Sunday, December 10, 2006

Make the Wrong Choice

I was talking with someone tonight who told about being directed in a play to "make the wrong choice" when they were stuck on a scene. Got me thinking about how this can apply to writing. It's a very freeing instruction. Of course, in writing, it involves a level of commitment, by virtue of actually putting the wrong choice down on paper. Still, maybe we all need to make more wrong choices as writers in order to arrive at the right choice.

Go make a wrong choice with a piece of your writing. Make that wrong choice on purpose and see what happens.

3 comments:

  1. This will be challenging for people willing to try it. The time committment in an acting scene is so much less demanding.
    But I think people might find it a useful tool when stuck on something down the road. Good vision to find new ideas in another medium.

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  2. I'm definitely with you there. You know how I feel about first drafts. Cut loose. Mess it up. That's what the first draft is for. I'm not obliged to do it all in one draft just because Mozart or Harlan Ellison did.

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  3. I now find myself stuck on something, and suddenly "Make the Wrong Choice" is easier said than done. How can I make the wrong choice when I don't know which is wrong and which is right? Perhaps, what I really should have said is, "Make ANY choice."

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