8 Steps To Zen: Mastering Your Craft With Ease

Friday 16 November 2018



Today on the blog we have a wonderful guest post courtesy of Pamela Perry!

8 Steps To Zen covers the key 8 steps us writers and filmmakers need to follow when it comes to ensuring our creative process is easier, productive and more enjoyable. 

So if your writing has been causing you some stress lately, sit back and take read of these 8 steps you need to remember! 

Zen is a disciplined practice through which one can realise the joys of being a screenwriter.

1.    Free Your Id, Ego and Superego.

“Do one thing at a time. Be more, do less.” - Anais Nin

Screenwriter’s benefit from taking care of their psyche’s, by taking care of themselves. 
Screenwriter’s must deliver the subtle interconnected nature of all life, and they rely heavily on intuition.
 It is necessary to take time to nurture oneself – and hydrate. Keep a beverage handy!



2. Get Your Mojo Working



 “Honor the Muse.” - Martha Graham

A screenwriter’s tool kit relies on personal experience, research of facts, imagination, non-conceptual insight, and observing the mind. 
One strives to be aware of streams of thought, allowing them to arise and disappear without interference.
To prevent blockages in your energy flow, take a deep breath. This fires up your life force.


3. Know the Rules of the Game
Screenwriting is part of a Business Paradigm. You must have wit, empathy, a dash of cynic, and be able to tell an entertaining story that gets PRODUCED and makes money.


“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy.” - Oprah Winfrey


Your TITLE should reveal your GENRE. Genre is a sport. Fans go to football games to watch football. The story must hold true to the genre. ‘Murder on the Orient Express” is not about a train.


It should be a HIGH CONCEPT with a fascinating core, such as: “The only Zen you’ll find on the mountaintop is the Zen you take there”. You need goals, dilemmas, high stakes, a TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY character arc, something to root for (internal and external), twists, turns, surprises and PASSION.


Your aim must be for your TARGET AUDIENCE. If your target audience are fans of the MACABRE, the screenplay must be horrifying, filled with the hideous and grotesque.



4. Create A Space Where You Can WRITE EVERY DAY


“Freedom is born of self-discipline.” - Jennifer Lopez


RITUALS and SELF-DISCIPLINE foster skill. It is essential to screenwriting. 


Once you learn to write every day, even if it’s recording a dream, or a “TO DO” list, you have proactively empowered yourself. You will never suffer from writer’s block. 


There is always something to write about.

5. Go For The GOLD


“Do what is right, not what is easy”. - Marilyn Monroe




A screenplay can’t be GOOD, it must be the BEST. 


Strive for a conflict filled path that will bring your audience to a profound emotional release. 

Throw in a moral choice, and you’ve got a BLOCKBUSTER!


6. Gain Support From Your TRIBE



“We are united in common goals, including: equality, respect, and the right to speak our minds.” - Michelle Obama

Screenwriter’s share a CULTURE, with clear goals and mutual understanding. 
Make time to mingle with others on the same journey. 
In person is best, but social media works great too. 

7. Respect Your Audience


“To win, you may have to fight a battle more than once.” – 
Margaret Thatcher

Make sure your main character sees the world through a LENS OF EMOTION, not a lens of LOGIC. 
KEEP IT FRESH!


8. Develop a THICK SKIN


“To be a player in the game, you must gain experience by being brave, taking risks, and not giving a damn what anybody thinks.” – Jane Fonda

Get out there and take a punch. 
If someone criticizes your work, don’t crumble.
 Get right back up off the matt. Use the pain to improve your story. 
Remember, your screenplay must be the BEST. Releasing resistance to criticism, even if it’s not constructive, crushes FEAR. 
This is the greatest gift you can give yourself as a screenwriter. 
Be BOLD and FEARLESS!
NAMASTE!

BIO: Pamela Perry is a Produced Screenwriter and NHFF Finalist, 'Legend of the Hunter'.  Pamela is a Visual Storytelling Instructor at Storyteller's Cottage. You can also find her over at MizHollywood.com and GYRLZ on Film. 

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