|
Relax Your Way to Creating Your Screenplay ... Picture This ... Imagine yourself
lying down, relaxing, listening to melodic soothing words that guide
you into a sparkling-new level of creativity where ideas and images
flow like water Imagine that you do it without stress, without effort, by merely allowing your subconscious to make contact with your higher self and, through the creative power of the universe, bring your screenplay desires to fruition. Sound crazy? Impossible? Impractical? No. It isn't. You've been in that state before. It's what's called "being in the flow" or "being in the zone." It's the ideal creative state. All writers have experienced it at some point. It's where we strive to be. It's what makes writing fun. It's a natural high. It's where we creative people soar like eagles. But the conscious mind is its enemy. It doesn't like relinquishing control. It thinks it should be in charge 24/7. And that's what leads to -- Writers block. Two words. Two words that we hope to never hear again. If you’re writer, you’re well aware of those two simple words. You may even know the subject by heart. Like me, you’ve seen it, felt it, been a victim of it. It may feel like acid burning a hole through your stomach. Or it may feel like having your head in a vise ... tightening slowly ... millimeter by painful millimeter. Writers block occurs when the conscious, critical part of your mind takes over and won’t let the creative part do its thing. Consequently, you’re too busy judging what you haven’t written yet. Or judging the little of what you already have. “This is crap! Who do I think I am to think I can write something that other people will want to read? What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said? Nothing I write is original. It’s all so boring and mundane ... I’ll just check my email again.” I know all about it. Been there, done that. My name is
Ron Peer and I am a screenwriter with three prod And maybe I’d have more produced films to my name if it weren’t for the dreaded W.B. W.B. I’m almost afraid to use the words for fear that they may take hold again. Like by somehow using an acronym I will diminish the power of even thinking about the subject. Hollywood is a place of intense pressure and competition. Everything is about the idea -- the right commercial idea. Huge sums of money are at stake. Nobody wants to make a flop, there’s too much at stake. Studio execs can’t afford to make a bad decision or they’re history. One mistake and they suddenly become “indie prods” and are out in the cold without a cushy salary. Therefore they’re constantly trying to sort the wheat from the chaff, the “good” idea from the “bad.” The unique, from the familiar. The commercial from the non. But that’s the problem. Nobody is quite sure what commercial is. But they think they know. They have to. Or else they’re out of a job. (Yet they continue to fall like dominoes, as Daily Variety shows on a regular basis.) And as a screenwriter you’re at the mercy of what they think they know. And you want to know what they know so that you can write something you think they will buy. Because if you don’t, you’re back to working in the bookstore, or driving a forklift, or teaching English to immigrants fresh off the boat. So it’s a game of second guessing. Constant never-ending second guessing. And that’s not a good thing. Because it places undue pressure on the idea. Because you start to judge each idea before it is even hatched. It doesn’t have a chance to break through the shell, it’s destroyed before its little beak has begun to tap through to sunlight. And that’s bad. Because the process of creativity has not been able to be put to work. Ideas must be nurtured and fed. They must gain some strength in order to stand on their own two legs. Only then can you see what the idea really looks like. After it has been exposed to daylight. Even then, you may not like what you see. But the fledgling deserves a little more consideration, deserves to strut its legs. Because, you see, it’s too early to judge the creature.
"How Diane Keaton Almost
Killed Me" Sounds like the title of a movie, doesn't it? Okay, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this story. It’s not going to do my career any good. But I want to be truthful here. I want to show how debilitating creative angst can be -- or just how incredibly painful it was for me. I heard that Diane Keaton was producing a project for HBO. The project was based on a true story that I had read about independently and thought would make a great movie. My manager sent some of my writing samples to Keaton’s production company and they liked what they read. So I got in to meet the famous actress. I was a newbie in Hollywood and I was overcome with awe. I managed to piece together a few words and be somewhat coherent. I found out that Keaton and her partner discovered the story by seeing a play in Los Angeles. They optioned the play and the playwright had even written a screenplay. But they didn’t like the screenplay. That’s why they were talking to me. Rewrite time. Then I found out that we were to have a meeting with HBO execs in a few hours. What?! Diane and her producing partner asked me what my “take” on the story was. I flopped around like the proverbial fish out of water. Take? You ask. My slant. My approach. I didn’t know we were anywhere near the point yet of discussing the story. I hadn’t sat down and written my usual set of 40-page notes. I hadn’t thought about the characters. I hadn’t let them reveal themselves to me. Yet here we were, due to meet with high-powered execs in the tall towers of Century City. I felt my tongue grow thicker than a sponge. Diane and her partner looked at me, waiting for them to reveal my brilliant revitalization of the story. I drew a blank. They waited some more. I blurted out something to the effect that I quite have my approach worked out yet. They looked at one another, then back at me. Well, you’ve still got a few hours, they said. Back at the hotel, I paced frantically. My laptop cursor kept blinking at me. I kept thinking of that upcoming meeting. My lungs constricted. Air became a precious commodity. I was having a panic attack. I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t breathe. The critic was all over me, deriding me, telling me what a pathetic loser I was. Humiliated, I called my manager and told him what was happening. He tried to talk me down from the ceiling and tell me everything was going to be fine. I just needed to show up for the meeting. God, how I wanted to. I really did. