In most areas of life, I follow my heart. It's the one true barometer I have. You usually can't go wrong following your heart - It tells you when to persist, even if the odds are stacked against you. It tells you when to admit defeat, even if you want to cling on to hope. Karate here.
Writing, on the other hand, seems to be counter-intuitive from the rest of my life. It seems to call upon my head for a lot of the decisions my heart should be making. Your head is a dangerous place to be stuck inside of - It makes you overthink things, long after they've lost their flavor. It causes you second-guess yourself, even when you have no reason to. Karate not here.
I should have been done with the first draft of my new comedy this past Sunday, but I've been stuck inside my head for longer than I care to admit.
What if I fail? What if I can't do this?
My heart tells me I'm doing the right thing, and this is a great script.
My head tells me I'm crazy, and taking a year off from my career is suicide.
I don't like failing. I've never failed at anything I've put my
So my heart and my brain continue to duke this out, while I'm caught in the middle - paralyzed from writing. I'm not completely stalled, but slow enough to where I need to kick this puppy into gear before it's too late.
My heart says this script is the one.
If only I can stop listening to my head.
9 comments:
the answer, my friend, is being blown in the wind... if all else fails, alcohol and removal of pants usually works for me
You're just trying to get me drunk and pantless again, aren't you MQ?
Speaking of counter-intuitive...?
Don't think.
You have an outline. You know your story.
Place the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair - and write!
Get to Fade Out -- then let the screenplay sit for a few days and try not to think about it. Good luck with not thinking about it because probably at this point your clamoring to get back in there and rewrite the damn thing.
Don't stop - keep moving forward. There will be time for 'heart' later during rewrites.
(When I use this process, I find that my heart quickly gets into what I'm doing...)
I know how you feel. I was going to blog about it today, but I'll just blog about it on your blog --
I think that what's happening with these writer's consortiums (johnaugust.com and artfulwriter.com) at the studios is that spec writers are being pushed to the back of the heap...as if we weren't there to begin with. Studios want "specs" from the consortiums, known and proven entities. We're screwed.
I'm with you in your misery. Even if you have a bang-up script, I think breaking-in to this industry takes way more than drive. The deck is stacked against us.
So do you reset your expectations? (No -- not you -- not yet.)
And by the way, whether or not you ever become the next A-lister, this year isn't a waste. You've gone balls-out chasing a dream. Not many of us can say that we risked so much. And heck, I'm sure you're learning a thing or two.
When you're ready, you can join me in the back room -- the Over-Achievers Club -- we can toast to the rollercoaster ride of bright dreams and dismal outlooks.
Unfortunately your heart will probably say every one is the one. I know mine did.
But the fact that you have a little doubt is actually a good thing in my opinion. It shows that you're not so in love with your words that you refuse to take criticism. I think the latter undoes at least as many writers as the former.
You hear all the time that if you have any talent at all and you stick it out, you WILL MAKE IT. The only failures in this town are people who gave up. So if this turns out to be the magic script, great. If not, it's just another step on your way up.
And if you don't make it in 12 months it's completely okay, so don't pressure yourself so much. This tends to be a slow process.
Pussy.
Very encouraging, Eddie.
You're a regular Tony Robbins.
You and I ... Brothers from different mothers.
I can't remember if I ever posted it in my blog, because I've written the blog 300 times and not posted it because I wasn't sure if I wanted it out there, but I cringe with fear that I may fail and often stop myself from completing projects to avoid failure -- which I guess is failure in itself.
Get it done for both of us. You're my Mike Peters.
"See, it's all how you look at it. If your life sucks, then mine is God awful. I mean, I moved out here partially because I saw how well you were doing. You got in the union, you got an agent. I thought if you could make it, maybe I could too..."
On an aside, why do you read my mind so? My current script has a whole lawn gnome metaphor and I didn't steal it from your blog.
Great minds think alike, I guess.
Clever.
There may be hope for you yet.
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