What does it take to write a screenplay? Patience and impatience, I find. Today I had to do one last rewrite of a feature script I completed last year. I'm entering it into a writing program that is quite selective. It's one of those "God, I hope I get it. I hope I get it" moments. I don't like those. But it's cool. Because getting it would be amazing for many reasons. And at this stage in the game, you always have to have Plan A, B, C and D in the works and all of those are at hand. I am just one person, though, so here comes the patience part. Days have turned into months and it is time to move this script forward. People associated with this story have passed on, already, and that should have already been a kick in the rear. On the other hand, the months (and years!) to savor a script really make for better development of character and story. So I'm grateful. Impatience assists greatly in the area of procrastination. Yes, I still work a morning (very early morning) gig where I would be fully within reason to come home and collapse, but time waits for no one. Writing sessions are three hours for me, I find. So the discipline has to be there to plow through the well-deserved downtime. Tonight was no different. I am also taking advantage of the three-day holiday weekend. As an artist, there is plenty of solitude and even more temptation to cast away many invites to be social. So this weekend I divided my time in half. I did three hours of social and three hours of steady, productive writing. Tomorrow is six hours of more writing on a different assignment and editing the trailer I did not get to last weekend (aarrrgghhh). But the reward is in knowing that on Tuesday, I will be 90% there and I will actually give myself of reward of going to see a film. Yes I will put clothes on and see a film in the theatre. Where it feels like I haven't been in ages. Writer's solitude allows for that too. And if a film with a script that screams, "I could've written that" doesn't motivate me, not much else will. To all of the writers out there, cheers to getting it done!
