Paddy Chayefsky

Post date: Jul 18, 2017 11:20:19 PM

Paddy Chayefsky

According to Robert McKee:

In a high rise in New York lived a quality writer. He lived on the fourth or fifth floor (this is in the 1940’s or 1950’s.

His room where he wrote had a window.

His desk and typewriter faced the wall and the window was at his back.

He directed his view of his work environment so that it was for work.

Not surfing, not gazing, not doing anything else but writing.

What does your work area look like?

Rearrange your writing area to be a work area.

Do not kid yourself into thinking you are an artist. You are first a foremost a worker.

Until you write quality work, you are just a writing hacking around until you hit pay dirt.

Sort of like the 1849 miners who grubbed around in the frigid streams and mud; mucking about until they found that gleam of gold.

Get to work. Pan the stream of words that you produce.

Find the one glint of gold.

Throw away and put aside that 99 pounds of dirt, rock and what have you that you also found. It is not the point. That gleam of gold is the entire point.

Now rinse and repeat.

Thousands of times.

Keep writing. Only 10% of what you write (according to Robert McKee) is worth keeping. So learn to rewrite what you just wrote.

Being a miner is hard work. It takes practice and balance and eventually:

“EUREKA!” will erupt from your mouth.

And you will smile. Your smile is all that counts. Do not look at anyone else’s expression; for it does not count. Only yours. You will know, Dear Writer and Dear Reader, trust me, you will know and smile.

“Every minute counts and you should be counting your minutes.”

David Alan Binder

Yours, David Alan Binder

“After all, if we are not here to help each other, then what are we here for?”

· Feel free to quote, repeat, tweet, Face Plant (my words).