On Writing.

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.”

- Stephen King

via 1001 Rules for My Unborn Son

Reading the Writing

Part of the reason I've been MIA lately is, as I've said before, I've been working on this script. Writing, writing, staring into nothingness, changing the font on the script, changing it back, feeling inspired, writing, feeling hopeless, napping, etc.

Today was the first sort of "moment of truth" session, when I got a group of actors together to read it out loud.

This was one of the more nerve-wracking experiences I've had in recent memory. I've been working on this beast since December, and as you might suspect, I'd grown accustomed to the way I was hearing it in my head.

What if they didn't get it?

What if they didn't laugh?

What if it's just all drivel that's been done before?

Luckily, all of those questions were mere butterflies. Butterflies that had me awake at 5:30 this morning in a near panic, but butterflies nonetheless.

While I still have some work to do, it's not in bad shape. That's the word I got from my friend Jen, who is an agent with The Gersh Agency and has been helping me shape the project from the beginning. It was great to get feedback from her and to hear such a talented group of people bring these characters to life.

So back to re-writes/staring into nothingness. Hopefully more of the former and less of the latter. Updates will follow.

p.s. Will read the stage directions and as he was pointing out the fact that he was the "hardest working actor in the room today" because he "had the biggest part", I think I saw the faintest glimmer of stars in his eyes. Look out, Screen Actors Guild...