Do you need a spanking?

This works well for my kids when we travel. At home, I just put them in the dryer.

How disciplined are you?

I am, by nature, not a disciplined person. Most of us are probably not. The creative free side of our natures and the rigid disciplined side of our natures continually clash with only some of us making it out of the confrontation alive.

Writing is a combination of both of those things.

You have to be creative and you have to be able to consistently write.

I confess - when I am breaking a story - I have no idea how to be disciplined. I can't sit and beat the story out of my head onto the paper. I usually have to think - talk to friends - think and then write - talk some more - and it takes time.

The sad reality of writing is that when you are done with a script - no one cares if it took you three days or three years to write it.

They only care if it is good.

So discipline helps you write more consistently - but it had no guarantee that what you do write is any good.

But here is the dirty secret of screenwriting.

The more you write - the better you get.

I don't care if you are a lucky bastard your first time out - you second time will be better. And the third better than that.

Your ideas still might suck - but the actual writing will get stronger. You will have better dialog. Better description. Know what to leave off the page. Have a feel for story and structure.

Robert Rodriguez said that the first three scripts you write should be just for you - and then throw them out. After that, you can start writing. I remember the first three films I made. They should not be seen by anyone. Not even my own mother could sit through them.

But unless you are disciplined - you won't even make it through the first three.

How committed are you to what you are doing?

Do you have what it takes to put in the hours? Can you squeeze more time out of your day? Do you really want this? Are you willing to be hard on yourself - rewriting and rewriting - to develop your voice and come up with something that will open the next door for you?

It's easy to talk about what we want?

But what are we actually doing on a day to day basis to get what we want?

My son pulls random quotes from Transformer cartoons and repeats them all day long - not knowing what they mean. Things like -

You want a piece of me, Mon Ami? (sp)

His new favorite is:

Talk is cheap!

Whenever we say anything he doesn't like he yells it - TALK IS CHEAP!

And in this case, it is. Talk is cheap.

Only pages count. Good pages. Pages that stand out above everything and everyone else's.

If you want this - go for it. Don't stop till you get it. But stop the jibber jabber.

That means me too. There isn't enough room on the windshield for us all....