TIR Grows Presents: Quote Reflections Series
Welcome Realmies,
Before We Begin
This week in my Scriptwriting Craft class we were asked to describe our writing process. Here is a prompt you can use as well to take yourself on a similar journey.
The Prompt: Describe your current writing process honestly and reflect on how your approach to storytelling is evolving.
This quote and blog post is what flowed from that bit of introspection into my process.
The Quote
Read more: Stumbling Into Story: Refining Process, Expanding Craft“Every story begins as something transparent and half-there; the work is staying long enough for it to come into focus.” – TIR Grows
Using this quote, let’s ask ourselves where we are and where we’d like to go and explore the journey together.
The Beginning
As a novice screenwriter I am limited but enthusiastic. Though I have more experience writing prose fiction, I can’t pretend my writing process is some well-constructed rubric that churns out brilliant concepts. My process feels more like stumbling into the story each time and hoping I eventually land on solid ground.
The Journey
It always starts the same: off the page. Before the laptop even warms up, I’m already deep in a mental battle. I get a glimpse of an idea that feels great but remains frustratingly transparent. I sense it’s there, hovering just out of reach. But every time I try to pin it down, it slips through my fingers.
And then the self-doubt spiral:
Have I seen this before? Is this a movie or a show I’ve seen?
Is this original?
Am I stealing the concept?
And I say, “Never mind, it’s probably not that clever.” And move on.
But right as I try to abandon it, another voice chimes in:
“Hey, come back here and write it down anyway.”
So, I begin. I start typing from the beginning, very Fräulein Maria, “let’s start at the very beginning… it’s a very good place to start.” I get a page or two in, then ask the fatal question: Where is this going?
And that, historically, is where my stories go to die.
Octavia Butler’s call for consistency, Robert McKee’s clear framework for story, and David Trottier’s actionable guidance have all begun rescuing me from myself. Going forward, I plan to spend more time developing characters before writing. Rather than starting from the beginning, I also want to experiment with starting at an exciting moment, perhaps the climax, and letting the story fill itself in around that anchor point. Scriptwriting (all writing for that matter) demands crispness, vocabulary that is descriptive and brief, action verbs that carry weight, dialogue with snap, crackle, and pop.
5 Tools I’m Implementing Immediately
- Specific, actionable goals
- Dialogue with energy and intention
- Action-verb-focused sentences
- Reducing passive writing
- Increasing nonverbal storytelling
When I ask myself what story means, the answer feels simple: an elaborate event description. But when I explore how I begin, it’s always with an idea or situation and then I invite the characters in. I am reordering that process. Ironically, what draws me most to movies or stories in general is never just the plot. It’s the characters! Character believability, charisma, and the feeling that I can invest in them. Even the most outrageous scenarios work if the character feels real.
Where do we go from here? Taking these principles and building a process that doesn’t rely on stumbling. Or at least, stumbling forward with intention.
Your Take
I invite you to take the same prompt (Describe your current writing process honestly and reflect on how your approach to storytelling is evolving) and process it around your own creative process. Ask yourself if your current process is working. Is there room for improvement? What does that look like for you and your work?
Stay Connected
For more reflections on creativity, life-work balance, growth, and learning how to work with yourself instead of against yourself in the creative space, follow TIR Grows. Save this post for seasons when creativity feels stagnant and a supportive nudge will help you on your journey. Please share with someone navigating structure versus creative freedom right now.
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