It’s just one of those things…
Still in the habit of watching movies and writing. I’ve all but stopped reading professionally produced screenplays — I get how to format the words on the page and how to do action lines now, more or less. What I’m trying to do now is develop a process that allows me to make the story as tight as possible when it gets into screenplay format. I used to write first drafts of the screenplay without planning the beats out first, so threads would show up on page 10 that I eventually realized had no place in the narrative on page 75. I’m trying to plan this latest story ahead of time by writing a treatment (and a second treatment after that), so that when I do get into writing a draft, I can focus more on the organic interactions between characters, and do less hard thinking between the lines since I’ll be coasting on the strength of the story that’s been ironed out ahead of time.
The virtual film festivals were really cool, even with Covid; it was nice to feel included into a community of filmmakers and film lovers that had gathered together to appreciate independent cinema. Very grateful for the opportunity to participate in Indie Memphis and Tallgrass.
The thing I’m learning as an aspiring professional: whatever effort I’m putting in on a particular day is great, but once the day’s over, the same effort is required again the next day, and the day after that. To do this consistently is a hallmark of professionalism, which turns this endeavor and investment from a nice idea or a recreational hobby into a commitment and a lifestyle. Sometimes it’s not always the most fun thing to have to wake up and iron out the kinks on another project, especially after making such progress with another the previous day. For me, good writing is really, really hard. I haven’t quit yet because when I do write I feel I’m constantly on the precipice of something, one chisel away from understanding how the pieces of a particular narrative fit together — and I can take that understanding to help me on future projects.
Man, I should probably get writing now.