I read this post by the TTRPG creator Luke Gearing the other day and it got me thinking about the phases of a project, which is a dangerous, anti-productive thing to do, but in this case I think it was actually helpful.
Gearing explains that his newest project was broken up into three phases.
- A barebones spreadsheet that detailed each element minimally.
- A handwritten ideation/barf draft phase.
- The final typed writing phase.
Each phase was kept separate, and Gearing only allowed himself to move on to the next phase once that last one was completed.
Reading this made me think of this video I’d seen perhaps a year ago on planning video game development
The video explains the prototyping phase and the production phase, and how the two are kept separate. It also talks about how you cannot have one without the other and how the two bounce off of each other bringing projects to new heights.
In other words, you have to switch from one to the other in order for the project to progress. Each phase solves the problems that the other phases confront.
On my current project I’ve found that I’ve absently been following a similar path.
I was using the things that I’d learned from the last script I’d worked on, and think I’m starting to develop a good system for myself.
This is not to say that it is foolproof. Challenges will always arise, issues will need to be confronted, no puzzle is ever identical in how it can be solved.
But I do believe that processes are a good thing, and that they do help me think.
I’ve begun the project with a strong ideation phase. I didn’t really know what the story would be. I had an idea for the problem, but not on who the characters were, what they would talk about, how they’d go about solving problems.
In a fresh notebook I just started writing scenes. They wound up being semi-sequential, but not completely. If I found myself getting stumped somewhere, I’d jump to another point and start from there. Then I’d jump back again.
The characters started to develop, voices started to emerge, motifs presented themselves.
But the story still wasn’t quite there.
What I had was a mixed bag of puzzle pieces that if read through from start to finish would not make any sense, and that’s okay.
The fun of this first phase, and having fun is the most important part, is not understanding the story. It’s not understanding the themes, characters, or plot.
The fun is the spontaneity. The discovery. The “flow” state that you find yourself getting into when writing a new scene because you aren’t quite sure how it’ll end.
If you think the fun part of this phase is the understanding of the story, you’re in trouble. Don’t mix up where the fun is.
The next phase, the one I am currently on, is the organization phase.
This is the spreadsheet, notecard, stationary explosion phase.
This is where you take the macro-view of what you’ve written and do some detective work. I’m spending this time finding the motifs, figuring out the sequence of events, defining the characters, and laying out the story.
For someone who does need some order and sense of organization in his life, this is much needed.
The fun here is connecting the dots. Finding meaning. Constructing the story.
I’m still in the midst of this phase, and it’s a breath of fresh air. It forces you to look at what you’ve written differently and that is always much needed.
The final phase will be putting together the typed out script.
I’m going to find the gaps in this phase, and those will need to be filled in. But the real fun of this phase will be getting to share what you’ve worked on with someone else.
The feedback phase will either be a nightmare or a lot of fun. If it’s a game you’re working on, it’s letting other people play it. If it’s a script, the fun could be getting some people together to read it out loud.
You’ll notice things that need to be tweaked, but it’s sure to be fun.
I’m not here with the project yet, so I may make another post later on my thoughts on it but for now that’s what I’ve got.
- Ideation phase: Spontaneous play. Writing by hand. Making a mess.
- Organization phase: Stationary. Spreadsheets. Order. Detective work. Research.
- Construction: Building. Adjusting. Decorating. Sharing.
