 and people are like, hey, hey, hey, you're gonna be trouble working, what's a really good thing to do? Have you ever been trouble working? What's a really good thing to do? Change position? Like, get up and work at a different spot, walk around and do something, like take a walk around a lot kind of thing. Yeah, that's a great idea. Yeah, yeah. Research? She says research. Yeah, good idea, yeah? You sure? You gotta know when to stop. That's right, you gotta know when to stop. It's like somebody says, yeah, I have a drink. Right, so yeah, you have to know when to stop. Research is a bit of a radical. You can do anything, you could walk around the block and never come back. You could get all mine or research and... Never come back. Research and go back. You could be gone. Right, but yeah, it's really good. Yeah, anything else? Okay. Looking at old notes? Yeah, looking a lot of dialogue. Or to start something new. Or to start something that had left on to finish. Just as a way of getting back into it. Right, all right, that's good. Looking at old stuff? You know why? They're all up there. It's just like you go like mid... They're up there, they're actually up there. Always. Or kinds are on the floor. But usually I think that actually rolling your eyes up into your, you know, like this, is a meditation technique. And that probably stimulates some part of your brain that can relax you and to find you the answers. Do you watch? Maybe. Maybe. Or like it's in your eye muscle, the animal eye. Different perspective. Anybody have any other questions? That was my question. Between projects. Right. How do you get back into the project? Right. Oh, that's good. That's good. So you have to switch between products. So you say you're writing a movie and another movie or whatever. Movie and a play. We'll say right? For example, if that makes sense. So what I do, every product has a box. Right? That helps. If they have a little box. Yeah, an actual physical thing. So they're not all say pile them on my desk or in a drawer or something. So I put each project in its own container. That helps. Also I can show a lot of garbage. Like all the research books, all the online material, everything I have with the project. That really helps a lot. Especially if you have a small space, you don't have like a big bookshelf or anything. I don't. So, but what I do is in two boxes. I say work on one project for a week. Right? And I get an outline for it. Right? And then you have to put it down because you have to work on another project. And then like write a draft. And that's going to take two and a half weeks or three weeks. That's it. So I write myself a big note on the product. The next step, go to draft. And I take it to the box, inside the box. So when I open them so I know they want to finish this. And I open the box. All right. That's what I'm supposed to be doing. So I write myself a little note to remember because I have no idea. I'll open up my notebook. What is this? Like you know, but there's the note. Oh, go to draft. Write to draft. I'll rewrite the outline or call the producer and read the outline to them or whatever. Okay. So I write myself notes. That's one thing. And then I just put the timer. So it's really kind of basic. You're not very magical. It does. It's something about containing it, getting it out of sight, but not out of mind. If you have a bookshelf, you can put a lot of stuff in a just a regular book box or you can get fancy and I sort of have these red blue sight boxes. I know each one has the name of it. It's kind of weird. So I just go, well, I open the box and do work. I write myself a note. Put the note on the box and put the box back. Go to the next book like that. It really does help. That's what works for you. What works for you? What do you do? You have to like get into another mindset or something to work with. I think research is the thing made me first have the idea that we read that. But I think making it physical would be helpful. Yeah. Right. Right. Also for me, having to do research, that's an all about time. So that's like, ooh, that might take a while. I might get lost on the internet. So this is what I'm doing. So I know I won't get lost in the box. Because if I do, I'm in the box and it's all about that project. Also where do you quit, where do you leave off from one project before you go to the next one. I say try to find definitive markers. So if you're in the middle of, say, writing an outline for your screenplay, right? Don't stop and jump to the next project until you've done with the outline. Do I remember one of the outlines? Stop. Put it in the box, write yourself a note. Re-write this outline. You don't want to get back to it. And then go to the next project and you're going to spend a week doing research on that project. And you put that away and you go back to it. So make sure you have definitive markers. Don't stop in the middle of the draft and jump to a new project. Okay, finish the draft. So like that, that helps. You was telling me what you were going to have to do. Projects together relatively simultaneously. Just one feed here. Yes. Just one feed the other. