March 30, 2025

Hey. Just wanted to share a word on scheduling. 

In the last post, I mentioned that in addition to hammering out my ideas, or “breaking the story” as the process is called in some circles, I was going to start thinking about dates and goal setting.

For this project, I want to be finished with a publishable draft in about 6-7weeks.  There’s one more day left in March so I’m going to set my finish date as May 18th. Even if it needs a few revisions after that, it at least gives me an anchor to write towards. I read somewhere that when you write things down, it increases the likelihood of you achieving it exponentially. 

Writing down an actual date also gives structure to a writing schedule. I can’t stress enough how important creating a writing schedule is when trying to finish a project. 

We all have 24 hours in the day, but it’s what we do in that time that matters. 

For writers, managing time is critical. So much of writing is generating the ideas that need to be written. Because of this, time gets away from us and we end up spending hours world-building and solving problems in our heads without ever getting those ideas down on paper. 

Remember, the blank page is the enemy. We defeat it by writing. 

Scheduling writing times helps us battle the convenience of excuses. I don’t know about you, but I currently have a 60 mile commute to and from work. Most days, I don’t want to look at a computer when I get home, let alone sit there writing. But I’m tired of building other people’s dreams while my own passions dissipate into the ether. Either I make the time to write, or I live with the regret of never knowing what could’ve happened if I really tried. 

Don’t get me wrong. There’s always a justifiable reason not to write today—not in the mood, don’t feel inspired, not sure what to write about, etc. 

The remedy to this and any other writer’s block is to write. It really is that simple. In the words of a wise friend, A.T. Lynne, just shut up and write. 

It doesn’t mean that the words written will necessarily be great. But what it does is exercise the muscles that allow greatness and inspiration to come. It gets ideas out of the head and into a tangible format where it can actually make a difference and be blessed, while being a blessing to others. 

A seed unplanted feeds no one, no matter what power lies inside. It is only when it is planted, and watered, and worked that its power is unlocked and its purpose and greatness realized. But I’ll digress.

So May 18th is the big goal. But I also need to set a couple of smaller goals to make sure I’m keeping myself on track. With that in mind, I’m going to give myself 1 week to finish both the outline and beats. I’m going to follow that with 1 week to write the first act. This is typically in the 30 page range or so. That seems like alot, but if I’ve done my work in my outline and beats, then writing that first 30 pages shouldn’t be that bad. After that, I’m going to use the remaining weeks to flesh out the remainder of the script. 

To recap, by April 7th, the outline and beat sheet are done. April 14th, the first act is done. May 18th, the finished draft is done.

In the next update, I think I’ll touch on some ideas to keep in mind when creating beats and sequences, and the importance of subtext as you create your narrative arcs. 

Have a good one!

March 23, 2025

So I have my idea. 

I have a general concept of where I want the story to end. I have a few competing ideas on how the story should begin. 

So now what? 

Before I even begin drafting and outlining, I like to get lost in my imagination. This usually involves asking a lot of questions. What does the world of my idea look like? When does it take place? Where does it take place? What does the journey look like? How does it feel? 

In film school, Professor Karen Hall told us that our stories should be rooted in credo. 

Credo is essentially a list of things that you feel strongly about emotionally. They are the “I believe” statements in your life. Of course, credo can change as you live and grow, and experience life in different ways. But if you pull from credo—your strongly held beliefs—then you will always have something to write about. Good or bad, your writing will always connect with somebody emotionally because those core values are universally shared. So even if that story about a shape-shifting undead space-monster relentlessly devouring planetary resources and enslaving the indigenous people may not ever win a Pulitzer, readers who feel a strong tie to the themes of colonizing that underpin it, may still have a sense of connection to it. 

So that’s what I’m doing now. Thinking about my credos. Thinking about the core emotions that will define the tone of my story. Thinking about how I feel, and imparting pieces of that feeling into the world. Thinking about the world building. Asking those questions. Seeing it come to life.

If I can visualize it, I can write it. 

