Day 82

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to post for a long, long time. This is partially due to my long working hours, but also, I'm trying I dedicate any free time to writing my script, not procrastinating on my blog (whoops).

I'm about 15 pages away from finishing my first draft, so hopefully I'll meet my self-imposed deadline on October 11th. When I've finally finished, I intend to put the script aside for a couple of weeks and focus on something else, so that I can return to it with a fresh perspective. I already have a couple of ideas for future projects, the first, a supernatural horror set in Japan, and the second, a biopic of Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce. For now, I'm going to try and resist thinking about those projects until I've finished the first draft of 'The Major and the Beetle" (working title). One thing I've learned recently, is to AVOID EDITING BEFORE THE FIRST DRAFT IS COMPLETE. There's nothing more demoralising than a static page count, which is something I've been suffering with for the past couple of weeks. For every page I write, I edit one out. When I accepted that the first draft doesn't need to be faultless, I stopped worrying about about  whether my dialogue was cliched, or whether my characters were memorable enough, and I was able to write more freely.

"Don’t be afraid to write the bad version, the weak character or the wrong plot twist. If it exists and you know it’s wrong, you can fix it. If it doesn’t exist, you can’t do anything with it." Screenwriting Tips... You Hack

Additionally, since I realised the material was better suited to the television format, I decided to divide the script into four acts, which has also benefited the writing process. I am able to separate the work load, which at first may seem intimidating, into manageable sequences, each with their own beginning, middle and end.

I'm sure many aspiring screenwriters face the same issues and fears as I do, so I hope that my individual story will be helpful to some of you in some way. I'm not in any position to offer solutions to these problems, but at least you know you're not alone.