ANDRE BEGIN

Around the time I was writing my fifth screenplay, I hit a wall… metaphorically speaking, of course. It wasn’t anything like writer’s block or a lack of motivation to keep going. It was quite the opposite. My motivation was in top form, the ideas were flowing, and I knew exactly what I wanted to write on the next pages. What I was lacking was time and opportunity due to a sudden traffic jam of commitments and time-sensitive tasks.

I knew that it had nothing to do with poor planning on my part or weak boundaries. I had very little control over the situation. Life can be like that sometimes.

Just the same, when that happens, I tend to get frustrated by my strong desire to put words on paper, but life gets in the way. The reason is that I tend to worry about being away from a story too long and losing momentum. It has happened before. The problem is that the longer I am away, the more challenging it is to situate myself again, remembering each individual thread to the story I was trying to weave together logically and cohesively.

I know, it’s all in my head, but that’s where writers spend a lot of our time, right?

When I fulfilled my commitments and returned to the computer, I needed to consult my completed works folder for a formatting trick I used previously. While I was there, I was reminded that there were four completed works in that folder, created under all kinds of conditions and varying availability. Sometimes they were written two or three pages at a time; sometimes they were written ten to fifteen pages at a time.

Either way, to remember that I was successful in completing four projects despite life’s competing demands for my time, I instantly felt a boost of motivation and an even stronger drive to pick up where I left off and continue with my storytelling magic.

It was then that I thought that to have these “trophies” sitting on my hard drive, they faded out of sight, out of mind. I then wondered if maybe a printed copy of each screenplay in a smart-looking binder might serve a useful purpose as a constant reminder of my success in completing four screenplays, as well as cheering me on to continue, whatever the day brings.

I did it, and I placed the completed screenplays on my bookshelf, in a prominent location, so that I could see them every time I stepped into my writing studio.

I am certain that to some environmentalists, keeping hard copy documents with no immediate plans to do something tangible and constructive with them may seem like a waste of paper, but to me, they ended up serving several purposes:

On days that I might struggle with imposter syndrome, the completed screenplays staring back at me convince me that I am progressing on my journey as a screenwriter and with practice, I am getting better every day.

On days that I may feel less than confident in my ability to bring a 100-page script across the finish line, these completed screenplays prove to me that I have and that I can.

On days that I feel defeated when interruptions and distractions get in my way, seeing four screenplays completed under those same conditions reassures me that with time and patience, my current work-in-progress will also make it across the finish line.

When a training activity offers me tips and hints that might prove beneficial to my screenplays, I am able to grab a screenplay and quickly leaf through to see where these words of wisdom might lend themselves to an even better story. It allows me to mark up the paper copy with ideas and notes, and to act upon fresh inspiration at a moment’s notice.

Seeing my completed works on display reminds me that getting sidetracked is a temporary situation. In the winter months, when there is snow on the ground for anywhere from four to six months, that’s usually when I am at my most prolific, which makes up for the times of year when maintaining a country property might prevent me from spending hours at the keyboard. It all averages out.

To be able to look over at the bookshelf and see my completed screenplays is all the convincing I need that I can do this, I have done this under all kinds of conditions, and to be kind, gentle and patient with myself. It will happen, just maybe not the way I might plan. And if I’ve done it before, I can do it again… and I will.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André