Long time no post. I know I've kept my hoards of adoring fans waiting for a while now, so here I am once again. Most all of my energy spent writing this summer has gone into working on screenplays. I've completed three of them over the break and am about one third of the way through my current project.
When you spend at least two hours every day writing ("writing" sometimes consists of sitting and forcing yourself to look at the screen while you wait for something to happen), you find ways to experiment with the process - to make it a more interesting experience, more productive, or ideally both. The most obvious variable to tweak in the writing process is the engine behind it - your brain. The modern world offers a lavish buffet spread of every conceivable mind-altering substance: stimulants, depressants, psychedelics, whatever your pleasure.
The act of writing goes against your instincts. The animal "monkey mind" inside you wants to know why the hell you are sitting still in front of a glowing screen for hours on end. These instinctual inhibitions manifest themselves in many different ways - daydreaming about anything other than your writing, getting lost down the internet rabbit hole in the name of "research," taking a break to snack on something or even... yes sometimes doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom seems more appealing than your keyboard when you don't feel like writing. Taking time out to sit down and focus on writing takes discipline, and discipline will make anyone squirm.
It is well documented the lengths that writers in history have gone to escape the banality of ordinary sober consciousness. Alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, tea, marijuana, opium, and cocaine are all popular choices. Or if you are Stephen King, you do all of them at once and write something like The Tommyknockers. Any one of these substances can provide a shift in perspective that can be helpful for looking at your writing in a new way. Some people vibe exceptionally well with one substance, and that works for them. They label themselves. "I'm a whiskey writer."
For me, the joy is in finding the right combination that allows me to be stimulated enough to problem-solve critically, while also uninhibited enough to not be overly analytical. Through rigorous trial and error research, I have come to a recipe that effectively turns my neurochemistry into awesome soup: caffeine (one cup of coffee or energy drink), marijuana (one small hit is good - very easy to overdo it and end up sleepy or wanting to eat something), and nootropics. If you haven't heard of nootropics, they are essentially vitamins that enhance the function of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. The vitamins I take that effect brain function are B-complex, fish oil, bacopa, and piracetam. Combined with the stimulant effect of the caffeine and the perspective changing quality of the marijuana, it has produced good results for me. The main conclusion - don't be afraid to experiment with your own consciousness. Be a scientist of your own mind, explore and find out what works best for you.
As soon as I get my completed screenplays broken down and get budgets estimated for filming them, I will be posting them as Kickstarter projects. In the meantime I'll try to be more active with this blog, my twitter account and also the youtube page I recently set up to upload monologue performances to.
