Try Something New

For me, that means agreeing to critique and proof a screenplay.  I have to admit, I was leery of doing it at first. It's not a genre or a format I am current with. I used to write 'radio plays' when I was younger, which is very similar. However, the writer said it was a dark, contemporary tale and instead of saying 'not my genre', I said 'why not'?

I believe in protecting a writer's work so I won't go into details, but I was blown away. He didn't dumb down his vocabulary and, despite his apologies of English not being his first language, he wields it with far more finesse than most native speakers I have ever met. He shows a deep understanding for the subjects, some of whom are well-known celebrities.  It was the sort of piece that I only put down because other things had to be done, but I couldn't wait to get back to it.  Perhaps someday I can be more forthright with the details-- I want bragging rights should it ever make it to the screen. We all know how precarious the zeitgeist is about what wheedles its way to popularity, but boy, would I ever love to see this one make it.

Do the things you're unsure about sometimes.  There are some valuable lessons in stepping into new terrain. This is coming from someone who is usually ridiculously cautious. Besides that, I am in the throes of chasing my own ambitions so there is some anxiety in being away from my work too long.  However, I feel like just reading that piece enhanced my view of scene descriptions. I had to comment to him that it was a shame that his scene descriptions weren't in book form because they need to be read, not just translated to film.

So, incredible work, Antonio Maccagnan. I'm really pulling for you... I'm going to read through it once more to pick up whatever I might have missed on the first sweep.

That being said, I will go back to drafting UnSung with renewed vigor.  Don't get me wrong-- I'm still struggling on this.  Unless I have thoroughly loved and hated everything I have written, I haven't considered it enough. However, forcing myself to read when I would rather write was a good exercise, even though I intend to keep that rare. When I'm in the midst of juggling a huge amount of information, taking too many breaks into other worlds can set me back a lot. I usually juggle at least three different stories at a time already, so there's very little room for distraction.

Nonetheless, if you feel your muse is getting sick of you or you need a break, I definitely recommend offering your unique skills as a proofreader or editor. All writers have a little bit of that in them if they've been making any attempt at improving their craft. I happen to love when people defend my suggestions with rebuttals and I get to learn something from the defense of their choices. It's feedback on my perception of their work-- a very nuanced way to grow. I eat it up, it sustains me.

Imagination seems like an infinite thing, like we can't possibly utilize all of the ideas bursting from our colorful brains, but I hate to say, that's ego talking. Imagination is also not terribly picky or even decipherable at times and it pumps out trash as well as treasure.  Just as you are a vessel of experiences and knowledge, your imagination will always depend on more than just research and stepping away from even the vast resource of the internet.  It's odd how many times a short walk will hit me with a smell, a sound, a color that triggers something, shows me something new or hits me with something familiar. You have to constantly feed your senses, live your life, while hunkering down in front of that screen to spill it out. You need to find the things that move you, not just what gives you the feels in that character. I know I'm coming dangerously close to sounding like I am setting rules, but you already know imagination is no straight line.  What you find outside of it is the logic you need to translate it into something you can share, something others can understand.

Yes, you will benefit from honing your technical skills.

Yes, you will want to be passionate about your ideas.

Most frustration comes from the perception of what there is not enough of. Writing is not a vessel of determinate size and you should not scare yourself with what is 'enough'. Just keep pouring parts into it.  There is no magical recipe, no wrong order for combination. I take the same walk every day and it is never the same. Don't treat your journey the same either.