Otherwise known as Day III of WRITINGWRITINGREVISING
So, the best way to put it was that I wanted to leave the room the entire time. Seeing it performed and perceived that way makes my shoulders cringe even thinking about it.
In my head, even now, it sounds right and I can see it happening in my head, but I've found it's hard to convey that in the text. Hopefully that'll get better with practice.
I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that it looks so right in my head. Is it wrong, should I have lower expectations, especially in a cold read? Or is it right, and I'm just overthinking it? 'Is it me or is it them?' was one of the main things on my mind, sitting there.
I also feel like I'm not revising ENOUGH. Overthinking again, I think, but I could be wrong. Or I could be right. Or I could be wrong. So what?
1 comment:
It is a quandary, isn't it?
There is this illusion of control, and that is perfectionism.
You have it in your head and it is perfect. And the only place it will stay perfect is in your head. The more it comes out, the more it will move away from your vision/perfection.
You could write a novel or a short story, and spend hours on the details of the characters – what they look like, and it might be a very rich experience for the readers, but ultimately they will still create their own thing in their head and it will look different than what was in yours. It will be different for every reader.
A lot of writers like theatre and film — especially if they write and direct, because they can at least get it consistent: they can make sure everyone sees the hero as Brad Pitt, or have the same experience of the timing of the sweep of the camera across the sky. But even with all of this, there is no guaranty that any particular person is even looking at the screen during your perfectly composed shot that took six hours to set-up and light.
Theatre, film - these are collaborative experiences. A writer writes, hands it off to a director,who hands it off to actors, who ultimately hand it off to the audience. And ultimately, it is for the good of the work that this happens. Because each artist applies another level of competence and talent (hopefully) to the work, and it keeps getting better and better.
Eventually, one learns to embrace the loss of control.
Now, revision... I believe this is the first or one of the first scripts you've written. This is all a new experience. The amount of revision changes, our feelings towards revisions change, and with some practice you'l start to set the boundaries needed between you and the work such that you can create and then let go at an appropriate time. For today, the setter of appropriate time is me. I say this one is done. You've written a great first script, you've learned a lot and now is the time to learn about moving on.
I'm sure this isn't the first time you've put piece of work down and walked away; I have inside knowledge that it won't be the last...
Warm regards,
Luke
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