PREVIOUS EPISODE
SEEING THE BIG PICTURE
I'm still working the cross-pollination metaphor to ensure the concepts linger.
Even better, to ensure you get it!
Because of the length of screenplays and novels and TV Series, it can be overwhelming to understand the Moral Premise and the place it holds for a Writer.
However, I promise, if you truly get this, your stories will breathe with your original creativity and as you develop your skills, they will resonate with the power that Nancy Duarte has described in her wonderful book RESONATE.
Let's start with something small, a poem.
SCENE - I have the honor of being in the company of a beautiful woman and I tell her that she's the greatest and she responds, "Please Explain." The native instinct is to pour on the propaganda and start a new Political Campaign just to get a date, but come on, is all that necessary?
Why not just write a poem and leave the answer on the page?
As one of the last Romantic Knights in Writing Armor, it is my duty to continue the role of Chivalry. So I pull out a sheet of paper, open my soul, and the words pour out as I write.
Line by line, I continue writing and suddenly a new phrase pops out - New Teacher.
It's catchy, it's simple, and it rolls off the lips with sweetness.
I know this is it - the Moral Premise!
SEEING THE SMALL PICTURE
Armed with the Moral Premise, I'm now able to leave that Tier of thought and focus on the details.
That's right, get down to the nuclear details and massage the queen's Soul - LMAO!
Armed with the MP, I can now loosen the shackles and brainstorm the proper terms that will bring the deeper power of the term Teacher.
The terms come to me too fast:
Witness
Beauty as a Cream
Cleansing
Myths
Straight and Narrow
Arrow
With the MP's guidance, you're free to write what you want and let its SPIRIT guide you to the last line.
As a teen, I've always been fascinated by the power of the last line.
And that's how I end all my poems - a high wire emotional feat captured by the last line!
LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX
The great thing about poetry is that if you mess up, you can go back and rewrite it over and over, but for the emotional resonance, I suggest you allow the poem to breathe on its own as-is.
That's right, I'm talking about the First Draft.
I know, I know, theorists have told you that true writing is rewriting and they are correct, but for a poem, we're talking a short piece has different cosmic rules.
I keep my poems short, usually just one page, so I can manage to do a first draft release.
So let's answer your questions.
Now, you wonder, would someone write something "freestyle" and then release it to the world?
The easy answer is Emotion, Originality, and Creativity. Don't let your inner critic push you to seek perfection when original is good enough.
Now that you've seen the big view (MP) and the small view (Freestyle), let's see if we learned something along the way.
BECOMING THE BOX
Of course, the first few times you do this, it's not going to feel "right."
No need to sweat, you'll improve and soon, you'll be knocking out poems, blogs, newsletters, scripts, and novels in no time.
You'll grow beyond perfection and arrive at a strange place.
There won't be a need to be perfect, there'll be a need to simply finish.
And when you finish, you'll look back at your body of work and smile.
How did I get all that work done?
The hard answer is that you took the straight and narrow and left the lure of social media and the need to be seen.
The easy answer is that you listened to your soul and let it guide you down the right path.
The best answer is that you found your "Unique Voice."
This is the definition of success.
And the final ironic twist is interesting.
How does it feel to know that by living outside the box, you actually become the box?