Jen Frankel - The Writer's Way

It’s one of the earliest stages of the filmmaking process. Often, in the current producer-driven climate, it now follows a round of market research and searching for attachments – all before a word has been written on the actual script. But that's not the way most of us work.

For someone writing on spec, meaning without a contract or expressed interest from a buyer, the writing comes first of all, and sometimes without any outside input.

You're trying to find the diamond inside the raw stone. You know it's in there, but it's a precision job and you're naturally scared you're going to blow it.

Cutting a diamond, and crafting a story, requires a certain amount of innate, natural aptitude - the kind that can't really be taught. It also requires a lot of understanding of the rules of the trade - grammar, spelling, and clarity - and the confidence to apply or break those rules with finesse and flair.

I’ve joined many writers’ groups over the years, hoping for a little alleviation of that basic solitude, but I’ve never found them particularly useful. Lots of people do; it’s just not my way. When I talk about my writing, I want it to be to the people that can push the idea forward to the next level: first to story editors, then editors, then publishers or producers. I want it to move inexorably toward the final stage – finding its audience, wherever and whomever that may be.

The biggest truth about writing and writers I’ve come to believe over the years is that there are no absolutes when it comes to process, or inspiration, or even typical output. I’m a binge writer myself; all the talk about discipline in the world can’t overcome the fact that I’d rather write thirty pages in one day and rest for twenty-nine than commit myself to one page a day for a month.

And even that can be a lie, depending on how my brain is seething or not during a given moment.

To say you’re a writer is to claim membership in the world’s largest and least exclusive club. Everyone has something they can put down on paper, personal or not, and many do.

What separates the writer-writers from the pleasure-writers for me is this – I want an audience. I write for someone other than myself. It’s not a better goal or a worse goal than writing for self-gratification or for an audience of one. It’s just what I do, and the desire to have my words read by someone other than myself is what drives me most.

So I guess I don't mind being part of the club, if it means I get to toss out a diamond or two every now and then.

The way different people get to the point of having something to show someone else is what I want to explore here. If you want your voice to be heard, about your own process, about your roadblocks and triumphs, well, I want to hear from you. Drop me a line through the site HERE

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For more of Jen's writing, you can visit Jen's blog on this site here or at jenstuff.

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