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. The critic was squeezing the life out of me. My manager spent some time on the phone with me, speaking in a soothing voice, trying to talk me down from the ledge. He didn’t succeed. The meeting was cancelled. I was humiliated. My soul was bruised. I went home with my tail between my legs. My inner critic lashed me, scorned me, laughed at me. That's when I vowed to never let this happen to me again. I swore I would never feel this small and pathetic ever again! I was doing a lot of reading and studying about the power of the subconscious mind at that time. And that's when I decided to use what I'd learned to harness the power of my mind by developing a special visualization process which would put me in the optimal creative state. I used techniques I was learning from my good friend and psychologist, Dr. Patrick Porter. Now some people might call the process I developed "hypnosis." Some might call it "positive affirmation." My friend Patrick Porter calls it "creative visualization and relaxation." And since Patrick is the one I learned this method from, I will go with his term, Creative Visualization & Relaxation. CVR for short. I designed this visualization for personal use, but my fellow writers told me I should be sharing it with others ... so that's why I'm writing these words now. I want to share my process with you. I want you to avoid dreaded Writer's Block by accessing your higher self and using your creative intuition in a way you've never done before! Some of the benefits you'll hear and receive in this visualization:
But I Didn't Stop There Yes, I created this visualization to overcome writer's block and to banish the inner critic. But I didn't want to stop there. I wanted to claim success -- success in a major way! That's why I've included winning the Academy Award in the visualization. No, it hasn't happened yet for me personally ... but I've still got a lot of time left in my career. :) Is this Process Spiritual? Okay, I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, this is a spiritual process. At least, I believe it is. I believe that tuning into the Universal Mind and accessing your intuition is a spiritual process. Inspiration is a divine muse. It should be welcomed and embraced. How Often Should I Listen? Ideally, listen twice a day for best results. If you can only listen once a day, listen just before you begin your writing session. This way you will be in a receptive frame of mind for the ideas to flow from your subconscious into your conscious. How Long is the Visualization? The visualization runs just under 15 minutes. It could be longer but I find that if the process gets too long, people won't listen to it twice a day. Time is such a precious commodity in today's society. Listen to a sample
Click Here to Learn More About Creative Visualization So What Happened with Diane Keaton Anyway? Fortunately, Diane Keaton seemed to take my meltdown well, bless her heart. I was told that she said she’d suffered similar attacks of critic and that would we convene again in a few weeks. So I put on my headphones, closed my eyes, and listened to my visualization process. Over and over again. I felt peace sweeping throughout my body. I felt the pressure lightening. I felt charged with excitement. So I jumped to my computer and began typing. I soon fell into the zone, letting my subconscious creative mind take over. Wow. The juices flowed. The characters sprung to life. And I pounded out a 22-page treatment of the story. Whoosh. And I felt damned good about it. I turned in the treatment and got the job. Then I met with the HBO execs to discuss the treatment. At that point, I was glib and charming and humorous. All the things I was hoping to be. I knew I had done good work. I was confident. Diane and her partner loved the script. I loved the script. The financing company loved the script. The new president of HBO (of only a few weeks) didn’t. In Hollywood, whenever there is a change of regime at a studio, producers panic. Because, usually, the new execs toss out the old projects because they’re too reminiscent of the people they replaced. If the project succeeds, the previous execs will get the credit and glory, and that’s not good for the new regime. So the development slate gets wiped clean to prevent that from happening. The new president wanted the story to be bigger, bigger, bigger. Even though that was the antithesis of what the story was about. So a “big” action writer was hired after me. And probably some other writers after him, I don’t know. I was long gone at that point. But I still love the script to this day. It’s my favorite piece of work in many ways. And, strangely enough, my critic loves it too. Click Here Now to Get Your Screenwriting Visualization Only $18.97 (No Waiting with Instant Downloading) Free Bonuses to Help You with Your Screenwriting Career To help you get you started on your screenwriting career, I am throwing in some free bonuses with your purchase of the Screenwriting Visualization.
So what've you got to lose? After all, I am including a --
Order Now and Kick Your Screenwriting Career Into High Gear Now you can
learn to use your subconscious powers to help write I want to get the Screenwriting Visualization Package now! To recap, here's what you get for your $18.97:
The Screenwriting Creative
Visualization (MP3 download)
Click Here to Start Visualizing
Now Available on Audio CD by Popular
Think It, Feel It, Write It! Thanks for visiting this website, Ron Peer
Here I am at the Austin Film Festival with Shane Black, screenwriter of Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
|
and starred Patricia Arquette, Ellen DeGeneres, and Don Johnson.
