In the last post, I suggested you that if you want to be a better writer, you need start writing and keep writing. In fact, make a habit of writing.
Now I’m telling you to stop writing.
I don’t mean stop the habit. I mean stop trying to write that thing you’ve been writing for ages that isn’t really going anywhere.
Lots of people will tell you to keep going. See it through. Your friends, your supporters and maybe some fellow writers might be cheering you on. Maybe this is the year to finish that script.
But maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s time to ditch it. Park it. Throw it in the lake. Or at least drag and drop into a folder marked ‘Archive’ or ‘Former Projects’. Maybe now is the time start something new, fresh, exciting or timely. And something that will show what you can do as a writer.
Reasons To Bin It
You may be emotionally invested in that sitcom idea or comedy drama script for a number of reasons. Maybe it’s the first idea you thought of. Maybe you’ve ploughed hours and hours of thought and work into it.
But consider this: in all likelihood, days and months of work lie ahead.
Is it really worth that kind of investment of time and energy?
Is this the story you really want to tell?
Is this the script you really want to develop, write, rewrite and show to people who can actually read?
If your script is really feeling a lot like homework or a chore, there’s a chance that the idea has gone stale, or was never that great in the first place.
It’s not distinctive. It’s not you. It’s not now.
Maybe it’s time to ditch it. Start again with something else altogether. Or, at the very least, go back to the original idea and work out a better way of expressing it.
Happier Times
You might have had the idea in 2012. That was the year of the London Olympics. The UK, at least, was a fairly happy place, especially after the opening ceremony and then we started winning medals. Remember Super Saturday? Aah.
Back then, social media and politics hadn’t quite ripped us fully apart. We were still members of the EU and no-one seemed to mind all that much. There wasn’t a pandemic. People felt differently about a range of issues. If you’re going to pitch your sitcom or comedy drama at someone in 2021/22, is it going to feel dated? Or oddly out of time? Maybe that’s why you’re struggling to write it.
You may be struggling to write that script because writing is hard. That’s a given.
But why not start something else? Dream big. Start again. Ditch that project that’s been hanging around for years.
Okay, I get it. You don’t want to do this. Let’s have a quick look at some of the reasons for that.
Get Out The Plunger
You might be worried that you’re not going to come up with anything else. I shouldn’t worry about that. You will. The current idea may blocking lots of others. So get out the plunger, flush away the blockage and see what happens. If you’re going to be a writer, you have to be the sort of person that has more than one idea. If you aren’t, then writing probably isn’t for you. So maybe take up sculpting, crochet or hill-walking.
Your Story
Are you reluctant to let go of this idea because it’s 'your story’? If so, that makes it more compelling. That's good. Personal perspective is more important than ever. Producers aren’t just looking for writers but ‘voices’. That’s one of the key elements of my new video course, Writing Your Sitcom. The ‘your’ is important.
Be honest. You have more than one story, and one set of circumstances. One identity doesn’t define you. Or at least it shouldn’t. You have a gender, an ethnicity, a network of communities, a perspective, a bunch of passions, a past and a future. There’s so much to write about. Make a list.
What Kind of Pony Are You?
In my career (I give as an example rather than brag), I've written Radio sitcoms about codebreakers and management consultants; TV sitcoms about a bomb disposal team in active war zone, an Asian family, a superhero and an unmarried women, CBBC sitcoms, CBeebies pre-school shows and an episode of a 45-minute murder mystery. And several nativity plays.
It’s unlikely you’d be able to make a living writing purely your own material, especially if that material is essentially just ‘your story’. That pony is lovely, but soon we’re going to want to see more than the one trick.
If you have a strong voice then you need to work out a way of demonstrating that, along with writing talent. Consider this: maybe your first idea isn’t the best way of doing that.
Take Action
Take a long hard look at that thing you’ve been working on for ages. There’s a chance that it’s holding you back. You’re holding it so tight it’s starting to cut you. What happens when you let go? I should give that a try if I were you.
If, in a few months’ time, you can’t bear to parted from that original idea, maybe there was something it.
Maybe that's the time for that idea after all. Let it earn its place back in your life, in your diary and in your imagination. And get to work on it with renewed vigour and insights.
I’ll leave you to rummage through the bin bags.
In the next post, I’ll suggest why you might want to persevere with that idea.
But for now, I’d like to just mention my new video course which has just launched. It's called Writing Your Sitcom. If you're looking for a fresh start, or don't want to keep making the same mistakes again and again, I break down the whole sitcom writing process into 12 manageable steps. None of them are easy. This blog keeps telling you how difficult it is. But it points you in the right direction, gives you clear ways forward and keeps you going. Plus there are monthly Zoom chats with me and other course members so we can find out how everyone's doing. How does that sound? More details here at The Situation Room on Youtube or see below:
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