Starting Today.

Right. No more procrastinating. This blog is going to become my best friend for the next few months. My daily reality check. My bench mark, now that I've decided to chart the progress of my newly resurrected screenplay.


Here's what's been going on with the screenplay so far.

After struggling with writers block for many, many months, on Saturday the block dissolved.

How ?

During Jurgen Wollfs online marathon writing ( coaching) day I sussed it. His inspired suggestion turned out to be a magic wand !

I'd got stuck because I felt the guy who'd agreed to coach me with my script ( at my request), turned out to me a miss-match. Jewish Jason was serious, insightful and soon became scary . He rated the story , highly I think, but I felt he didn't encourage me enough. He wasn't generous with encouragement. I bloom around any kind of generoisty. He asked me to turn the story upside down and look at it differently. I did. It seemed like a good idea at the time. So I shot off on many fascinating tangents, but soon came back to a tangled base , more stuck than ever before.

Not long after followed a damaging inner collapse. An unstoppable slow avalanche of chaotic negative thoughts . The Inner Critic, The Doubter and the Self Saboteur had their heyday.
I told myself I'd given my 'baby,'my project away, that I'd lost ownership of my ideas.
I'd slipped into thinking Jason 'knew best.'
That's when I felt my script had been abducted.

I think I've been locked into this belief for at least six months.

Also, alas, alas, alsa, a new problem surfaced. I really couldn't decide whose story it was now.
Was it still the artist daughter Shifra's story, my original idea, or was it the Holcuast survivor artist grandmother Anabel's? Or was it the abducted eighteen year old granddaughters Sasha's story, who would learn about her missing past though her mother's and grandmother's sketch books ?

Like an illness, this block had crept up on me silently.

On Saturday, during this massive action writing day (see info below about this ) after feeling the block more acutely than ever, Jurgen replied to my short SOS email. This is what he said :

'I know this may sound weird, but I think it might help to visualise the script as a baby and decide and let it know that you're going to protect it from harsh criticism from now on. That doesn't mean you can't get feedback, but you'll be careful to get it from people who are constructive and encouraging.'


This hit the spot..

I hugged my book ( in which I wrote the synopsis of the film 3 years ago).
I cuddled it.
I embraced it.I walked around the house with it under my arm.
I went to bed for a nap holding it close to my heart.

When I got up, I had my story back. We were reunited !

Oh BLISS and JOY ! We really were reunited.
Then the next block pooped up!

Dear Jurgen I write in another email. How can I possibly tell Shifra's, Anabel's Rueben's and Sasha's complicated back-story?

'Finding characters who have the right to ask questions' Jurgen said, 'often does the trick.'

Bingo. Of course. Why didn't I think of that ?

Then a flood of new ideas arrived. I also remembered how wildly excited I'd been about using animation in the sketch books. Taking one beautiful sketch on a single page and animating it, this could also explain the back story.

Last night a Jewish friend in California told me she's discovered a pile of her dad's old family tapes. I don't like Skype she'd said. We were Skyping. I like to listen and imagine. When we were kids, she continued, my dad used to put a tape recorder on the dinning room table when we were all together and record the family celebration, whatever it was. When I listen to the tapes now, Naomi told me, I can visualize everything. I can practically smell the food. Wow, I though. Another original device for explaining a back story.
For 48 hours I was reeling with excitement.

Now it's Tuesday and time to start writing!

I've decided to check in with myself every hour, and set small targets.

Pat on back : Well done for creating this new blog in one hour twenty minutes.

Comment from Inner Critic: No comment.
Comment from Inner Doubter: No comment.
Comment from Self Saboteur: Out of office on extended leave.
Comment from Higher Help: FANTASTIC!

For info about Jurgen's work visit: www.http://yourwritingcoach.com/

His newest book is "Creativity Now!" published by Pearson--it shows how to overcome blocks, be more creative, and turn ideas into action.

..................

For info about my travel memoir and more background re the screenplay, visit www.drawnbyastar.com