These are hard-hitting truths I needed to hear to do better in my writing business. Now I know that it's on me to write effectively to produce the desired outcome. Cole, you've given me the answers I seek. Thank you!
I believe screenwriting or teleplays are too distinct of a thing to suggest you can’t get better at it by reading other scripts.
Of course you actually need to write. If we are going to have a baby we need to actually do what humans do to have a baby.
All other writing starts the same. Left to right. Stop at the margin. Repeat.
That ain’t screenwriting. The format literally gives you less space to write on than a book or even this comment. Look at the box of space to put dialog.
Look at the space to write action blocks which is the closet you come to regular writing in scripts.
I couldn’t grasp how anyone got all that action on the same 8x11 paper I wrote my college thesis on. I read the Godfather and then Chinatown. Then my childhood favorite Back to the Future and it clicked.
I also felt why not read authors?
Good ones. Baldwin, Walter Mosley, Maya Angelou, Colson Whitehead. I read them in addition to writing not as an excuse not too.
Athletes play the game then go watch the film. Then watch their competition. Then watch their individual performance from a game or practice. These players get millions of dollars. And they are constantly watching and taking in data.
You have to step back to see what you aren’t grasping.
Reading for me does that. I read fast. 300 pages in a week. I write fast. 60 page pilot, I can bang out in two weeks.
But I have to read while all that is going on. Especially the in depth king from articles.
What journalist is going to write they Elizabeth Homes is “nerdy hot” or “so pretty that you forget how smart she is” and the classic “she’s pretty but doesn’t know it”.
I firmly believe that’s from writers who read nothing but what’s on their social media feed. They haven’t learned to get in the correct information in the format of screenwriting.
So they give you what they think is a slick line. Beauty is subjective. So to me it doesn’t matter if she’s pretty. I get my descriptions from these long form articles. Holmes features are described psychologically, her piercing blue eyes seem to look through you while putting you in a trance”.
I just made that up, but my point is well if you have seen her she sort of does have that gaze. It can be or at least I can see how it can be somewhat intimidating. Now here as a writer I dig in.
She KNOWS she’s pretty. She KNOWS she’s smart or once you get her background you will perceived her as smart.
She KNOWS people won’t really click on her smarts at first. They will only listen to her cause she’s gorgeous.
I might add her clothes are worn in a certain way or add some other psychological trait that plays off her looks. “Works out relentlessly to keep her physique in tact”.
I try to write these lines so the actor reading it can say “oh I know where to go here”. I got that from the writers I just mentioned.
And those articles. They can get into the details. They get into the subjects head. We read their quotes. We might know why they did it. But we get their rationale. I can’t do that on my own. So I’ll pick up a book. And boom.
Like Lebron watching an NFL game my mind isn’t thinking about what I need to do, I say “wow I like how Mosley weaves in that subplot and how he laid the bread crumbs down for the plot twist.
That’s why I read as much as I write. It’s a cheat code. You don’t do it in lieu of practice. You do it as a supplement to practice.
Really great post, although I would gently challenge the idea that reading doesn’t make you a better writer. Of course a daily writing habit is essential to fine-tune your craft, but I’ve often found that a lot of my best ideas have actually come from reading other people’s work. I guess we are all repurposing pre-existing wisdom in some capacity, so always good to keep it fresh!
This is the second article I've read in the last week that really makes me reevaluate my own career.
Every one of these hit home for me. I've tried like hell to rationalize and explain to myself a lot of things. That said the idea things don't happen overnight is absolutely powerful. It's dumb that it's taken me so long to realize this.
Every thing here was rooted in honesty and I appreciate it. I love this article and I appreciate the way it's changed my brain.
Thank you so much for this helpful content. I have just started writing(its now about 2 years!)Every now and then I give up hope of monetizing content. When I read that writing is a multi-decade long game, I realized my thought process was wrong.
I have gone through your newsletter series in newsletter. It has helped me a lot! Thanks again.
