HOW LOSING SLEEP CAN LEAD TO A
CREATIVE OUTBURST

I fell a sleep the other night around eleven which is seriously early considering most days I’m in bed by 1 or 2am. At 7am, my girlfriend woke up for work and I turned on CNN like I always do.

On a normal day, CNN works like a radio as I close my eyes and fall back a sleep. However, this particular day was different. I had way too much on my mind… I felt like working.

So I got out of bed, got dressed, fired up my Mac and got to work.

SEIZE THE MOMENT

Sometimes, you just can’t help but feel inspired and truly unleash your creativity. Moments like these have to be acted on. I could have stayed in bed and slept until noon but that isn’t getting my movie edited, my blog updated or my screenplay written is it?

36 Websites I Visit Every Day

My first order of business was to eat cereal and catch up on all my blogs, sports updates and movie news. This normally takes a while but it’s important to stay up to date. Most of the time, these sites inspire new blog posts so it’s worth it.

WORDPRESS

For the first time in weeks, my daily post wasn’t ready to go. I had to write something from scratch. So I organized my thoughts and wrote Buried vs 127 Hours. A look at the different editing styles the film’s used to tell their story.

Once I finished the post, I was still feeling energized. It was time for the heavy hitters.

FINAL DRAFT

Launching Final Draft always makes me smile. Two days ago, I finished a new short screenplay called The Guardian and I spent a couple hours rewriting and editing my gritty 9 page superhero drama.

Rewriting is my favorite step. I’m the type of writer that completes the first draft without stopping much. I just want to get the story and the major plot points on to the page.

I usually leave the script for a day or two and then I edit and refine every single word until I’m 100% happy that I’ve told a unique and entertaining story. Sometimes, I finish a short and it doesn’t feel unique at all. These moments are unfortunate but every screenplay you write is an evolution of the writer you wish to become.

Once I finished my first pass at the rewrite I printed it out for my ‘red pen’ stage. I basically leave my office and read the script free from distraction with nothing but my thoughts and a pen. This step is followed up by typing it AGAIN from page one using my rewritten copy and my notes as guides.

It’s going to be a fun week but my day didn’t end there.

FINAL CUT PRO

I’ve been making sure to leave myself at least a few hours every possible day I can to make progress on 17 West’s latest short film The Climb.

It helps that I’ve been writing more and more about the editing process over the last week or so.

XTRA: Click here to check out the editing archives.

I fired up the most recent cut of The Climb and completed a scene from start to finish. In what felt like an instant, I put together a pretty great little 1 minute scene full of dialogue. It helped that I already had a good idea of how I wanted to pace the scene but I was amazed at how easily it came together.

In the end, I edited for a couple hours and even found time to go back and refine a few moments I wasn’t happy with earlier in the film.

It’s really starting to come along!

DONKEY KONG?

Every brain needs a break now and then and my escape when I can’t play sports is video games. Currently, I’m right in the middle of Donkey Kong Country Returns and I just dominated the fifth world.

It’s a really hard game so I’m quite proud to be almost done!

Break over.  Still completely inspired to work.

WORDPRESS RETURNS

I felt fantastic. I had already accomplished so much with my extended morning but I still felt inspired to work. So I continued my quest to go back and update old posts. I literally started with post number 1 and managed to get through about 20 or so before I called it quits.

These old posts are now updated with better SEO keywords, titles and graphics. I also wanted to include relevant links to posts I’ve created since those articles were published. This process is probably going to take months considering I’ve written nearly 600 posts.

Still, it’s important work and I’m happy I was able to get a few done just in time to get ready for work.

CELTX FOR IPHONE

XTRA: Read my review of Celtx here.

It takes about 20 minutes to get to the studio where I work. Still feeling extremely creative, I used that time to start a 1 page screenplay we may shoot for a competition towards the end of March.

It may never get filmed but at least I can create a script and find out if it’s worth it or not. So I fired up my Celtx for iPhone app and nearly got the first draft finished before I got to work.

The script is extremely rough and needs work but the basic outline of the story is out there and I think it may have some use down the road even if we don’t make the quickly approaching deadline.

EDITING PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

From there, I got to work and prepared for a busy night filled with big hockey games and a ton of live shows. 11 hours of editing stood between me and what was definitely a good night sleep!

It was a fantastic day!

SEIZE THE MOMENT!

My shift started at 2:30. I’m really happy I didn’t sleep until 11 and waste what ultimately became an incredibly productive afternoon.

Seizing these moments is crucial if you want to succeed in a creative medium. Even if it’s just a hobby and you aren’t aspiring to be a professional.  You have to constantly think about your projects and how you can make them better.  You have to dedicate yourself and get the work done.  Not because it’s work but because it’s what you love to do.

Yet every so often, something clicks and you end up with mornings like I just had.  Moments when you can’t seem to keep up with the ideas bursting from your imagination.

If only every morning was like that.

FIND A JOB YOU LOVE
NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE