Getting Out of My Own Way

I have one of those felt message boards in the room where I do most of my work, the kind you can change the letters. I like to change it up every couple of weeks, to poke myself and the people who see me on zoom.?

“Write hot, edit cold” is a reminder to the writers and designers and producers I work with, to free our minds when we’re concepting, and not try to burp out a complete solution all at once. It’s impossible to write and edit at the same time. Coming up with fresh, interesting ideas is hard enough, and it’s impossible when we keep pausing to decide if this latest one is any good.?

The time for deciding the value of any idea is later. Right now, let’s think up an idea and then, right away, let’s think of another. And another. And keep going, with no criticism, no judgement, no pause.?

As Roger Baldacci, one of my mentors when I first decided to come back as a writer, told me, “Build a monument to good on a pile of crap.” The key to doing good work is to do a LOT of work and then toss the 99% that’s not good.?

Our brains actually run better when we use the parts one-at-a-time. So we don’t let the concepting part get slowed down by the dour, critical editor part. That comes later.?

For now, write hot.