Since I’m little Ms Self Critical I tend to be insanely harsh on myself as an Artist. Plus when you’re freelancing (or whatever it is that I’m doing…) and no one is around to say ‘do this, don’t do that…’ you completely have to be.
I realize that I need to take moments to step back and see what’s going on with my work – instead of remaining inside of it every day, now and then it’s important to change my outlook and observe/absorb what the deal is… here’s what I’m learning so far:
The value of rewrites. As much as I intended to knock out a full length script in two weeks… I understand better now the value of putting something down, walking away from it for a minute, and returning to in a few days with fresh eyes. I’m working on some serious revisions that are really strengthening it and (in my opinion) are giving me a better shot at having someone make the movie when it’s done.
I’m still trying to learn about the type of Writer I am (since people seem to be able to do that). My response remains that I’m flexible, take what I’m working on at the moment: a general fiction novel, a thriller script, a comedy script, etc. I suppose I’m just a passionate Writer. I have new ideas every day that I jot down, however I also know my limits and won’t be starting anything new just yet. Although I’ve got a list of projects to choose from as soon as I complete one of my current ones.
That leads me to my last point of what I’m learning. I’m learning that I’m a real deal, got skills, can completely hang Writer. It’s what I was born to do, I’ve been doing it since my hands could hold a writing implement. In fact, I love it so much I even taught myself to write with both hands in case something ever happened to the other hand (creepy, I know).
This isn’t about ‘hmmm what “job” would I like?’ … this is about being true to who I am. If I ever get upset or stressed out about the writing I’m working on to try to push for dollars… my solution is to write poetry.
… I guess I’m learning that sometimes, you have to destroy the odds.