This Writing Tip From Taika Waititi Helps Me Finish My Screenplays - Mickey Finnegan

[@DyenamicFilms]

I like the Jerry Seinfeld strategy which is "Get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step is to get a big red magic marker. For each day that you do your task of writing, you get to put a big red X over that day. After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain."

[@northernpunx1978]

Nice. Edit I spelled nice wrong…

[@glassofchai9047]

That's an amazing way to develop a habit of writing daily

[@DafineDesign]

This is a great approach!

[@ghani666]

I’ll be calling it the Fleetwood Mac approach from now on

[@Historian212]

The Pomodoro Technique - that Waititi was describing - is based on the findings that 20 minutes is a common attention span for most people. I heard a a prof from a College of Ed explain to teaching assistants that if you don’t change up something about your class every 20 minutes or so, you lose most of the students…. Each person can experiment with what intervals work for them, but generally, setting a timer is very helpful.

[@filmcourage]

Great comment, thank you for posting!

[@paulbateman858]

I use it, super helpful I do 40 minutes of key work, followed by 20 minutes of something else, has to involve me getting out of the chair

[@edgewaterz]

8:20 Taika Waititi's trick is to set a timer for 20 minutes, work really hard and then take a break for 5 minutes. This is a version of the Pomodoro Method, work for 25 minutes, break for 5 and do something else such as stand up and stretch and then come back and do another 25 minutes followed by another 5 minute break. That way you worked for an hour but gave yourself reasonable time to relax and refresh your mind between periods of working.

[@badandy9716]

Good to hear I'm not the only one with unfinished specs being neglected. I find the outlining process actually helps me finish since I know where the story is going at the peaks and valleys - just have to fill in the blank spaces to get there.

[@AllThingsFilm1]

The Pomodoro Technique as it is mentioned in the comments that Taika Waititi was talking about sounds interesting. But, for me, I think it would just annoy the crap out of me. When I'm having my most productive writing moments, it's usually a stream of consciousness where I write unabated without awareness of time. If I were to suddenly hear a timer go off during such a time, it would take me out of the moment, like bad direction in a movie that takes me out of the story. For myself, I find my most productive and prolific writing comes when I have ambient music playing as I write. I make a point of choosing ambient, instrumental music that fits the mood of the story I'm trying to write. It helps me imbue my writing with the mood I'm trying to capture in the scene. It works extremely well. It's only my self doubt and procrastination that gets in the way of my writing. Even though I have stories of mine that I would like to expand to a full length feature, I am currently focusing on writing short films. I believe my best work will come as I work towards the longer, feature length stories. My first short film was something I wrote to be totally simplistic and goofy. I wasn't concerned so much whether or not it was an idea that would sell. It was more of an exercise for me to wrap my head around filming, editing, adding music, and ultimately completing the film. I did finish it. It was goofy as hell and probably not sellable. But, I learned a lot about story telling through my experience of writing, shooting and editing it. And that is worth the work right there.

[@tersan5043]

So how good are you at finishing? If you have a creative storm followed by days, weeks, or months of nothing, perhaps this could work for you after all? It annoys you (maybe) because you’ve trained yourself to work how you do. It might not be “fun” at first to retrain yourself, or attempt to learn a skill like this, but who knows? Imagine if it clicked, and you cut your completion time by 75%…or 50…or 30%!!!!! Your comment just stood out because the guy literally sounds like he used to write possibly like you do and this system has changed the game for him professionally. Cheers bro

[@cjkalandek996]

_"A stream of consciousness where I write unabated without awareness to time."_ So...you go Ultra Instinct, then?

[@Sims8705]

He is describing the Pomodoro Technique

[@joebenzz]

I had a similar tip when i did Graphic Design back then. I would work my a$$ off and then i would not go back to what i just did for at least two or three days and do something completely different. When i got back, i noticed stuff i didn't see before. Flaws or potential upgrades etc. It's like you disconnect with what you did for a little while and in your mind it resets you in a good way.

[@prithviraj1450]

What you came for 8:23 ✨

[@welltatormytots5269]

Thank you holy crap this long freaking video

[@southlondon86]

Thank you mr malayalam film star

[@poiluparadis]

Making it fun, in any way to yourself. If you can crack your mental resistance for long enough to get the juices flowing you have found your secret formula.

[@nlg070301]

Damn good advice. Going to pick up on a screenplay I haven't finished tomorrow now :)

[@LaLogic2]

What is it about?

[@nlg070301]

@@LaLogic2 it's about a teenage guy who plays for a football academy in the UK, and he wants to make it pro. It's less about the football and more about how his dream becomes an obsession. Took a lot of inspiration from films like Black Swan and Whiplash with regards to the main character spiralling out of control.

