Lockdown Writing Tips with Writer and Director Morgan Dameron

by Richard LackeyApril 29^th, 2020

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Morgan Dameron, writer and director of ‘Different Flowers’ gives us some hot tips to stay productive and happy writing during lockdown.

Image credit: Christin Hume on Unsplash

For many creatives in our industry, the past month and maybe the next one also have been a real shock to the system. There’s the very real economic impact of losing work, productions being postponed or worse, cancelled, and then the psychological factors of being stuck at home for weeks on end.

One thing we’ve been looking at here at cinema5D, is how to turn lemons into lemonade. It’s a careful balance of acknowledging the challenges and reality, but at the same time looking for opportunities to make the most of the extra time, in ways that could have a real payoff a bit later down the line.

This means investing in yourself, and your art. However, it’s easy to have grand ideas of improving your craft in the weeks and months of lockdown, to set goals, but a lot more difficult to remain focussed, productive and avoid a cycle of beating yourself up because you’re human, and don’t achieve everything you pile on yourself each day.

We spent some time with Morgan Dameron, writer and director of Different Flowers, a feature shot in Kansas City about one would-be bride’s unexpected journey of self discovery. Morgan shared with us her lockdown writing tips to stay in a productive and happy head space during these challenging times.

I’ve summarized some standout tips from the video below.

• Look for online writing groups and writing contests
• Seek out sources of inspiration, such as podcasts and revisit books to get inspired and motivated again. Examples: The Roundtable Podcast, and John Augusts’ Scriptnotes Podcast, also the books such as, Screenwriting is Rewriting by John Epps Jr, and Story by Robert McKee.
• Follow a routine.
• Make a physical space to work, separated from distractions, partner or family members.
• Write what makes you happy.
• Use the time to make sure you have some work ready to go when things open up.

What are you doing to stay productive? Are you writing a script, or finishing a script? Do you have any tips of your own? Let us know in the comments below.