Don't Be A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Just remember:       


                

TWP and I are about to embark on our third script together. The first helped us discover what we each brought to the table, creatively. The second landed us a manager.

The third. Oh, the third. I can only speculate, but this might be what writing the second book in a trilogy feels like. Or the second book after you've been published.

That gnawing fear that now people are paying attention to what you do. The absolutely certainty that they're judging you with their judge-y little judgments.

It's not all in my head, either, as much as I'd like it to be. 

This second script that we send out to the world...it'll prove that we're not one-hit wonders. That the first one that people sparked to wasn't a fluke. I know that our manager would never let us send something out that wasn't 100%. The market it too competitive to send out anything but your best work. So I guess, most of all, I don't want to let him down. I want to deserve his faith in us.

But you can't write out of fear. You'll never do your best work. You'll end up making choices that are safe, and safe = boring. So I'm going to do my best to write like it's just for fun.

Because writing is fun, and the only thing being scared gets you is a crappy script and a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Only Time *Success* Comes Before *Work* Is In The Dictionary

Someone a lot smarter than me said that, so I'm in no way taking credit.


It's just something I like to remind myself of when I'm feeling frustrated, or tired, or burned out, or blocked.


Sure, people get lucky, get nepo-tized,* or simply stumble into their big break. The majority don't. The majority sacrifice their social lives, their time with family, and their doctor-recommended eight hours of sleep to work their little booties off on a project that may never see the light of day.


So when the rewrites feel like they'll never end, when I'm quite sure that I just can't make that note work in the context of the story, when I'm positive that I'll just die if I don't get out of that chair and outside for some fresh air, I remind myself that the only way out is through.**


Shut up and get it done.


       


*a variation on nepotism, not actually a word
** also something that someone a lot smarter than me came up with

Box? What Box?

                        


TWP and I learned a hard lesson this weekend, but hard in a way that felt like a break through as opposed to a break down.


I did like I always do on weekends: haul the lap top out to the dining room table, pull the blinds so I won't be tempted to stare out at our gorgeous view (and block out the sun, because the sun and I are not friends), and flip on the TV for background noise. Hello, SyFy Saturday movies. 


Here's the thing: ten pages into the script (which we'd revised now two or three times) I realized something. I called up TWP and asked him for his impressions. Our conversation went something like this:


Me: So, I'm ten pages in.
TWP: What're you thinking?
Me: I have thoughts about this, but tell me what you're thinking, because I want to see if we're thinking the same thing.
TWP: Something's missing.
Me: THIS IS WHY WE ARE WRITING PARTNERS.


At this point, my roommate walked by me and gave me the "why are you crazy" eye.


I needed to have TWP say it first because if I'd brought up the idea of massive changes, he's have been resistant. TWP and CHANGE don't get along. Needless to say, I was relieved that we were on the same page. Hence, the caps lock.


The realization we both came to was that, while we were revising like crazy, we were only revising within the setup and outline that we'd already locked in. We could only go so far. What was truly needed was for both of us to take a step back and really look at what could be overhauled to make the script as good as it could possibly be. It turned out that included a completely new first act and the addition of a whole new character.


We needed to step outside the box we'd locked ourselves in. By doing so, we're going to turn a good script into a great script. A script we're finally happy with.

And Again

                                         Revise, originally uploaded by nina eden

Who wants to do some rewriting? This girl!

That's the mission this weekend: get the treatment that TWP and I have been working on into shape so we can get the go ahead to knock out the script.

I find that I've been working doubly hard on screenwriting because I'm excited to get to work on the novel and I can't work on the novel until I finish working on the script! *Deep breath*

I'm looking forward to rewriting. I don't think there's anything harder than staring down at blank white space, so the fact that we already have seven pages of goodness to maneuver and manipulate makes everything a little less stressful.

So, let's write.