As for reading or even as Lil Wayne said he only listens to himself. One, journalist always ask that question the wrong way. Better who were you listening to before you starting rapping?
I don’t ask filmmaker’s their favorite film or tv shows. I ask what was your fav show and film as a kid before film school or you took writing seriously?
Pro Athletes will watch players in other sports. Of course not their own they are obviously playing during the season.
But they do this because there’s no pressure. And it’s also insight, they see how they are perceived as the type of player they are.
They can see the forest for the trees. Reading Baldwin, Walter Mosley -who also says you should write more than you read-and Colson Whitehead can’t hurt.
And I KNOW it’s made me a better writer. I read fast. I can put down a 300 page book in a week. I also write fast. 60 page pilot, a draft can be done in 2 weeks.
I don’t stop writing to read. But I say reading helps. Especially long form in depth news articles. You get motivation, you have the plot, you have locations, players, institutions it’s all there. I get my character descriptions from these articles. Journalist aren’t going to write “she’s pretty but doesn’t know it”.
I know you said there’s no bad writing-but that’s a horrible line.
I don’t know anything psychologically about her. Staring at the pretty doesn’t know line ain’t gonna improve it.
You could go back to your character breakdown but if you have one and still wrote that line, you need to see how people are written in real life.
That’s where those long form articles come In handy. They also teach you how to move through disparate scenes that seem to have no connection.
A lot of them start with characters in action. Then they deliver the heart of the story.
Last, pro athletes watch film and consume any data about their game and competition.
The greats like Kobe will watch contemporary players and rivals and old school games.
He’s looking for an edge. Any edge. Again he didn’t do this in lieu of practice. He did this in addition to practice. That’s how I treat my reading. It’s a cheat code.
thanks for sharing these - it's so easy to forget we have to put in the reps, even if we are writing from our heart, and because we like to!
"Writing is a lottery, so optimize for volume." This hit me like a dagger to the heart. Off I go to bang out some more work. Thanks, Cole.
super helpful, thanks!
Ugg. So true. So helpful. Thanks.
These are hard-hitting truths I needed to hear to do better in my writing business. Now I know that it's on me to write effectively to produce the desired outcome. Cole, you've given me the answers I seek. Thank you!
I believe screenwriting or teleplays are too distinct of a thing to suggest you can’t get better at it by reading other scripts.
Of course you actually need to write. If we are going to have a baby we need to actually do what humans do to have a baby.
All other writing starts the same. Left to right. Stop at the margin. Repeat.
That ain’t screenwriting. The format literally gives you less space to write on than a book or even this comment. Look at the box of space to put dialog.
Look at the space to write action blocks which is the closet you come to regular writing in scripts.
I couldn’t grasp how anyone got all that action on the same 8x11 paper I wrote my college thesis on. I read the Godfather and then Chinatown. Then my childhood favorite Back to the Future and it clicked.
I also felt why not read authors?
Good ones. Baldwin, Walter Mosley, Maya Angelou, Colson Whitehead. I read them in addition to writing not as an excuse not too.
Athletes play the game then go watch the film. Then watch their competition. Then watch their individual performance from a game or practice. These players get millions of dollars. And they are constantly watching and taking in data.
You have to step back to see what you aren’t grasping.
Reading for me does that. I read fast. 300 pages in a week. I write fast. 60 page pilot, I can bang out in two weeks.
But I have to read while all that is going on. Especially the in depth king from articles.
What journalist is going to write they Elizabeth Homes is “nerdy hot” or “so pretty that you forget how smart she is” and the classic “she’s pretty but doesn’t know it”.
I firmly believe that’s from writers who read nothing but what’s on their social media feed. They haven’t learned to get in the correct information in the format of screenwriting.
So they give you what they think is a slick line. Beauty is subjective. So to me it doesn’t matter if she’s pretty. I get my descriptions from these long form articles. Holmes features are described psychologically, her piercing blue eyes seem to look through you while putting you in a trance”.
