Photo courtesy of Valeriana Solaris (http://www.flickr.com/photos/valerianasolaris) CC BY 2.0

Two hundred and fifty words?  Easy for you to say.  What on earth would I write about?  What does anyone ever write about?  Hmmm… What do I usually do in this situation?  Well, I usually start by opening a journal page, much like this one.  And I begin typing questions to myself.  Who’s story is this?  What do they want?  What do they need?  What’s in their way?  What’s at stake?  Well, in fairness, before I even type those questions I usually go for a drive.  Or a walk.  Something to tie up the left side of my head and to free the right.  And thusly, I simply percolate… I brew… I follow feelings.  This is sort of the “And the earth was formless and void” stage of things.  This can go on for several days or a week or two.  Just to build up a reservoir of random facts and emotions about the universe being developed.  THEN, when there are sufficient bits of story matter, molecules of character, protons of plot, colliding neutrinos of conflict, floating and flitting through my story’s formless world, I start with the typing and the questions.  Okay, so maybe I do type a few questions during that first initial haze… things like “What’s this story gonna feel like?… What kind of shape are we dealing with?”  (I don’t usually end sentences with a preposition, but in a journal who wants to see, “With what are we dealing?”).   Oh, looky, there.  I’ve found my 250.

- David Weiss co-wrote the Oscar™ nominated films, Shrek 2 and Jimmy Neutron with writing partner, J. David Stem, He also wrote All Dogs Go To Heaven, the live-action features Clockstoppers, Are We There Yet, and the upcoming Smurfs Movie. In TV, Weiss was Exec Story Editor on Cybill, co-producer of Mission Hill, and staff writer on Carol & Co. and Roundhouse. In addition, David currently serves as board treasurer for the WGA, and is an esteemed member of Compass Film Academy’s Board of Advisors.