Marilyn Horowitz

Screenwriting Classes, Coaching, and Resources

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What is the Word of the Day?

Welcome!
This is a technique that can transform your writing forever because it cures the fundamental problems writers have: Time management, self-confidence, and maintaining a consistently attractive state of mind. Instead, we often find ourselves doubting our abilities, being “stuck” and not getting the writing done.
Self-doubt is the most dangerous habit a writer can have because if you doubt yourself, so will a reader, audience, producer, or publisher!
The cure for self-doubt is to create new patterns of behavior that do not trigger this feeling. Feelings are memories. Our brains follow patterns, or groups of memories when interpreting the present moment, so we gravitate towards what we felt most recently, good or bad! Now you can see how creating negative feelings can be dangerous!
The cure is to write and create regularly, so you have consistent evidence outside of your current project that you are a writer who is connected to your true creative self. The Word of the Day method asks for an investment of 17 minutes a day, the time it will take to create a version of your actual life that supports self-confidence, originality, and self-discipline.

Here’s a review of the procedure:

1. The Word of the Day technique. As soon as you wake up, find the first word that comes into your mind. After you pick your Word of the Day, take a piece of paper and pen, and place the word in a circle in the middle of your page. Set a timer for two minutes. Free associate about the word for a minute or two. The goal is to feel happy and optimistic, whatever those words mean to you.

2. Create Your Wants. On a fresh page, labeled “Wants” and dated, write down at least ten things you want. This can include a cup of coffee, a new job, winning the lottery, or a walk in the park. Write fast for two minutes.

3. Create Your Beliefs. Next, take a fresh page and label it “Beliefs,” then write down at least five beliefs such as “I believe I can get to the gym today,” or “I believe that I will do a good job at work today.” This can take a minute or more.

4. Next, take a fresh page and label it, “My Daily Script As A Writer.” Set a timer for three minutes, and write about your day as if it has already happened – just the way you’d like it. Be careful NOT to be practical. Only think of what you wanted, not how you got it. For example, I might write: “Today was a great day! I worked on my new book for an hour and got five pages done.” Most importantly, imagine what your day could be like if you got your writing done every day.

5. The final step is to write a brief reprise of how the writing day actually went before you go to sleep. Be truthful, then add things that you wanted to have happened. Be outrageous, and don’t worry about anything practical. Have fun!

What you’ll start to notice if you take this on is that in a short time, your imaginary script and the reprise of the day begin to become increasingly similar! The best way to get something done is to plan.