I tried a new drafting technique that changed my writing

My brother works in the film industry.

Over the years, I’ve often noticed the parallels between his profession and mine—literature. At the end of the day, we’re both obsessed with good stories.

A few weeks ago, he sent me a TikTok.

In it, filmmaker and comedian Zach Cregger introduces a screenwriting technique that is supposed to outsmart your analytical brain and help you overcome writer’s block.

I liked the video immediately.

I’d never heard of Zach before, but his idea struck a nerve. Which isn’t particularly surprising – writer’s block is something most creative people are familiar with.

Rarely, however, do I watch a video like this and immediately feel the urge to put its idea into practice.

With Zach’s video, it was different.

I wrote my latest column right after watching it.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I didn’t write it alone.

I wrote it together with an elf.

This article is about that elf – and what he did to my column.

At this point, it’s probably a good idea that I explain Zach Cregger’s method before you conclude that I’ve completely lost my mind.

It’s called Elfing, and it is exactly what it sounds like.

You let an elf write your story.

Elfing is a screenwriting technique designed to overcome writer’s block.

Here’s how it works:

1. Convince yourself that you’ve hired a tiny elf to write your story. Let’s say you paid him ten dollars. That’s obviously far too little, but that’s okay, because...

2. Assume that the elf isn’t particularly bright and will probably do a terrible job. Which isn’t a big deal – you only paid him ten dollars. What exactly were you expecting?

3. Write the story from the elf’s perspective. By pretending that someone else is writing it, you temporarily free yourself from your own ego and give yourself permission to write carelessly – or even badly. If one terrible sentence follows another, it doesn’t matter. You didn’t write them. The elf did.

If you’d like to learn more about the technique, here’s the TikTok that introduced it:

My latest column was written by the elf.

Since the next section is all about the writing process and what I learned from it, I’d recommend quickly reading the column first:

First, I want to show you what the Elfing draft actually looked like.

“I want to buy myself flowers because I’ve had a stressful day. At the flower shop, I put together a bouquet with the florist. The customer who came in after me watches every decision with a critical expression. I wonder what her problem is. When the bouquet is finished, she scoffs, and I wait anxiously for her verdict.

‘I’d like exactly the same bouquet, please.’”

Far too short, far too plain to become a truly good column.

But that was precisely the point.

The goal wasn’t to write a finished piece. The goal was to create a basic framework in which the story could exist.

What the writing process felt like – and what I learned from it – is what the next part is about.