Have you ever started something only to realize, at some point midway into it, that you have no idea what you’re doing? Good. Here’s why.
In 2014 I co-wrote and co-directed an animated short for Disney. It was a bucket list opportunity that through luck, timing, and years of hard work had presented itself. My writing partner and I were thrilled! We’d been given the honor and privilege of pitching an idea for an animated show for the legendary studio.
We pitched a handful of short, two paragraph story ideas to get a better sense of what kind of show they were looking for. After some discussion and idea sharpening everyone agreed that this hopeful garage-band touring out of a taco truck direction was the clear winner.
With our idea in hand and the green light from our Disney executives, there was nothing that could stop us. Except that we had no idea what to do next.
Throwing Yourself Into the Fire Will Get You Burned
We had a great idea that everyone was excited about. We also had a big problem we didn’t account for: Neither of us knew how to write. Let alone the family-friendly, comedic stories Disney was looking for. Gulp.
So we did what any sensible person would do. We downloaded a script template for Google Docs and started writing anyway. There wasn’t much else we could have done.
The writing process was uncomfortable, difficult and—to no one’s surprise—not good. Let me rephrase that: It was bad. The script was bad.
Several rewrites and two meetings later, we were feeling the pressure. Our friends at Disney were not delighted by our story and, in retrospect, neither were we. The trouble was that we couldn’t figure out why.
Back to the Literal Drawing Table
We had tried doing it the traditional way (screenwriting, that is) and had fallen flat on our faces. And it’s no wonder—we were not writers.
We were, however, drawers and animators. So, we embraced our shortcomings and found a way to write our story that worked for us. We drew storyboards on index cards for story beats and then recorded dialogue on our phones for each card.
Super low-fi and easy.
A week later, we had a brand new animatic to share. And you know what? Disney loved it.
Doing it Well is Better Than Doing it Right
Years later I discovered the book, The Art of Ooo (it’s amazing if you can find a copy). In that book, they talk about how the Adventure Time team wrote stories through sketches and storyboarding first and then adding dialogue later.
My point is that nobody knows what they’re doing. Not all the time, at least. I know I sure don’t. And that’s okay. Turns out we’re pretty good at figuring things out when we need to. No pressure, no diamond.
The next time you feel like you’re in over your head and you’re uncomfortable, and you’re not quite sure what you’re doing… take a moment to breathe. And then remind yourself that even the best at what they do have been where you are right now.