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The Irving

David Gane
David Gane
— 1 min read

You can write a script in a week but it doesn’t mean you should.

The in-between time of a writing session are often your most creative. You push yourself hard, you spill your brains onto the page and then you stop and rest but your mind doesn’t.

Over-thinking a story can overcook it but so does forcing a story out too cold. Sometimes your writing requires the time to warm before you cook it onto the page. It needs to sit with you, rolling around in the back of your brain, or even deeper, quieter part of you. If you force it out cold, it can be just as bad as overcooking it.

Be patient with your writing. Let it build. Write hard and then take breaks in-between. Let yourself come up with the solutions you didn’t even know there were questions for. Your story will thank you.

*(Today’s title comes from “Act 14: Call in Colonel Mustard for Questioning”, located at 36:43 minutes on 20 Stories in 60 Minutes from This American Life.)

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David Gane

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Co-writer of the Shepherd and Wolfe young adult mysteries, the internationally award-winning series, and teacher of storytelling and screenwriting.

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