Monday, August 31, 2009

My second job


Now that I'm on vacation, it's like I'm going to my second job. I absolutely MUST finish my screenplay. That's priority #1. I have about thirty thousand other things to do so somehow I have to organize my schedule to get both relaxation and work in over the next eight weeks, and at some point the Beefcake and I need to find and hopefully move into a house.

Busy busy busy.

I figure things go better if I treat screenwriting like a job, the way I will when somebody finally figures out how awesome I am. I wake up around 8 or 9 and read for an hour in bed. (I LOVE reading in bed in the morning. I never get to do that when I have to be at work at 7 am.) Then I get up, drink some juice and watch a little TV while I check my emails and scroll through my favorite blogs and websites. I write my day's post.

Often, I'll get so inspired by something someone says that I'll start working on my screenplay right then, but just as often I don't feel like working yet.

I've discovered that I have to be out of bed and out of pajamas so I always make sure I'm on the couch and that I've changed into day clothes. As long as I'm in pajamas or bed, I don't feel like I'm supposed to be working.

Basically, I spend my morning fucking around on the internet and watching TV. Then I eat lunch while watching a movie. After that I have no more excuses. I start working on the script. Some days I'll crank out page after page - usually on days I write action scenes because they come much more easily - but some days I have to force myself through two pages and then I'm out of creative energy. On those days, I quit early and read a screenplay. If it's a boring screenplay, I take an unintentional nap.

Then I work out or run errands. Any down time is devoted to packing or cleaning or working on any one of my other projects, like finishing Game Night or house hunting.

Most days I follow the plan. I don't work weekends because that is the fastest way to burn out. I don't mind it feeling like a job because it's a job I enjoy, but I don't want it to feel like an all-consuming exhausting job.

Okay now I've finished my fucking around stage. Time to eat lunch and watch Let The Right One In.

1 comment:

  1. It's not just a job, it's a fucking adventure.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete

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