Artwork tonight from James Gurney.
Hit it a bit today. The wall. It was the last hour of work, and I just couldn’t do it. Sucks when that happens, but what can you do? 😛 I packed it in and spent some time with the Ho.
I’ll make the hour up tomorrow or Thursday. My impulse was to wait for a math lesson or one of the other “easy” ones to be posted, but I’m deciding right here and now that it doesn’t matter, I should just get it done tomorrow regardless.
We have some apartment stuff to do in the morning and then I want to clean the place, get my writing done, and get that last hour of work done, and then, man, take it eaaassssyyyy. I need a restful two days, big time. I didn’t get enough last week, and I paid for it today.
Well…”paid for it” would be to put it rather dramatically. This work “week” has been really REALLY solid. Today isn’t really even an exception, given how little work I left on the table. It killed it over the past 6 work days. It’s a major turnaround from much of this year, actually. Very, very satisfied with that.
I will say this: I do need to get some solid work in on the script these two days. I’m supposed to be finished with this first draft on Thursday…and I might be able to make that work if I make Thursday a writing day all day. I haven’t been able to do that this year, actually…an all-day-writing-day…in any event, it doesn’t NEED to happen. I can just adjust the schedule. This is my first time trying to get things to happen so quickly…maybe these first drafts just need more time, you know? The goal was 6-7 pages a day…that’s too ambitious. I can’t keep that up. 4 – 5 pages I can do. On the first draft, anyway. Following drafts, once the detailed outlines have been written, I can 10 pages a day once that happens. But these first drafts I really use to just explore the story and the general archetypal-ish characters that I’ve dreamed up in a rough sense. Explore the beats of scenes, attitudes, opinions, and what is being covered thematically. The rought draft is a draft of possibilities…after that, THAT’s when I go back and do very detailed beats for each scene with lines of actual dialogue and get super specific.
That was my process on Icarus, anyway. The first time I’ve gone through it for a pilot 😛 This pilot, which has a name now, by the way…this pilot may be different. I hope it will be, actually. The goal is to learn from each of these scripts, anyway. Learn as much as I can from each…get better at telling their stories. They are not the end-all-be-all…and I really mean that *genuinely*. Icarus is not my manifesto, it’s not supposed to be brilliant…I’m not sure I will ever actually try to put my label on any piece of my work. I think I want to leave that kind of stuff to other people…I simply want to write shit that I find to be entertaining and worth reading/watching. That’s really it. My favorite stories are brilliantly executed, for sure…but at their core, they’re simply fun and entertaining. And, I don’t mean “fun” as in light-hearted, necessarily…no, I mean “fun” in a very broad sense in that it was something I enjoy. And there is lots of dark depressing or even artsy shit that I find to be “fun,” you know?
Anyway…time for bed. I do feel slightly weird tonight for it being my “Friday.” I think it must be because I didn’t quite finish my editing work, and the writing slipped away today because of apartment duties? I’m not sure. All I know is that the rush I had going into my two days off last week I don’t have this time. I just feel kind of spent. Spent, but determined to forge ahead.
Good night everyone – may you all find the stories you love within you and find the patience and perserverence to tell them well. I hope to get there some day soon myself 😛