[@KryptKicker5]

I think my biggest motivation is that I know once I’m finished I don’t have to think about it anymore. lol it’s always fun to start and then halfway through I hate it and curse the day I thought it was worth the effort (this is my most dangerous time). As soon as I can stomach working on it again I mad dash to the finish.

[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

It's like a relationship in a way. It's fun in the beginning and then it because a business commitment like through marriage. And then you wanna start having affairs with other projects and your wife is like "excuse me, the kids and I miss you daddy!".

[@filmcourage]

What helps you finish your screenplays?

[@calibwhite2022]

Coffee

[@boxfreshpidge]

The man who stands behind me holding a cat of nine tails and whispers 'tic, toc, tic, toc'

[@yorkipudd1728]

These videos. Every time I think it's too hard. Then I get back on the bike.

[@corpsefoot758]

An idea strong enough to be worth the investment, and also being able to visualize the ending before I start, which helps avoid anxieties about where to go

[@prithviraj1450]

Satisfaction our Urges to finish ✨

[@larslarsen5414]

or "Anyone can reach the highst now and then, but consistency is the buzz word".

[@chohyun4357]

the main thing is to go and do. we'll never figure out what works best for us, unless we go and do.

[@badandy9716]

Around the the 6 min mark- "It's not fear..." I'm guilty of getting halfway thru a screenplay and then diving into my next project. It takes forever to get back to where you left off and I often lose the passion I had at the start.

[@faafetaitaase3223]

Always write "you" - the stuff thats good is "you" writing "you" in "your chosen genre" - nothing good is written in 3rd person, everything good is first imagined bespoke in 1st person, a writer is never as far away as 3rd person - in theatre where is 3rd person - in the audience - where are you - if you're not in the audience, you could really be a writer! ❤ tTt ❤

[@williambartholmey5946]

I much prefer novels written in 3rd person (especially with multi-POV characters) to 1st person.

[@faafetaitaase3223]

@@williambartholmey5946 Thats cool, I believe 1st person is the writer's natural starting point, 3rd person is something we learn to do out of storyteller's need for distance, protection - after all who would believe the story is our own, so we slip into the 3 person - but 1st person is where we always start, because we are our characters, our scenes, our dialogue - 1st person the voice and vision we imagined it all in first of all - good writing retains the best of that beginning - where the audience readership is willingly participant, not merely present.

[@williambartholmey5946]

@@faafetaitaase3223 No, first person is not where "we" always start with fiction. I always start with third person in my fiction writing (and end; none of it is in first person). I like multiple points-of-view. My characters are not me, but some are more kindred spirits than others.

[@faafetaitaase3223]

No problem, my writing is very influenced by theatre, the construction of dialogue, and character - always the actor too, ever since High School. lol.

[@williambartholmey5946]

@@faafetaitaase3223 I get it. I know this is a script writing channel. I write novels/short stories (off and on; I go through long droughts), though the vast majority of it is dialogue.

[@dthomscappello]

That's called the Pomodoro technique and it's the only thing that ever worked for me

[@drstrange6998]

I write synopsis outlines now before anything may be a scene or two so you generally know before you launch into the laboyrs of manchild.

[@robcook8456]

I'm confused. Isn't this guy swagglehaus comics?

[@filmcourage]

Internet is crazy, we had no idea.

[@robcook8456]

@@filmcourage I've watched most of his videos and he's made mo mention of his obviously very successful career

[@filmcourage]

@@robcook8456 It's great, he's done a lot of work outside of his KZbin channel. Makes everything more impressive.

[@PaladinCiel]

Never watching a product from waititi again not after he took such an obnoxious antagonistic stance against long time marvel fans who just want to see the best of the canon that's come before be preserved and maintained. I will no longer pay creators to belittle me and countless others sick to death of their declining work standards and ever increasing moral vacuum.

[@ToyFiend]

He turned Thor into a sitcom. Overrated for sure.

[@travisnobleart]

5 minutes is NOT enough time for cat videos.

[@operator6471]

"Originally written as a screenplay under the title Macho, N. Richard Nash adapted the story into a novel after failing to sell the screenplay. "I had a screenplay called Macho that no one wanted. It occurred to me to do a quick novelization. I got a $10,000 advance and completed it as Cry Macho in two weeks. It got surprisingly good reviews and the instant they appeared, three studios, all of which had rejected the screenplay, started to bid for this awful, little thing. I sold the rights to one. When they asked me to do the screenplay, I gave them what they had rejected -- didn't change a word -- and they loved it!" - N. Richard Nash in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel[4]

[@loudassvictor]

This is a fantastic comment. Thanks.