
Over the past couple of days, as notes for the low-budget comedy spec were being compiled, I considered jumping right in to the rewrite, but instead opted to take a break and put it on the back burner for now. It’s been the focus of my attention for a while, and I didn’t want to risk burning out on it.
No big deal. All of the material will still be there when I get back to it.
So what now? Work on another script, natch.
But which one?
I just didn’t have it in me to work on the few that were still in plot-development stage, nor did my brain feel totally ready to tackle assembling the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that is the mystery-comedy.
Since I’ve been on a bit of a low-budget kick, I delved into my stash of long-ignored stories to see if there was a suitable candidate.
And I found one. A comedy I haven’t worked on for a good number of years that would make for another great low-budget production.
It had gone through several better-than-I-remembered drafts of the outline, each one with elements similar to the others, but also with its own uniqueness. Looking them over, there’s a lot of material to work with and develop into a new version.
Plus, it’s a fun story, which is always enjoyable.
(Moral of the story – never throw anything away.)
Working on the previous comedy spec also helped boost my confidence regarding my comedic writing skills. It’s not perfect, but better than it was. There were already some good jokes among these earlier drafts, and coming up with new material is still somewhat of a challenge, but not as daunting.
So the next couple of weeks will be all about combining, editing and fine-tuning this story, and then cranking out some actual pages.
Exciting times, chums.
And I thought I was the only writer who worked on screenplay projects this way. Self confidence, diligence and patience. It really does help to walk away, store incomplete work, and not be afraid to try again – as many times as it takes. Go for it! 😉
Thanks! Feeling quite psyched/confident about this one. Good luck on all of yours as well!
Ah, such is the power of Mind. Everything that you’ve ever written down and even stored away, is pure Mind (creative, original, thought) – it can never be lost. All you have to do now is dust if off, look at it with fresh eyes (inspiration) and apply all the knowledge (of craft) to it and — voila!!! YOU GO, PAUL!
But first, let’s have some pie!!!
I concur.