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think so. If they're, if they're, they should all be, you know, should be like a team, a family. They're all going for a road trip, you know? I mean, obviously there are some, some they're very, very different. Woo, different time periods, different. Characters, some made up characters, some historical characters, so it's all a little bit. But the idea is to feed, they will feed each other if you allow yourself a system where you can transition from one to another, relatively easily. And yeah, how do you handle this? You sure? Yeah. They're not, you know, a bit leasing. Yeah. What do you, what do you say and what do you throw at an old book? Not like you, what should, what should you say? I don't know. I mean, depends on, depends on the space you have. You have a huge house. It's a downsizing. It's a downsizing. That's, it's, like I said, I mean, you've read that book. Yeah, I've been checking. Yes, well. Art and painting, not like a typing. Yes, yes, the idea of writing papers. Of writing papers. Like I said. Of all the different drafts. Yeah, I really believe it. If you can, if you can, you can scan them really or get someone to scan them into a PDF file. You really can. I mean, you could save everything and put them in a series of boxes and label the box. They'll be very tidy about it. You could do that, which is nice. Make sure they're very tidy already. You know? Put them in folders and date them and all that. But if you really want to not see piles and piles of boxes labeled it up, then buy yourself a scanner. Or you probably have one already and scan the pages in and make PDFs or everything. And you have everything on a little thumb drive. If you want to keep everything. Because I can't, I don't know. I can't think of a way to throw out. But if, I can't think of saving more effectively. You know? And then you don't have to really think about it. Like, you know, just have to actually do the work of scanning things that you can hire or something to do it. Hire someone. Give someone a job. Yes? What's your name? I'm Kendall. Hi, Kendall. Is there a question to your process? Is there a point in my process when I need to look for, like, get involved? Right. Do you type on a typewriter? No, I don't. A computer. Right. So you're saying, is there a point where you should leave the computer? Yeah, you're not in that mode. Sure, sure, sure. Because this is actually, right. So you can use this play as an example. This is like the moment when I leave the typewriter. Like, I left it. See? I'm not typing right now. Right? But what am I doing? We're doing the dialogue part of that. Right? So there is a natural point when you do leave. If you want to get more physically involved in what you, you know, in your writing process and not just in your head, you can. So take pauses, take breaks. Like you were suggesting and walk around, dance around, maybe read that printout, a page. If you want, and read it out loud. It's really, really good. Even if you're writing it all, or screenplay or whatever, it's really important to remember that you're writing, you know, something to be read and you read with your whole body. Right? But I say, yes. I mean, don't use it as a diversion. You know, again, you want to, oh, now I have to read it out loud. I like to get to the end of the things, you know. But sometimes my guys there are like, hey, I never read you what I just wrote. And he's like, okay. So, you know, but I try to get to the end, the end of the scene, the end of the chapter. But why do you ask what you're writing? Like, are you almost finished with everything? I'm, yeah. And you can print it out along the way if you want. And we read it, but I would say again, like I would say, write all the way to the end instead of trying to perfect the first scene. Because that's another rabbit hole, you know. Or a gopher hole. Prayer dog. I live in Texas for a prayer dog, so great. Anyway, you know, so you want to do things in your process that are going to help you along the way. They are going to feed your process, right? Not detract from it. And you're going to recognize what feeds it and what doesn't. Good question though, thanks for me. Yeah. I remember before you talked about the index cards. Yeah, I found that I got two carried away with the index cards. What do you mean? What do you mean you got carried away with the index card? What happened? I just kept making index cards. You know what I'm saying? How many did you make? 100? 500? 60 or 70 index cards. That's a problem. Why was that a problem? 60 or 70 index cards. For outline, you know what? A novel play? A play. Oh, I see, I see. Because you only wanted to have how many did you want to have? Great. Perfect. So yes, I'm going to say. So take 10 index cards and spin it on 10. Really? Spin it on 10? Because it's like, oh, look, I can do like a million steps before I get to you. It's great, right? A million. But I only want to take like five, right? Just fucking take five. Take 10. Take over 10. All you do is take. So what are you going to have to see, though, when your index cards? Not all the little brilliant things that you're seeing on your play, your movie, right? You're going to see scene one, scene two, scene three. I can't do it on the table, but, right? Four, five, 10, boom. So you're going to see the big chunks of action. So you're going to use that courage to, I know all that's there. I'm just going to see the big chunks, because all I want to be looking at are 10. So there you go. Yeah, but that would tend to be the same thing. Yeah. So what's your first year of your card going to be? Starts with the beginning, right? Right, right. And your last is going to be the good, good. So that's two, so you got eight more, OK? So then, boom, that's three, so you got seven more. Something kind of between the beginning and the middle. I'm going to throw one in there. Boom! I know that happens. I know there's like a car chasing up a mountain, right? OK. And then, middle and the end, there's probably something, right? The sunset where they make out on the beach. Yeah. I've got to have that. And then probably between that and the word that may character those off. The end is beginning now, you know, that feeling. What's that look like? And how many cards is that? I don't know. Seven, eight, right? And then you have like a few more in the front, and then you have your 10 more nice cards. And then you can flip through them really fast, and feel like you're seeing your whole movie, or your whole play, all right? And then you get that good feeling. Instead