I recently finished a novel, and three of my private students completed scripts. Once we begin the process of selling our work, the challenge then becomes what to write next. As writers, we are much too driven not to want to keep writing, and it’s critically important to keep your momentum going even if a project is complete. Often, you don’t always know what your next story is, and you are not sure of what comes next. This tip provides a series of three exercises that been effective for many of my students as well as myself in helping to find the seed of the next project.
Exercise #1:
Keep a handwritten journal with you at all times and write in it. We writers are always on the lookout for a phrase, an image, an overheard joke or a memory. Responding on the spot by writing things down will help you remember later and affirm that you are a writer.
For example, I recently overheard someone talking into a cell phone. They said, “I am so irresponsible, I think they are going to come after me.” The person speaking didn’t seem that worried, but at the dance I attended last night a fellow arrived with a big suitcase on wheels. I thought what if he was the one I overheard on the cellphone, and now was planning to hide out at the dance studio! I didn’t follow the idea much further, but it got my brain going.
Here’s the exercise:
Once a day, set a timer for 10 minutes and make up a story about a line of dialogue, or image, combining it with a couple of the other notes you’ve made.
Exercise #2:
Read books that inspired you at different points of your life and ask yourself how the story would have been told if you had written it. This can feel a little sacrilegious. “H’mm – so how would I have rewritten The Godfather?” However, the process will open up your imagination. For example, you might decide that Michael doesn’t find love in Sicily, and that choice will take your thoughts in a different direction, and perhaps spark that new idea into existence.
Here’s the exercise:
Set a timer for 15 minutes and write a few paragraphs summarizing a book and how you might “improve” it.
Exercise #3:
Write up little character studies of people you meet that interest you, and extrapolate what they have told you into a story.
For example, a very interesting woman from Africa at a party told me how she had saved a man’s life by setting off the store alarm when she had worked as a late night cashier in a coffee shop. This experience had empowered her to become a doctor.
Here’s the exercise:
Set a timer for 5 minutes, and write a quick character sketch that includes the “5 W’s”: Who. What. When. Where. Why?
The goal is to inspire yourself to make up lots of stories until you find just the right one. Remember that writers write, so just try to keep your momentum going until you find your next great idea.
Good luck and happy writing!
About Marilyn Horowitz
Marilyn Horowitz, the president of ArtMar Productions and creator of The Horowitz System®, a revolutionary visual writing system, is an award-winning New York University professor, a producer, a screenwriter, and a New York-based writing coach who works with bestselling novelists, produced screenwriters, and award-winning filmmakers. She is the author of five books, including How to Write a Screenplay in 10 Weeks and The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting.