Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters ? Incremental Productivity

When attempting to understand Creativity and Innovation, it pays to import the vast range of research and knowledge that has been accumulated in these fields ? most of it is to be found in the field of Business and Management.

For example, Writer's Block is intimately related to Organizational Culture ? the same principles that prevent people from generating ideas in the corporate workplace are also responsible for Writer's Block - evaluation apprehension in its many forms. Another example, the principles that prevent screenwriters from getting their work successful commercialised are the same as those that prevent organisation's successfully implementing innovation ? lack of access to decision makers and so on.

Consequently, the following is one area of Creativity and Innovation Management that can assist screenwriters.

Incremental Productivity

Whilst radical innovation is glamorised, the true hero is incremental innovation. In other words: sustained, smaller changes. Whilst a few radical innovations are the result of giant leaps, the vast majority result from incremental changes applied over long periods. This principle can be applied in a number of ways:

a) Rather than wait for the "big idea," the chances of hitting on the "big idea" increase when writers engage in not so dynamic projects, develop their competencies, identify and solve problems in a regular and sustained way. We know this to be true because screenwriters tend to come up with their best ideas WHILST they are working on a project.

b) Artists often tinker with various concepts for long periods resulting in work that grows in distance, novelty and diversity from the original idea. That is until new knowledge causes the artist to leap onto a new concept, which is radically different from the original idea and grows further away in terms of distance, diversity and novelty ? it increases in radical nature. In other words, radical leaps are a product of incremental activity.

c) We often use the term "think outside of the box." But what does it actually mean? Some of the most successful ideas have resulted from small changes that were originally just outside of the box. Take the low cost airline model of South West Airlines and EasyJet ? the only difference between the standard and their models is essentially price. They took the small notion of price and pushed it outside the box where it seemed impossible ? London to Spain for $30 was thinking outside the box at one time. Again, radical ideas result from small changes.

d) In the field of drama and improvisation, actors have found that the best ideas result from not trying to be original but being UNORIGINAL.

These are other topics are covered in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity and Innovation and the various Story Structure Templates and other products available at http://www.managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com/

---

10 Tips on Writing Effective Dialogue

1. Become an EavesdropperListen carefully to the way people REALLY... Read More

Getting Looked Over, Without Getting Overlooked: Writing for Scanners and Skimmers

* Scanning and Skimming Practices *Whether you're writing e-mail messages... Read More

Story Structure - Final Conflict

Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's... Read More

How To Write Your Way To A Fortune

We've all seen those ads that grab our attention and... Read More

Writing Made Them Rich #4: Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio... Read More

Message to Online Writers: Dont Give Up On A Good Idea

The writing community is a strong one, with many new... Read More

5 Ways to Break the Story Spell

You sink back into your favourite chair with a new... Read More

Getting To Know Your Characters

Interesting characters that readers care about are the most important... Read More

Dont Rely on Your Spellchecker - or - The Importance of Good Proof Reading

Weather posting a page to your Website, writing a letter... Read More

Effective Collaboration - Working With Your Ghostwriter

Using a ghostwriter to craft your free reprint articles and... Read More

Review In 29 Steps Plus One

I just finished to read a book. A story for... Read More

How To Cut the Clutter and Win Readers

Most of us hate housework.Nevertheless, even the most hopeless slobs... Read More

10 Best Writers Who Ever Lived

Compiling a list of the history's ten best writers is... Read More

Writers: Dr. Phil Goes Fishing with Oprah in His Tackle Box, Shouldn?t You?

Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Write a Book That Sells

Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More

Scenes and Structure

Beginning writers often tend to think of a book as... Read More

Be Concise

Concision. (Sounds like I made up another word.) It's the... Read More

8 Ways to Write a Winner Book Fast!

Have you given up on getting your book out of... Read More

Vital Verbs

Remember back in the dark days of your school years... Read More

Linguaphone Language Learning Solutions

Language Training - A key to Global CommunicationLanguage Training is... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career! Write And Produce Your Own Stage Play!

Have you ever wondered how you can adapt your screenplay... Read More

Be A Savvy Writer: Go Where The Business Is

If you're a writer, you're in business. It doesn't matter... Read More

Common Writing Mistakes

Most books aren't rejected because the stories are "bad." They're... Read More

Ways to Make Extra Income Using the Internet

To capitalize on ways to make extra income you can... Read More

Writing Business Letters That Get The Job Done

Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today, traditional... Read More

How to Write a Holiday Tale that Isn?t a Turkey

When we write stories, with the purpose of sharing them... Read More

Basic Writing Tips ? Some Controversial, All Correct

As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More

Apotheosis - the Seminal Insight of the Hero for Screenwriting

Every hero has a seminal insight - the apotheosis. Once... Read More

A Quick Guide to ISBNs for Self-Publishers

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a... Read More

Open a Vein

If you want to be a writer, you must write... Read More

A Simple Contest with a Strong Message: Wake Up Your Writing Spirit

The Blogfest 2005 Writing Contest has only been running for... Read More

Writing the KAIZEN Way

Over the past eight years or so, I have tutored... Read More

Do You Plot With Your Character In Mind?

Creative Writing Tips ?You are plotting the story. You write... Read More