of that, oh, shit, how am I going to do this feeling? See, you don't have to do this. Another next card. Right. No, no, beginning, end, and then you only get eight more. So it's a discipline thing. You're going to feel, you know what I mean? It's like, do you like to eat? I don't know, what do you like to eat? Rich fries? OK, so you could eat a million rich fries. Or you could eat like just a plate full, or a serving, right? OK, so you don't have to do this. No, it's a great card. I can make it like a joke, like it's easy, but it's actually not really hard, and it's a really good question. So maybe Mamiya from Florida, Florida. Yeah, she wanted to tell you that with the advice you gave her, she was able to outline the play. Wow! She was really inspired by this. Thank you, Mamiya. I won't make a joke about your name again, but thank you so much. So Mamiya, she wrote us a couple of weeks ago, and we were talking about outlines. And now you have to take a breath, and you have to just dive in. Mamiya, you have to write your play. That's what you want to do. That's the next step. And you don't worry about it not being my perfect write-off for that, because it means she. And you have to let's write the she is draft, first draft competition. And I would win to your mom, because I would be useful on that. Yeah! Yeah! Do anybody else have a little experience after I left on Monday? Someone has, I think, is handing me an opportunity that it's kind of a stretch and not really my genre. But I have something to give her, so I'm just trying to figure out. I'm like, OK, I'm going to outline it. I have to have 30 pages of it by June 1, and I'm just kind of to figure out what. I don't know how the piece that I had is playing. I was playing with the idea, and now it's like, oh, this could be something. I'm just trying to figure out what. I'm just trying to figure out if it'll work in what this opportunity is, because I don't really write for children. But it's a great opportunity to bring all that in. So I guess my question is, discipline and quickly researching what that's supposed to look like, and trying to, I'm a little, it's a little nerve wracking. So you have an opportunity, someone's giving you a lot of opportunity to write in a field that doesn't really feel like you're actually letting us do it? Yeah. Right. We're going to run into, I think it as, I believe, but it's a same-sex couple, and I'm going to hand that off, and I'm trying to figure out and attack the way to attend that, because I don't like it. Does it seem like it's going to be a writing project, or a long process, where you're defending what you think should be happening in the world? But I want to honor my process as opposed to getting myself into a digital world that I didn't realize was, until we had the talk. Here, I can't really do this, but I know you're a writer, so take a look at this. But it's going to be something that I'll go through her, and I don't want to be like, don't read it. So I'm trying to prepare for a disappointment for it, say I have a conversation with her. But in the mean between the time that she reads it in the land, and you have this apartment in a conversation with her, will you be able to write something that's 30 pages, and will that help your process as a writer? Yes, I think so. What do you need to do in regard to this? No, I'm not going to, I'm just trying to find the nerves. It's giving me, I'm just sitting there writing going, no, I need to honor this, and I'm just very nerve-wracking speaking in it. I'm just like, this is out of my element, this is trying to add myself to it. I don't know. Maybe I can write the children, since this is the opportunity that's been presented to me, but at the end of finding, I was like, oh, this is, I'm finding myself in a v-tour, and so I'm a little, it's made me frazz of in a different way than it would have been. I think just put the time in, see what happens, and it's a wonderful opportunity, and just see what it is, that's all, that's all. And it just knows that all the questions that are coming up for you right now will come up regardless of the activity. The questions that you have right now but we've frazzled and out of your element all the same, all those questions will be coming up for you regardless of the activity. Right, because that's what happens. We have a set of questions, and we look for opportunities to ask them. And so you find you've found another opportunity to ask those questions of yourself, which is good. So ask them, and you know what I'm going to say, put the time in, do the writing, you know, don't let the questions detour you. Don't let the conversation with those questions detour you if you want to do your writing. If you want to sit around and have a conversation with the questions, go ahead, but your writing won't do it. No, that's like typing. There you go. Keep the fingers moving, keep the fingers moving. You know what I mean? Keep the fingers moving, it's very important. Good question though, because I have this a lot of opportunities out there. You said, this is the book you all read, but I didn't. And I didn't get the title, what was the title? What was I talking about? The magic of time. Oh, yeah, the magic, what is it called? The life-changing magic art of tidying up one thing in that space. There you go, you're going to look at the book. Great, it's a book about clearing clutter from your house. Oh, OK. Yeah, it's one of those books. That is very, I mean, I didn't really read it. I read like the first chapter, I went like the right, yeah. But it's OK. A life-changing magic of tidying up. The life-changing magic of tidying up, which is a book that has been a brilliant book, supposed to be a wonderful book. And you did what? They have an audiobook, so you can listen to it in vacuum. You can listen to it in vacuum, which is really