I Have An Idea…

Whenever I tell someone I’m a TV writer, after the initial reaction of, “How cool. Do you write for any shows I would know?” I often get, “I have an idea for a show… a book… a novel.”

I’ll ask, “Have you done anything with it?” And the response, more often than not, is: “I need to find the time,” or “I’ve written a few paragraphs or pages, but I need help figuring out where it goes.”

Believe it or not, this is common with established writers too. When do we find time to write? My idea is great—but is it enough for a book? A TV show? A movie?

The belief that you need to have it all figured out—or that you need endless amounts of “time” to write—is exactly what keeps a lot of great ideas from ever becoming more than that: just ideas.

Here are some helpful tips on how to get past “the idea” stage and into a fully executed script or book.

When I first started in the entertainment business, I took a few TV writing classes at UCLA. One of my professors was asked by a student: “When do you find time to write if you have a full-time job that isn’t writing, plus a family, etc.?”

My teacher, an established TV writer, paused. A smile appeared in the corner of his mouth and he said: “When you are sleeping.”

WHAT?!!!

It’s true. The hours you are sleeping become the hours you are writing. He would set his alarm an hour earlier than usual, pour himself a cup of coffee while his wife, kids, and most of the state were still asleep, and write. Sometimes it was just a page. Sometimes it was a scene. But little by little, he had a script.

Another established writer I worked with early in my career (back then I was a researcher, not yet a writer) told me about her first few years on staff: “I realized right away, I’m just going to sleep less.”

Now, as a TV writer and a mom of a spirited toddler, I get up all the time at four a.m.—yes, four a.m.—to write. And guess what? I love it. My brain is fresh. My kid is asleep (so is my dog). My coffee is delicious. Especially, as a mom now, trying to write while my son is awake and asking for waffles, water, more waffles. Forget it. It takes you out of it. You need to be able to focus to write. Whether you are a night owl or a morning person take one hour away from sleep and write.

So what about that idea? How do you turn it into a fully fleshed out TV pilot, feature, or book?

Like Anne Lamott once said: “You do it bird by bird.”

Don’t think about the entire thing. When you swim in the ocean, you don’t think about the entire ocean. You think about putting your toes in first. You think about the temperature of the water. You decide whether you’ll slowly wade in or dive right under. Writing works the same way.

Sometimes I start with just a scene in my head. I sit down and write that scene. It’s not always good. But I get it out of my head and onto the page. And usually when that happens, another scene arrives. I write that one too. Before long, the ideas start pouring in so fast you can’t stop them.

Keep writing. Don’t go back until you have a good chunk on the page. Then start thinking about the beginning—write that. Plug in the other scenes you’ve already written. By this point, you probably know where the story ends. If you do, write that ending—even if you don’t have the middle yet. You can go back and fill it in later. Another writer told me once, “Write it bad.” This was when I was really stuck on a scene. He said, “Write it bad. So that you can move onto the next scene and the next. When you come back to it, it won’t be as hard as it was the first pass.” He was write. I often think this when I start out. Just write it bad. It it on the page. It will get back. That’s what rewriting is for. And guess what’s harder to rewrite than anything else? An empty page!

And when you run out of steam, read through what you already have. Reading sparks new ideas. Eventually, you’ll have a fully fleshed-out script, novel, or feature.

The hardest part about writing is thinking too much about the final product. Who cares? Why does this matter? Who is going to buy it?

You care. That’s why it matters. Worry about who’s going to buy it later. For now, just write.