Christmas... yeah. We did it. Moving on.
Got Goodland back from the script readers (I used Act One). Jack read my script, then gave me a call and talked with me for over an hour. It's a hard thing, taking criticism on the first script you really feel proud of. It's even harder when basically everything the guy is saying rings true, and you wonder within yourself at the complete lack of insight which led you to overlook these problems. He had good things to say, they always have good things to say to you. It is disheartening, though, when you begin to realize that these changes they want you to make are exactly the changes you need to make, but for some reason you would never have figured it out on your own. The lights go on, and you completely see it, but you didn't before, and then you wonder why you didn't see it, which inevitably leads you the the conclusion that you may never see it, and maybe seeing is reserved for those really great screenwriters, of which you will never be since you can't see it.
Or maybe it's just a matter of time before I begin seeing it.
Going with that hypothesis, I theorize that it will be at least five more scripts before I begin seeing it. They tell you that it will take 7-8 scripts before you get a good one, and I'm on 3, so I've got 5 to go (check the math - I'm crap at math). This is also disheartening when you consider that I must trudge along for five more scripts, putting my entire effort into it while knowing that what I will be producing in the end is just a means to an end. Kind of takes all the creative energy out of it. I thought my motivation was fickle before, now there will be no living with it. You almost have to fool yourself into thinking that this next script will be the one, even though you know it won't, because it's only number 4. But come on, it's a romantic comedy with aliens, how can that not be the one?
On the up side, I've got the next three scripts all planned out. Ooh, ooh I just thought of a Christmas analogy for this! It's like a Christmas present that you know is perfect, and you save all your pennies for it, then you go out and buy it, wrap it up really nice with the bows and everything, and then you just put it on a shelf because no one is ever going to open it. But it was good practice. I hate to practice. Is it too much to ask that I be good at just one thing without having to actually work so hard at it?
1 comment:
It is a difficult thing, ma'am. But don't let it discourage you or fill you with dismay. There is a steep learning curve that takes either 8 scripts or even 8 years.
But there are a few things you can do to chop the curve down.
I am a firm believer in treatments and outlines. Come up with your logline. Create your characters. Break your story using outline/notecards. Then write a treatment, 8-10 pages will do.
Then show your treatment to friends and other readers who can point out the problems for you before you've spent all that precious time and heart bleeding out a script.
If that doesn't work for you, then just talk your story out, scene by scene to your friends. Ask them for their thoughts/opinions. It's what Paul Schrader does.
Do all that hard logistical story work before you spend weeks/months in the midst of a script, and it will lighten the load.
And remember, the true joy comes from the act of creation. Take pleasure out of your work. And with every script you write, you gain knowledge and wisdom about your craft and art.
Don't be afraid of failure, cuz it's like the quote says: Failure yields great rewards in the life of an artist.
Best.
-R
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