas gift cards!) This stuff sounds insignificant, but it will make a big difference.

4. Rely on planning, not willpower. Your Resolution calls for a new way of behaving. And that's a challenge because you've been practicing the old way of behaving for a long time. The old way is well-paved and familiar and comfortable. So you can't just bet on willpower or good intentions to ensure your success. Use your planning skills. Get yourself on the hook for something! Don't plan to "learn Spanish." Register for a Spanish course at your local community college. Do it right now -- you're already online. Or don't "try hard" to go to the gym in the morning. Email your friend, right now, and tell 'em to come get you at 7am on January 3.

5. Publicize your resolution. We all know peer pressure works. So use it on yourself.  Tell everybody you know what your resolution is. They'll bug you about it, and you won't want to disappoint them. Just knowing that they know will make you more likely to succeed. Hell, if you want, tell us. We won't bug you about it, but we'll silently root for you.

I think the last tip is very good.  When you publicly let people know your goals, there’s pressure to put up or shut up.  Never under estimate the power of peer pressure.  So, what are my resolutions for 2011? 

I will lose 22lbs.  Now, some people may think that’s crazy or too large and I haven’t really comprehended the Heath Brother’s advice.  My goal last year was to lose 50lbs!  Needless to say, I gave up hope half way through the year.  But 22lbs works out to about 2lbs a month, which works out to about half a pound a week.  Through simple diet and a bit of exercise, I don’t think that’s outrageous.  Consistent and simple effort is the key here – for me, at least.  It’s also so drawn out that I can see if I’m on track or not.  My goal is to weigh 200lbs or less on the morning of Dec. 31.

To be honest, I actually started this last week and have already lost 5lbs!  Now, I don’t expect that amount of weight loss to be the norm.  It’s always easier to lose the first few pounds.  Sometimes just being aware of your weight or measuring it contributes to weight loss.

I weigh myself Monday mornings.  On Jan. 10, I was 222lbs.  On Jan. 17, I was 217lbs.  Yay for me.    I will update my weight on Mondays until I reach my goal.  After that, I will update it monthly to ensure I’m staying the course.  If my weight goes above 205, I’ll start updating weekly, again.

I will write a page of script a day or 7 pages a week.  This gives me some leeway if I “stumble” during the week.  I started this habit at the end of last year, but had fallen off the wagon by December.  A page a day of script writing isn’t very difficult, but it’s about re-establishing the habit and being consistent.  I think one of the challenges for many writers is that they put on a lot of pressure for that page.  Not me.  I am almost a 100% certain it will stink, but I will write it.

I will complete the first draft of one play.  This should be a happy outcome of the  previous goal.  Again, the first draft should be “crappy”, so no pressure on the quality.  But I do expect to have at least one new piece underway.  A stretch goal could be to have a second draft completed, but I will definitely be happy to have a first draft completed.

Obviously, this is my attempt to “publicize” my resolutions.  I guess I could provide weekly updates on the writing ones, as well as the weight goal.  That way, I can keep a tally and you can see how I’m doing.   

What about you?  Do you have any goals for 2011 that you’d care to publicize?

What Bar are you measuring yourself by?

Last month, I was at a two day workshop by Yael Farber at Nightwood Theatre.  She’s a writer/director/performer from South Africa.  The workshop was called “Playing With Fire” and was described as:

A unique, intensive master class facilitated by Yael Farber for actors and performing artists / creators, writers and directors interested to deepen their process and open access to their “core fire”.

It was the wording of “core fire” that caught my attention.  It reminded me a bit of shamanism and passion and creativity.  I had never heard of Yael Farber and I had no idea what to expect.  But the word “fire” beckoned me seductively.

 It was a great experience and is serving as a motivator to renew some of the passion and excitement I feel about writing.  One of the things that Yael talked about was stretching ourselves as artists.  Part of that is done by having a “bar” to measure ourselves against.  And the best bar is ourself, not others.

Only we know what we are capable of.  Only we know when we are giving 80% effort, instead of 100%.  Only we know if we are really pushing ourselves or just going through the motions.

An analogy that Yael used was going to yoga class. Because she is naturally flexible she appears to be a yoga master.  But she said that because she’s able to do those stretches, she actually has to really push herself beyond those stretches to get the full effect of them.  Whereas, someone who isn’t as flexible may actually be pushing themselves much further even if they can’t touch their toes.

It is a matter of perspective.  Your perspective.  So what if you are more flexible or talented than someone else?  Are you growing?  Are you pushing yourself?  The only time you can coast is when you are going downhill.

The key is that only you know if you are stretching yourself. 

The concept was timely, because I was rehearsing a play.   And I was feeling annoyed by the level of commitment and ability of some of the other people involved with the show.  After thinking about what Yael had said, I realized that regardless of what I felt about the others, I wasn’t giving a 100% of my ability.  I wasn’t pushing myself.  Shame on me.