I just made that up, but my point is well if you have seen her she sort of does have that gaze. It can be or at least I can see how it can be somewhat intimidating. Now here as a writer I dig in.
She KNOWS she’s pretty. She KNOWS she’s smart or once you get her background you will perceived her as smart.
She KNOWS people won’t really click on her smarts at first. They will only listen to her cause she’s gorgeous.
I might add her clothes are worn in a certain way or add some other psychological trait that plays off her looks. “Works out relentlessly to keep her physique in tact”.
I try to write these lines so the actor reading it can say “oh I know where to go here”. I got that from the writers I just mentioned.
And those articles. They can get into the details. They get into the subjects head. We read their quotes. We might know why they did it. But we get their rationale. I can’t do that on my own. So I’ll pick up a book. And boom.
Like Lebron watching an NFL game my mind isn’t thinking about what I need to do, I say “wow I like how Mosley weaves in that subplot and how he laid the bread crumbs down for the plot twist.
That’s why I read as much as I write. It’s a cheat code. You don’t do it in lieu of practice. You do it as a supplement to practice.
Really great post, although I would gently challenge the idea that reading doesn’t make you a better writer. Of course a daily writing habit is essential to fine-tune your craft, but I’ve often found that a lot of my best ideas have actually come from reading other people’s work. I guess we are all repurposing pre-existing wisdom in some capacity, so always good to keep it fresh!
I don’t want to write with AI! What’s the point? Another swashbuckling adventure? They love using that word.
Thank you.
This is the second article I've read in the last week that really makes me reevaluate my own career.
Every one of these hit home for me. I've tried like hell to rationalize and explain to myself a lot of things. That said the idea things don't happen overnight is absolutely powerful. It's dumb that it's taken me so long to realize this.
Every thing here was rooted in honesty and I appreciate it. I love this article and I appreciate the way it's changed my brain.
Thank you so much for this helpful content. I have just started writing(its now about 2 years!)Every now and then I give up hope of monetizing content. When I read that writing is a multi-decade long game, I realized my thought process was wrong.
I have gone through your newsletter series in newsletter. It has helped me a lot! Thanks again.
As for reading or even as Lil Wayne said he only listens to himself. One, journalist always ask that question the wrong way. Better who were you listening to before you starting rapping?
I don’t ask filmmaker’s their favorite film or tv shows. I ask what was your fav show and film as a kid before film school or you took writing seriously?
Pro Athletes will watch players in other sports. Of course not their own they are obviously playing during the season.
But they do this because there’s no pressure. And it’s also insight, they see how they are perceived as the type of player they are.
They can see the forest for the trees. Reading Baldwin, Walter Mosley -who also says you should write more than you read-and Colson Whitehead can’t hurt.
And I KNOW it’s made me a better writer. I read fast. I can put down a 300 page book in a week. I also write fast. 60 page pilot, a draft can be done in 2 weeks.
I don’t stop writing to read. But I say reading helps. Especially long form in depth news articles. You get motivation, you have the plot, you have locations, players, institutions it’s all there. I get my character descriptions from these articles. Journalist aren’t going to write “she’s pretty but doesn’t know it”.
I know you said there’s no bad writing-but that’s a horrible line.
I don’t know anything psychologically about her. Staring at the pretty doesn’t know line ain’t gonna improve it.
You could go back to your character breakdown but if you have one and still wrote that line, you need to see how people are written in real life.
That’s where those long form articles come In handy. They also teach you how to move through disparate scenes that seem to have no connection.
A lot of them start with characters in action. Then they deliver the heart of the story.
Last, pro athletes watch film and consume any data about their game and competition.
The greats like Kobe will watch contemporary players and rivals and old school games.
He’s looking for an edge. Any edge. Again he didn’t do this in lieu of practice. He did this in addition to practice. That’s how I treat my reading. It’s a cheat code.
Coffee with Cole. Nice.
This was such a good read, thank you so much 😊
Fantastic advice, and encouraging. Thanks for sharing.