John August

Psych 101

Summer Re-run: Psychotherapy for Screenwriters

Episode - 156

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Follow Up, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Writing Process

John and Craig revisit one of their favorite episodes, in which they sit down with screenwriter-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo to discuss writer’s block, procrastination, partnerships and more. It’s a can’t-miss episode for aspiring writers and professionals alike.

LINKS:

* [Dennis Palumbo](http://dennispalumbo.com/), author and psychotherapist
* Dennis’s book [Night Terrors: A Daniel Rinaldi Mystery](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CKUTZGS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003O34OL6&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* [Impostor Syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) on Wikipedia
* [The Imposter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film))
* [Paper Karma](https://www.paperkarma.com/) helps you control your mailbox
* [The Secret in Their Eyes](http://www.sonyclassics.com/thesecretintheireyes/)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_156.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_156.mp3).

The transcript of the original episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-99-psychotherapy-for-screenwriters-transcript).

Impostor Syndrome, and unknown unknowns

Psych 101

On the podcast, Craig and I have [discussed](http://johnaugust.com/2013/psychotherapy-for-screenwriters) [Impostor Syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome), in which successful people secretly feel like frauds.

Apenwarr, who works for a major tech company, wonders if Impostor Syndrome is [actually a good thing](http://apenwarr.ca/log/?m=201407#01):

> The people with Impostor Syndrome are the people who *aren’t* sure that a logical proof of their smartness is sufficient. They’re looking around them and finding something wrong, an intuitive sense that around here, logic does not always agree with reality, and the obviously right solution does not lead to obviously happy customers, and it’s unsettling because maybe smartness isn’t enough, and maybe if we don’t feel like we know what we’re doing, it’s because we don’t.

> Impostor Syndrome is that voice inside you saying that not everything is as it seems, and it could all be lost in a moment. The people with the problem are the people who can’t hear that voice.

The Rocky Shoals (pages 70-90)

Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

Aline Brosh McKenna joins Craig and John to talk about the difficult journey through pages 70-90 of your feature. After that, we talk about procrastination, the Panic Monster and our inner Instant Gratification Monkeys.

Screenwriting books always talk about structure, but never about tone, which is much more important for distinguishing great writing. So we spend some time looking at what tone feels like on the page.

Finally, we talk mentors. Aline has specific suggestions for young women.

Update: The post was linking to the previous week’s audio. Fixed.

Links:

You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3.

UPDATE 7-11-14: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Audio illusions, and the importance of set-up

Psych 101, Words on the page

Your brain is smarter than you think. Here’s an example from [Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute](https://soundcloud.com/whyy-the-pulse/an-audio-illusion):

In this audio illusion, something that seems incomprehensible makes sense once your brain is conditioned for it. Prior information shapes our understanding of the present.

In screenwriting — or any form of storytelling — we call this set-up. A reader’s understanding of a given moment is hugely dependent on what you’ve already established. That’s why the first few pages of a script are so important: you’re teaching the reader what to look for, and ultimately how to read your script.

From [WHHY The Pulse](https://soundcloud.com/whyy-the-pulse).