The pervasive fear of the blank page poses a significant challenge for novice writers, particularly in screenwriting, where crafting a feature-length script of 90 to 120 pages can induce overwhelming anxiety. Drawing inspiration from Anne Lamott's seminal work Bird by Bird (1994), this study explores a pedagogical approach implemented in an undergraduate screenwriting course. Adapting Lamott’s anecdote about how her father helped her brother overcome the overwhelming bird report by taking it “bird by bird,” the course recontextualizes the writing process as "tweet by tweet," utilizing X (formerly Twitter) and its 280-character limit to facilitate screenplay planning. This fostered a mindset shift from dread of expansive blank pages to an emphasis on narrative economy, transforming the query “What should I write to fill this many pages?” into “What must I convey within only this many pages?”

This paper theorizes the efficacy of this constrained, digital planning strategy against traditional character profiling and outlining techniques, incorporating qualitative analysis of student reflections post-course. Implications extend to broader creative writing pedagogy, advocating for technology-integrated methods to mitigate psychological barriers in composition.

Authors:
Hoang-Vu Nguyen, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam

About the Presenter(s)
Mr. Hoang-Vu Nguyen is an Associate Lecturer at RMIT University Vietnam, a creative director, a children’s author, and a screenwriter with a keen interest in speculative fiction.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguyenhoangvu/

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