My student taught me a valuable scriptwriting lesson

In December, a student of mine was about to launch a new channel.

Tim had three videos scripted, filmed, and ready to launch (following my “Whirlpool” strategy).

But, days before hitting publish… Tim’s computer died.

The scripts were safe in the cloud - but the footage was lost.

So today, I want to share how he turned this apparent disaster into an amazing opportunity…

…and the important lesson he taught me about scriptwriting.

Success from Disaster

So the videos were gone... but the ideas were still top of mind for Tim.

After all, he’d just spent weeks writing and recording them.

So rather than wallowing in misery (like I would have done), he got curious.

He decided to record some off-the-cuff podcast episodes covering similar topics.

This stripped away some of the more heavily scripted elements and allowed him to experiment with riffing.

And let me tell you something - I am secretly (although not actually) a teeny bit glad this all happened.

Because the resulting podcast is fantastic.

It’s called: “The Fiction Writer’s Toolshed: Practical Tools for Authors”

Check it out here!

Technically, it's aimed at fiction authors.

But every episode is full of wisdom for any type of writer - and that includes YouTubers.

I'll finish today's newsletter with my favourite lesson from Tim's podcast so far.

But first, let's take a moment to consider Tim's response to this tech disaster, and how we can apply it to our own YouTube videos.

Ask yourself this - how many times have you recorded an entire YouTube video only to find the mic wasn’t switched on, or the focus was playing up, or even that you never hit record?

I’ve experienced all these and more - and the funny thing is, the next take is nearly always much better.

Practice makes perfect, and - albeit unintentionally - mistakes like these force us to practice.

And this was a heck of a lot more than "forgetting to hit record".

Tim had put hours into filming, editing, and preparing for publish.

But who would bet that when he re-records these same YouTube videos...

...they'll turn out way better the second time around? ☝️

Technical disasters are often blessings in disguise.

Here’s how you could apply this thinking to your next video:

• Experiment with an alternate format - a podcast, a Short, or even a newsletter - and see whether this changes how you express your thoughts on the topic. Then rewrite the long-form piece.
• Allow yourself a “trial run” during each recording - hit record just in case, but work on the assumption that you’ll record the whole thing at least twice.
• Discuss a topic with a friend, and record the conversation - and notice the objections or questions your friend has. This could totally change how you approach the script.

Scriptwriting Lesson - Farming vs Cooking

So what have I learned from The Fiction Writer's Toolshed?

Well, a lot! But here's my favourite takeaway so far:

This is from episode 5: “Fiction Farming vs Fiction Cooking” (listen here).

Tim says:

“Writing is not the same thing as coming up with ideas. They are not the same process.”

What Tim’s describing are the two different “modes” our brains enter when writing.

In associative mode, you’re “farming”.

You’re researching ideas and throwing them into a document, without knowing exactly how they’ll fit together yet.

In analytical mode, you’re “cooking”.

You’re combining those ideas, narrowing your options, and working towards a final script.

The problem Tim identifies is this:

“As writers, we try to cook while we’re still farming […] judging seeds that could grow into incredible ideas by the standards of a finished meal. If you do that long enough, writing starts to feel bad.”

This resonated strongly with me.

How many times have you opened a new script full of excitement, but quickly found yourself stressed out and unable to make decent progress?

And the longer this goes on, the more you start to believe you’re just a bad writer.

This is part of the reason I switched my scriptwriting approach - using pre-existing material from my newsletters, and plugging in my setups and payoffs in a methodical, repeatable way.

That’s farming.

Then I switch to my analytical brain and connect each setup to each payoff using bullet points - and often write the hook later once I’m sure all ideas have been gathered and arranged.

That’s cooking.

Now, if the way I explained this feels a bit overwhelming, go check out The Fiction Writer’s Toolshed.

Not only does Tim have an incredible radio voice, but each episode explains a writing problem + solution simply yet elegantly - and you won't find it difficult to see how his ideas connect to YouTube.

Thanks for letting me share this, Tim!

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