I Don't Write Too Good These Days

I considered committing the double grammatical offense of using "to" instead of "too," but you know what, I think you get it. Ugh, I can't explain my frustration with how rusty a writer I've become. While I was off getting a monetarily useful education, my part-time hobby/dream/someday possibly monetarily successful writing went underground in my brain and digging it up again has proved a little more difficult than I thought it might be.

Since Monday, I've written 15 pages and one long narrative outlining the entire story. Still, only 15 pages of actual script, and those were come by with great wailing and gnashing of teeth. And internet surfing. And Millionaire Matchmaker viewing (you know, cable is as much a curse as it is a wonderful, wonderful blessing).

There are a couple of things that I have done right, I think. The first was to write out a narrative of my screenplay, from beginning to end, as if it was already completed and I was giving a detailed account of the movie to someone else. This really exposed those weak areas of my story, as I could imagine what that other person would say at certain points, both flattering and not so much. The other thing about this is it forced me to make decisions I was putting off, and it also showed me when I was making a character do something that was outside the realm of belief for that character, which I then had to fix before moving on.

The other thing I did was I actually sat down and wrote the thing. No, seriously, it's astounding how much writing does get done when you sit down to actually write. And one of the most important principles to follow when writing is to press through. Don't leave the computer because you've suddenly hit a part of your story that is hard to figure out. Set a page goal, or word goal, and don't get up until it's met. Internet shopping? Fine. Check your email inbox? Sure. But you don't get to shut the computer down for the day until your goal is met.

So, to recap, keys to writing: write. Every day, if at all humanly possible. And don't give up.