Wednesday, May 13, 2009

10 pages

Confession: I am finding difficulty in acheiving my 10 pages a day goal for my screenplay. I know what you're thinking: Are you insane to WANT to write 10 pages of anything in this lifetime? The answer is yes, I am crazy, hungry actually, and that may be the reason I feel so much pressure to finish. But as the old adage goes, all must be done in moderation, and 10 pages is just enough to make me think seriously about where the plots are going, and without drowning me in it.

What I hate, is the time it takes for me to make up my mind on such important foundations. For instance, I have this character in my head, and she visits me every once in a while and reveals things about her to me that I want to incorporate into my script. I love this character and want her to come to life, but what about her character arch; I certainly don't want people to hate her, and yet I don't want her to be one-dimensional and flat, because then she'd be boring. Is it crazy to see her as my own child? Like I need to just let her be who she's going to be, as protective as I want to be. 

Okay, so aside from being possessive with the destiny of my character, I also have the pressure to add humor and cleverness. I tend to add these qualities to my B characters who I usually need to develop more. And what of the plot? The plot essentially carries everybody's outcome. All of which cannot be taken lightly. 

My passion is also my plight: I put so much of myself into my scripts and manuscripts that I sometimes become my own inhibitor. 

Its not easy playing God, even if it just 10 pages at a time.

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