The reality of writing is that you are constantly going back to the drawing board. And the drawing board can suck. It can drive you to eat, drink and be mean to your significant other. But one thing it won't do is go away.
So I've snarled at my "drawing board" for months now (while writing three other projects including one entire draft of a new writing assignment) and it's time to jump back in. No matter how beautifully I want to perform this dive, it's going to end up like a belly flop, complete with belly burn. But here I go.
My agent wants me to pretty much take my script in a different direction after the act break. And scenes are starting to bubble. As they do I write them on cards and stick them on my giant corkboard. Let's check - there's two. There's only two?! UGH!
Here's what's blocking me - trying to envision the entire thing instead of just taking it one step at a time.
Here's what I'm going to do to get over myself (again). I'm going to daydream about my character - I'm going to think about what kind of person he/she is and what he/she can possibly learn. I'm going to doodle and make lists and explore. If a scene hits me that's a keeper - it goes up on the board.
I'm also going to give myself a deadline. I want to come up with a new short treatment of the story by this time next week. That should be ample time to reel in my wandering mind and make some choices. Not set in stone choices - but choices that I can then ask people about - pitch the story to and see if people are like - oh - yeah - I want to see that...
I hope that if you are stuck - you'll remember not to think about the finished movie - you're a hundred steps away from that (at least)... Just put one foot in front of the other and we'll both be there before we know it.
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