I mean, I wasn’t even off book yet and I had a small part!  I decided to put up or shut up.  But, it’s hard to push yourself.  And when you use yourself as a bar, you know what you are capable of or what you should be capable of.  More effort is required.   More effort is always required!

In terms of writing, I was already on my journey to write a page a day.  The thirty days are up and the habit has been initiated.  Now, I need to keep it up.  But I need to explore ways to push myself further in my writing. 

Where do you need to push yourself to stretch yourself beyond the bar you are at?

Pass the Dip, please

In the quest to become really good at something, according to Seth Godin’s book The Dip, you need to get past the dip.  No, not the thing you dunk potato chips into.  Hmm.  Dip… The dip that Godin is talking about is that space between being okay at something and becoming a master of something.

When you discover or develop an ability like writing or playing an instrument, there is an initial period of excitement where it’s fun and you are learning new things and that causes a snowball effect making you  come back and learn more or develop more.  However, the honeymoon eventually ends and you get to “the dip”. 

The dip is the space where you are not learning so many new things, but need to develop and practice what you already know. It’s the time where you develop and enhance your skills through practice and perseverance.   It’s the lull between being a novice and becoming a master.  It can take months or it can take years.  If you want to become excellent at something, you need to get through “the dip.” 

The dip is where most people quit.

Quitting isn’t bad, as long as you quit the right things.   If you have a major goal, you will need to quit things that distract you from that goal.  You will need to quit things that take up valuable time, but don’t give any returns towards your goals.  I can hear my wife saying, “You mean, like watching TV?”  Sigh.  Yes, like watching TV.

Only you will know what things you should quit.   But first, you need to decide what the goal is.  What is the thing you won’t quit until you achieve it?  Once you know what that is, then you can start looking at the things that you can quit because they are distracting you from your main goal.  Stephen Covey said, “It’s easy to say ‘no’ when you have a bigger ‘yes’ inside.”  If you have something very important to you, like a goal you are committed to achieving, it is easy to quit or say no to other things.

It’s not easy to get past the dip.  If it was easy, everyone would be a master.  You need to put in the time to become great at what you want to become great at.  I want to become a great playwright, so in my way of going through the dip, I’m working towards writing a page a day (WAPAD). 

I’m at Day 13 of taking baby steps towards that goal.  I just completed my sixth day of writing half a page a day.  After tomorrow, I will work on ¾’s of a page a day.  Once my habit is developed of writing a page a day, I will have to keep up the habit.  I will actually have to increase the habit to more than one page a day, but that will be another habit to develop and I will take baby steps for that, too.

What is your goal?  What is that you want to reach for that will push you through your own “dip”?

Keeping the Magic Secret

When people find out that I’m a writer, they often ask what I’m working on.  If I’m in the throes of a first draft, I’ll mumble something about not liking to talk about my work.  It’s hard to explain, but I have found from experience that if I talk about a project before a first draft has been completed, I run the risk of not completing it.  It’s as if talking about it removes the need to write about it.

It’s not an unusual concept.  One of the reasons that artists create works of art is because it is a way that they can articulate an idea or feeling they have.  If you can talk about it, then what is the need to express it through art?  It’s as if you have sucked out the magic from the piece.

After I have a first draft done, I don’t mind talking about it.  Because the piece is now a thing.  It exists.  It has form.  It may not have reached its final form and there may be a lot of work (rewriting) ahead to get it to the form it needs, but it has been birthed. 

It’s as if the first draft is really part of the gestation process and if you talk about your piece too soon, you run the risk of miscarrying.  Once the first draft is done, it’s only a matter of refining and adding.  Of course, when I say “only” I don’t mean to diminish the next process.  It’s similar to the development of a child.  After they’re born, there’s years of development before they become an adult; but without the birth, there is no child and no adult. 

Similarly, although it may seem as if most of the work is spent doing the rewriting, without the first draft, there is no play.  So, it is very important to get to that first draft.  Duh, I know. 

But how many false starts have you had on the stories that you’ve written?  Do you get started but then after talking about it to someone, find that you have run out of steam?

Keep the details of your first draft to yourself.  Don’t talk about a piece until you have a first draft done.  If someone asks what you are working on, tell them you’re fleshing out an idea, but you’re not really sure where it is going yet.

If you need to talk it out, talk it out on paper.  This is the part of the magic.  Get that first draft done on your own.  The first draft is the time to make your mistakes and flounder.  You don’t know what you are giving birth to, but it’s exciting to find out. 

Once the first draft is done, the magic has happened.  Now it’s time to start the hard work.  But don’t forget to pass out the cigars and celebrate!

By the way, Day 9 of WAPAD and I moved up to a half page of script writing a day yesterday.  Hey, my daily writing has doubled.  Yay!