Spring 5 Ways: #1 - New Beginnings

Wherever you are, spring has [hopefully!] sprung… or will sometime this month. So it occurred to me that as spring is the one season that just seems to explode with possibilities, why not explore a few? Let’s look at traditional spring things: new beginnings, new possibilities, new ways of doing things, new exercise routines, new dreams… the key that ties those five things together? New. Spring is about the new, isn’t it? It’s change. We’ve made it through winter’s trials and tribulations—which, depending on where you live can be mind-numbingly aggravating—to flowers and sunshine and licking ice cream cones on soft, sunny days.

So let’s welcome spring by talking first about new beginnings.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do in a script is to start. You might have a general idea of what you want to write but you just can’t figure out how to start. Believe me, this is not unusual. Of course, you could be a writer who does an outline first and so you actually do know how you want to begin. But still, to actually start… it can be daunting.

Bottom line? Whatever kind of writer you are, beginnings can be hard.

It’s like a chess game, isn’t it? The first move you make determines all the moves that will follow. Or a video game—where the door you open determines the choices you will have as you begin to move through the myriad of choices that make up the game.

And that’s the problem: the choices really are limitless. So it can seem overwhelming, which can lead to you spending a ton of time mulling over what the best way is to begin. So you don’t start. Because how can you? How can you be expected to know the best way? What if you screw the entire script up by writing a beginning that sucks?

We’re so hard on ourselves… But think about it, how’s that script going to get going if you don’t start? So you have to start. And the easiest way? Do it three times.

That’s right, make a deal with yourself to write not one, not two, but three beginnings. Once you do that, hey, you’re free! You can begin because you know that the first beginning you write isn’t the definitive one—it’s just one of three.

This means that you write the beginning of your script—say the first 3 pages or so—three ways. And they should be three really different ways. For example, if you’re writing a romantic comedy where Mark and Sarah get together, you write one beginning with Mark remembering how he met Sarah, then you write a second beginning with Sarah deciding she has to break up with Mark and then you flash back to her finding out he’s been cheating on her, then you write a third beginning where they haven’t yet met and Sarah’s lamenting her pathetic love life to her friend Jenni and Mark’s lamenting his love life to his cousin Jeremy. And there you have it: three ways to begin your script. After writing them, maybe you’ll get an idea to do three more beginnings! But however many you write, you’ll realize that new beginnings are easier when you allow yourself the freedom to do multiple beginnings. A new way of starting the writing process? Sure—but it ends up helping you think about your story from multiple angles… which, no matter how you start that script, will pay off as you keep writing!

Copyright © Diane Lake

01Apr18

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