Time is something that we can never get back.
That seems like a poignant statement, but it’s designed more to highlight the fact that when you get the time to do something you love, you should seize the opportunity with both hands and go for it like there’s no tomorrow.
I’ve been freelancing since I got back from the UK and I’ve just finished up a job last week. I don’t really have any idea where my next lot of work will come from yet, but I’m relishing this chance because it gives me an opportunity to throw myself back into writing – something that has fallen by the wayside over the past few weeks.
So I’ve decided I’m going to be disciplined with it. I’m realistic in that I’m not going to be able to spend all day, every day writing – as much as I might want to. But I’m definitely devoting a big chunk of my time to writing each day. I’ll start each day with a target list of what I want to get done – but I won’t make myself feel guilty if I don’t get through it. It will just mean that I’ll have more to get through the day after that. And the list will be flexible – if I plan to work on my feature and then my sitcom, but when I hit sitcom hour and I want to keep going with my feature, why would I stop?
And by ‘writing’, I don’t mean just writing the script. Writing isn’t just scripting. Writing is planning. Sculpting the structure. Exploring story possibilities. Nailing characters. Writing the script is such a small part of it – never discount research or planning as ‘not writing’ because it definitely is.
I know I’m going to start out rusty. I haven’t written seriously in nearly four weeks – there’s going to be a bit of squeaking as the wheels get back into motion. But I know that I love the worlds I’ve created and I want to spend time in them getting them right on the page so that anyone reading them can love them like I do. I know that when I get going, I’ll be flying. I just need to work on my take off.
Today is deconstructing the structure of my feature to see if it is serving my story well enough. Then this afternoon is sitcom central.
I’m off to make a cup of tea, then I’ll be heading off on the first of many writing sprints.
Wish me luck!