So with that in mind, I’m jotting down those ideas. I’m making notes about characters. I’m writing down phrases and blurry ideas that will be carved out with greater clarity as the story comes into focus.

I’ll do that for the next few days. I’ll make sure my idea has a beginning, a middle, and an end, even if I’m not sure of all the beats and sequences that will connect those just yet. But that’s my assignment for the week. 

And when that is done, it’s time to create a schedule. Without written goals, these ideas will just live in my head forever, always changing, and evolving, lost in the world building. But writing down some scheduled milestone dates will at least give me a sense of accountability and an action plan to aim for. 

March 19, 2025

I've got an idea for a book...or a screenplay...or maybe it's a script that I will publish as a book. I don't know. I'm getting ahead of myself.

The point is, I have this idea and I thought it may be cool to document the writing process as much as I can to sort of show what the writing process looks like in real-time from idea to final draft.

So pray for me. Lol. 

July 14, 2022

Earlier this week, New Yorkers were greeted with a random public service announcement about preparing for a nuclear attack. 

Wait. What?

A nuclear attack? 

Don't get me wrong. I'm all about being prepared. When Covid shut the world down, I rushed to Home Depot, grabbed several packs of seeds, and planted them in the backyard...where...they are still buried to this day...three years later. (No one will ever mistake me for a gardener, I'll admit.)

July 2, 2022

If June 2022 could be summarized in a phrase, it would have to be the consequence of freedom, or maybe the chaos of freedom. I’m still working out the phrasing. 

For the LGBTQ+ community, there was freedom as defined by pride in identity; a celebration of freedom gained.

For supporters of the Pro-Choice movement, June was the month their idea of constitutional freedom over their own body and the life contained therein was ripped from them; a mourning for freedom lost.

For American blacks, who embody the glory, trauma, and soul of a country hated and loved, June meant celebrating the newest federal holiday, Juneteenth. Conversations were had. Cookouts were planned. But given the history of the holiday (and the corporate greed surrounding it), their’s was a freedom of indifference.  

June saw the freedom bell toll on R. Kelly and Ghislane Maxwell’s freedoms. Amen. But it also saw consecutive mass shootings every weekend of the month per ABC News and the Gun Violence Archive.

June was the month my mom retired. She’s free from a lifetime of punching clocks. But like so many retirees, she’s not free from the relentless fear that vocalizes in every-increasing tones, “The last quarter of life approaches. What do I do now?”

When it comes to the idea of freedom, that question is poignant and relatable.

It cuts to the core of our existence. 

When faced with freedom, what do you do?

If I was a wise sage, or at least a decent marketer, this would be where I offer the secret answer to that question and point you to my latest product—all for an affordable cost. But I’m not, so I won’t. Honestly, I don’t have the answer for you.

All I know is that no matter what freedom looks like within your worldview (losses and gains), you possess some level of freedom inside the hidden invisible within your soul. 

In chains, you can be free. 

In darkness, you can be free. 

In heartbreak and desperation, you can be free. 

I’m not talking about some introspective ignorance to the reality of a given circumstance. Being free mentally doesn’t make the chains fall off and the choirs sing. However, it does mean that irregardless of the circumstances you may find yourself in, whether chosen through intent, or inherited as the result of a causationistic society, there is freedom to be found and acted upon in every situation. 

Freedom is a gift from the Creator. The experience of it within your innermost being cannot be taken away.

Psychiatrist and Holocaust suvivor, Viktor Frankl, puts it like this. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” 

The good book says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Whether your independence day is July 4th, Juneteenth, the day you got divorced, or the day you chose life, sobriety, peace, or something else entirely, you need to remember that you are free. 

I am free. 

But freedom is nothing more than an opportunity to make a choice.

That choice of freedom cannot be divorced from action.

So as you celebrate freedom, however that may look to you, remember to ask yourself, “What do I do now?” 

It is through the action implemented after answering that question that freedom moves from the realm of lofty ideals into something powerful, influential, and freeing.

Salathiel Jones