“Get a good idea and stay with it, and work it until it’s done and done right.” Walt Disney

What a lot wisdom is packed into this handful of words! Such a simple recipe for success and yet so powerful! Four steps are all we need:

1). Get a good idea: We all have lots of ideas floating around in our heads or swirling around us in the ether. But a “good idea”—now that’s something special. That’s one that won’t let us go. It wants to be out in the world and for whatever reason, we’ve been chosen as its channel. So the first step is finding idea that seems more wonderful than wispy—an idea that entrances us and fuels our energy and creativity.

2). Stay with it: Once an idea rises up and announces itself and won’t let us go, staying with it is key. We need to play with it, explore it, let it unfold in its own way, but not be afraid to chase down all the different paths it might take, the different angles and perspectives we might use to express it in all its fullness. We need to stay with it, keep playing with it, keep our curiosity and sense of wonder alive.

3). Work it until it’s done: This is the hard part. We need to work the idea and work it hard! To my mind, as writers, this means getting it out on paper and then revising it: re-envisioning it and reshaping it. This takes time. It takes effort. It takes intention. It takes commitment. We may be tempted to throw up our hands and quit. But we need to be true to the idea—we need to take it all the way to the home stretch.

4). Do it right: We all know in our hearts when a project is really, really finished. We all know the feeling of satisfaction that comes from giving a project we really care about our very best. When we “do it right,” we don’t hold back, we go all out. Like an athlete, we leave it all on the playing field. We’ve invested tremendous love and energy to create.

Wow, as I look at these steps, I can see how they apply to moving forward with my play, Dust of Egypt. Right now, I’m at the “stay with it” stage. I believe the play has legs. I received a lot of moving feedback about it and I feel it should be out in the world. But to make that happen, I need to stay with it—keep talking to people, asking questions, gathering resources, figuring out what the next step is. Then I need to work it until it’s done and done right!

How about you? Do you have a project in the works that would benefit from your taking these four simple steps? If so, I’d love to hear about it as we all write on!