tasty, right? OK, yeah. What's it called again? A magical, yeah, a magical book. This is a no way, this is a no way, an endorsement of the book. Except we did, yeah, I mean, if people read it and... Typing. Typing. Yeah, and tidying up. But I would say, don't read the book. Do your writing instead. Don't look for it. Yeah, now I'm spending the rest of 2017 tidying. Because that's what I should be doing, because I'm such a... Great. No. No, no, no, no, no. Yes, it's a tidying, it's a book about tidying. Starting 10,000 different things. Yes. Have you, like... Yes. Do you have a, I don't know, some thing you do that helps you? I do, I do. I have a lot of tricks. A lot of people ask me for tricks. So I have so many tricks for things. I know Alexis is like laughing, but I do have a lot of tricks. So, and usually my tricks all stand out on this wonderful topic. Have you ever been on a date? Have you ever dated, you know, not like at the same time, at the same time with people? Right, okay, great. And then did you ever come to the moment where you decided, like, I'd rather be with them than them? It's the same thing. So that's how you decide. You just decide. You know, you're working on a lot of your projects, right? And if they're all sort of equally made these. IE, you know, Steven Spielberg hasn't come to the set, I want you to write this. And the other ones are something you were planning to do three years ago. So those aren't weighted equally, right? So maybe they're all equal. And you have six ideas written out of your notebook. How do you do it? You could, it depends on what they are, okay? If they are songs, for example, you could spend a whole day sitting in your apartment and work on each one of them for an hour. Which is really fun. And you get a lot of growth on each one of them. That's a short of their short form, right? If they are plays or whatever, you just go through the list and say, which one is going to make me the happiest? Which one do I think about when I'm not thinking about the others? Right? You can sort of think about one for 15 minutes and then think about another one. Which one is going to make it most fun? Which one? I want to do something quickly. Which one can I do quickly? And then I'd like to do something that might take six months. Which one might be that? So you have different criteria. You see what I'm saying? I know, does that make sense? You have some that are the different weights, or the different sizes, or the different... You see which one makes me laugh? Every time I think about that, I laugh. Do I want to laugh? I'll work on that one. I'll be myself a monk and see where it goes. Then I'll turn to the one that I want a really good political, you know, fist in the air kind of thing. That one then, that's the one. I'll work on that one for a month in the next. Or I really want to do that now. Then I'll do the funny one later. It's just kind of a mood you want to be in. Does that make sense? Yeah. And then you can give yourself a time. Like, I'm going to work on it for a month or for two weeks, you could say, and see how it feels. Then I'm going to jump to the next project. And then you can have a whole wall full of new side boxes. That's what happens. You have a whole wall full of IKEA. I have a whole... Marshall. Marshall? Michael's idea box. Okay, idea box. And that's a nice thing too. Once you start getting going, you have boxes for each one, which is very helpful when you come back to it. It's very helpful. I have a question. I wrote a play which was more geared towards adults. And I want to sort of use that play again. But now I'm accepted in a festival where they want it more for children. I wonder how can I sort of use it? Because the structure is good. How can I use that play, but make it adapted so that kids can also follow and enjoy it? Right. That's a whole... It's a play, right? Have you seen a lot of children's theatre? Not a lot. So you know what's going to work for kids? Because that's a tricky thing, because kids now watch all kinds of... Kids like Star Wars and adults like Star Wars, but that kind of movie. So it's a little tricky. But it's tricky because a lot of things for children tend to... People think, oh, I'm going to write something. I'm going to kind of dumb it down. That's not what you want to do. I would just say tell the story. Kids that are perhaps obviously disturbing to children. Like, don't tell them that the sun one day will explode. And you know, that's shit like that. Kids, I mean, both kids get upset. My son likes them, ah! So take out maybe... And maybe find a way to talk about complex subjects in a way that you would talk to your kids or your nieces and nephews or... It's the story of a very adventurous person who is also a big kid. But he is also a philosopher and he has so many great ideas and you sort of want to bring some of his philosophies but then without becoming too complicated. Right, right. But I really... Imagine you're telling it to a group of kids. Just imagine that those are the people sending the audience. You know what I mean? And when they start to fidget because I wouldn't say like across the board dumb it down, kids understand philosophy as you know. Kids understand complex ideas as you know. So instead of across the board dumb it down imagine reading it to a group of kids. Sure, imagine it running in front of a group of kids. And find maybe very concrete and more effective ways to deliver these philosophical points. Yeah. You guys are going to talk later. I think we're in a problem. Is there anyone else with a great question around here? I have my question right here please. Okay, alright. No, I'm pretty dare because I don't have time to hurt myself. I plan, but it's true, right? You have time to complain, you have time to do your work. Yeah, but thanks for showing up. Thanks for showing up. Thank you guys. Great, thank you.