When You're Stuck, Write Anything
One of my casual friends (or acquaintances), Lani Brockman, the artistic director for Studio-East, an acting studio for children and teens had a chance to read my script, The Lie. It is a 45 minute one act, and my first completed piece that long.
I wasn't happy with the final third of it, except that I finally had an ending. All the people who have read the script thus far have loved it, and I have been hoping for someone who is a theatre professional, and not acquainted with any of the people who initially inspired the characters to give me a little feedback. The problem is they are all as busy as I am, so I have been dropping off copies of the thing all over for the last six months.
Lani was very, very positive regarding most of the script, but found the end rushed and a bit contrived. Those were my primary concerns, and it is good to have my perception confirmed. She also asked if she could use one of the early scenes for one of her scene study classes. Now that was quite a compliment and makes me want to totally recraft the ending sooner rather than later. One of the things I'll do with my vacation weekend, 7/16-7/20, and free time in the next month or so.
It took me a long time to write the ending, as I let myself get stalled. Finally, one long afternoon at Cafe Vita's I charged through to the end. I finally took the advice so many writers gave us in the writing workshop I took, "It is better to write crap that you can fix, than to write nothing at all."
It is indeed easier for me to totally rewrite something than to write it in the first place. I'm sure it is a mental thing. Now that I finally have an ending, I can turn it from crap to something less odiferous, then maybe repeat the cycle a few times until it smells nice. The rest of the script has gone through seemingly countless revisions.
I wasn't happy with the final third of it, except that I finally had an ending. All the people who have read the script thus far have loved it, and I have been hoping for someone who is a theatre professional, and not acquainted with any of the people who initially inspired the characters to give me a little feedback. The problem is they are all as busy as I am, so I have been dropping off copies of the thing all over for the last six months.
Lani was very, very positive regarding most of the script, but found the end rushed and a bit contrived. Those were my primary concerns, and it is good to have my perception confirmed. She also asked if she could use one of the early scenes for one of her scene study classes. Now that was quite a compliment and makes me want to totally recraft the ending sooner rather than later. One of the things I'll do with my vacation weekend, 7/16-7/20, and free time in the next month or so.
It took me a long time to write the ending, as I let myself get stalled. Finally, one long afternoon at Cafe Vita's I charged through to the end. I finally took the advice so many writers gave us in the writing workshop I took, "It is better to write crap that you can fix, than to write nothing at all."
It is indeed easier for me to totally rewrite something than to write it in the first place. I'm sure it is a mental thing. Now that I finally have an ending, I can turn it from crap to something less odiferous, then maybe repeat the cycle a few times until it smells nice. The rest of the script has gone through seemingly countless revisions.
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