The Element of Surprise 

I like to plan. I like to take notes. I like to outline before I write, and edit while I write. But it’s easy to forget that no matter how much we plan, our final products almost always looks different than our intended outcomes. A famous artist named Picasso once said it best…

“I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.”  

I have to admit, I’m a much bigger fan of Picasso’s quotes than his artwork, but I digress. The point here, is that our ideas will naturally bend and form into something quite different, and normally much better, if we allow them time and space to grow.

Nowadays, I’m trying to develop a new creative practice based off an acceptance of this concept; the realization that improvisation and intuition are just as necessary as step-by-step plans and objective goals. Yes, plans and goals are important elements of creation and I have plenty of them, but the element of surprise is just as important to creative growth.

Sometimes we have no idea how integral a background character in our story will turn out to be. Or that gaps in our outlines simply reveal an opportunity for an additional story line. We just have to write and live authentically to eventually figure it all out.

Yet writing, like living, is sometimes a frustrating affair. All too often I find myself sitting in front of my computer, staring at the cursor blink in rhythm on a blank word document, unsure where to begin. And when I finally start to dive into a screenplay or a blog post, I realize the plan just isn’t working; the characters are underdeveloped, the themes aren’t apparent enough, and the timing is completely off. But I choose to write anyway, making it up as I go until I eventually stumble upon a new idea that finally works.

I write and rewrite, then write and rewrite again, until I end up with something that surprises me, something so different than the original outline.

Similarly in life, I’ve changed course often and am now at a place that looks much different than the original plan. Some days I feel like there’s gaps in my story and the timing is all off - but I write on nonetheless, surprising myself with newly developed story lines and plot twists as I go.