The Magic Idea That Is So Great It Kills Creativity

Have you met the maniac who sweeps into your mind in the middle of the day when you're busy writing your script about a tax accountant who becomes an Olympic athlete? You're hard at work, throwing down words onto the page------ and then this maniac comes along and says in your ear "I have a great idea, you should write a film about two people who invent a flying car made out of chalk, and then they turn into zombies, yeah!"

All of a sudden, you get really excited about your genius idea-- and become convinced that it is going to be your masterpiece. You get out your notepad and throw down three pages of zombie gold before realizing it's terrible, godawful.

So you go back to your film about the tax accountant. But your energy is gone for the day. You feel depressed. You watch a re-run of Friends and quit writing for the next three weeks.

It is always good to get new ideas. But you need to be careful they are real ideas, and not just the maniac who is trying to stop you from doing the hard work. Generally, if you're focusing on one idea, you should really do everything to stay with it. If you're in the middle of writing a scene and you suddenly get an idea for a masterful sequel to 'Waterworld' then it's probably the maniac. Ignore him, or ask him to come back after the first draft of the tax accountant script is done.

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