At a New Year’s Eve dinner with friends, we all took turns proclaiming what our New Year’s resolutions are. While I don’t think I need to lose weight, don’t smoke (regularly), and certainly don’t want to stop drinking, I decided my resolution is to make 2012 the year I finish the screenplay that has remained in my head for so long.
What inspired me to make this resolution is my coworker who just recently finished her first screenplay. This time last year, I playfully made fun of her when she said she finished her 50 page feature script which is now a much more polished 89 pages. She has the last laugh now and I admire her for her persistence to finish her script. It has been nearly 3 years since I have completed a feature screenplay. I have another story that I am passionate about sharing, but all this time, I’ve only jotted down random thoughts and ideas in notebooks without any real focus. I can blame the long stressful hours working at AFF and the numerous amount of amazing scripts that I have to read (that not only put my previous work to shame), but who needs to make excuses? I know there are writers who probably work two jobs with families to raise and they still make time to write and are more prolific in one year than I’ve been in 3 years. I have a story; I just need to write the damn thing! For all us who are writers, this is a plight we all share. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to write but if we budget our time well, turn off the TV (except for Modern Family and Breaking Bad), and dedicate at least one hour a day to write, we can all have a polished screenplay by this time next year or sooner just like my coworker.
Even if the Mayans are right and this will indeed be our last year of life on Earth, what have we got to lose? Our stories may be all that remain anyway just like the ancient hieroglyphics of cave men. If you have a story you’re itching to share, join me and make 2012 your year to finish that screenplay.
-Matt Dy, Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Director
1 comment:
Love your post! Good luck with the writing. I'd love to repost this on google 1 and twitter. Will you put some buttons on your site to make it easier? Thanks and thanks for the inspiration.
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