Kelly talks to legendary screenwriter John August (“Big Fish,” “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory,” who co-hosts the “Scriptnotes” podcast with Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl,” “The Last of Us.”). They have a new book: “Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are interesting to Screenwriters.”  

One of the things we talk about is that creativity isn’t magic, it’s an everyday practice. You use other words to say a similar thing. 

“Absolutely. And actually, everyone is an artist. The premise of the whole book is that everyone’s an artist because you’re creating your life with every moment. A lot of people don’t realize that, but every moment is like a squeeze of paint or a stroke of a brush. It’s all part of living every day, so why not do that intentionally? Why not live as if you are creating a life? Because you are. Because if you’re doing it with intention, then you can actually impact the outcome. And I do want to say one thing about the title. Yes, it’s Qreative Evolution, but the subtitle actually was adjusted. It’s how to find your creative fulfillment through questioning everything.” 

You embrace play as a cornerstone of life. 

“Play is the business of children. So, that’s how they operate. That’s how they do everything. So, we are not supposed to really lose that. And of course, as we grow up, we become adults. But adulting is what we do. It’s not who we are. That child is supposed to always be there so that you can be creative as you pursue your life. We’re supposed to be playing and playful. That’s right. Now we’re playing. But it’s serious business. But at the same time, you know, we’re going to have a good time. We’re going to be able to reach into our hearts for the content. That’s what the substance is.” 

You write about how powerful words can be, suggesting we use the word practice instead of failure. 

“Another big premise of the book is that everybody’s a work in progress for your entire life. So, everything is practice. It doesn’t matter. So that’s why even Miles Davis, if he heard a mistake, he would find a way to work it into the music. And again, it’s words like ‘failure.’ I have what I call alarm words: words that scare people – that if they hear the word, it automatically puts tension and anxiety into them. I’m just saying instead of using a word like ‘failure,’ use another word. Because you only fail when you stop. There is failure, but it’s only when you quit. That’s the failure. But if you keep going, that means you’re practicing. So, it’s not failure, it’s practice. You’re learning what not to do while you’re growing the ability to learn what to do.” 

Photo Credit: Julian Waas