The Simple Pleasure of "FADE IN:"

A lot of writers will tell you the best part of a story/novel/script is when you get to "The End" and you've put that baby to bed.  Some cynical (and successful) people will say the best point is when you cash the check.  Many writers will tell you of the terror of the blank page, staring at that pristine white expanse and wondering how to fill it with little pieces of their brain.

As with a great many things, it seems, I'm of the contrary opinion.

I find no greater pleasure than empty pages and the opportunity with any script to write the words "FADE IN:"  It's the only point in the writing process where everything is right.  The story is all ahead of you and the possibility of perfection still exists.  That very possibility is like a time-travel device that allows you to feel the bursting invincibility you had as a teen, when your life was ahead of you and you still had the illusion that all doors could open.  "FADE IN:" is a reboot of all your dreams, hopes, and aspirations -- the chance that this time you'll get it all right.

So, when I'm looking at that empty white page (or screen, you literalists out there), I take a deep breath, pause to enjoy the potential, then I write "FADE IN:"

Summer Pleasures

This summer is an echo of those long, hot months of my youth: plenty of reading, plenty of fun - if not quality - movies, baseball, drinking and leisure.  Since I ridiculously over-worked myself during the regular academic year, I find myself with a summer clear of teaching.  That meas I have time to actually explore some books I want, see the movies I want, follow baseball as much as I want, and experiment with cocktails as much as I want.

There's a lot of potential to go off the rails here, and wake up after an 11-week bender, but I'm pretty sure I can handle the freedom.

I'm going to try to get back to blogging regularly as well, as a warm-up to my regular writing in the day.  See, I opened with that paragraph all about leisure, but honestly, I'm using the extra time this summer to get down to some creative business.  I've started writing a novel for the first time since college, have a new script to draft before fall, a short film to finish, a film trailer to shoot, a novella to revise, etc. etc.  I'm listing this not to throw down any gauntlet for comparison, because any creator always has a backlog of projects they want to get to, but as an illustration of -- I don't know -- my idea of leisure.  Also, those are the things I'm warming up for as I write these little ditties.

I'm going to cover each of these particular items in blog posts -- fair warning.  Right now, though, I'm going to go away and write "FADE IN:"

See you soon.