Keeping My Dream Alive
I can't believe November is here. It all seems to quick for me. I'm not ready to face the fact that there is less then two months to the end of the 2009. Yikes! Every year I tend to get a little frantic as the end of the year approaches. I think it's because I begin to look at the year retrospectively and analyze my progress or lack there of. Even though I'm at a stand still now, the second half of this year has been good to me. I earned my MFA in Professional Writing from Western Connecticut State University, got engaged (By the way, I will be married this Friday, officially off the market), and my short screenplay, After the Headlines, managed to get recognition by the Action on Film (AOF) International Film Festival (www.aoffest.com) and recently, The Urban Mediamakers Film Festival (www.urbanmediamakers.com ).
I'm very proud of the achievements I've listed above, but for the past two months I've been at a standstill with my screenwriting. When I came back from the AOF in July, I was suppose to start the feature length script of After the Headlines. Some how I got distracted with other things in my life (I accept that is my fault). When I went to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico I had every intention of coming back with the treatment done, I started, but it is still not finished.
The responsibility falls on me. I have to step up to the plate and be consistent. While I'm always ready to step up to the plate I lack consistency. It's not just my screenwriting either, my journal entries also suffer from my consistency issue. I need to find a way to be better organized and goal focused when it comes to writing. It's an area that I realize is a weak point for me. It's easy to make accuses but I don't have that luxury. If I'm to keep my dream alive, I have to write and write everyday.
I know that success doesn't come easy. It takes tons of effort, heart, and due diligence. I'm old enough to know that an "overnight success" is not real. It's an ideal that we've been made to believe exists in our society, but it doesn't. Those who obtain success have given all of themselves to obtain their dreams. A lot of folks equate success with money and fame. While it's part of the equation, true success comes from doing what you love.
I love the feeling I have when I finish a script. I have a sense of accomplishment. I could use that these days. Right now, I'm caught in the mix of trying to take myself to the next level, which requires me to get my scripts in the hands of agents. I don't think I've accomplished enough for the next level.
I hold the answers to the issues I've raised in this blog. In order to keep my dreams alive, I have to write. My writing has to speak for itself and in order for it to speak, I have to write.
I'm very proud of the achievements I've listed above, but for the past two months I've been at a standstill with my screenwriting. When I came back from the AOF in July, I was suppose to start the feature length script of After the Headlines. Some how I got distracted with other things in my life (I accept that is my fault). When I went to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico I had every intention of coming back with the treatment done, I started, but it is still not finished.
The responsibility falls on me. I have to step up to the plate and be consistent. While I'm always ready to step up to the plate I lack consistency. It's not just my screenwriting either, my journal entries also suffer from my consistency issue. I need to find a way to be better organized and goal focused when it comes to writing. It's an area that I realize is a weak point for me. It's easy to make accuses but I don't have that luxury. If I'm to keep my dream alive, I have to write and write everyday.
I know that success doesn't come easy. It takes tons of effort, heart, and due diligence. I'm old enough to know that an "overnight success" is not real. It's an ideal that we've been made to believe exists in our society, but it doesn't. Those who obtain success have given all of themselves to obtain their dreams. A lot of folks equate success with money and fame. While it's part of the equation, true success comes from doing what you love.
I love the feeling I have when I finish a script. I have a sense of accomplishment. I could use that these days. Right now, I'm caught in the mix of trying to take myself to the next level, which requires me to get my scripts in the hands of agents. I don't think I've accomplished enough for the next level.
I hold the answers to the issues I've raised in this blog. In order to keep my dreams alive, I have to write. My writing has to speak for itself and in order for it to speak, I have to write.
Comments
As to accountability in writing, two things I've found useful were a kitchen timer(I wil write for at least this much time per day, even if it's not my best work) and being accountable to someone else( found I wrote hardest and longest when it was a class I'd committed to do for others online).
Maybe one of those things might work for you too
Catherine Kane
currently editing her first book "Adventures in Palmistry" :-)
I have the same seasonal issue every fall too, and I find myself being 'consistent' on only one thing: on the what wasn't done, and what I must I do next. But I think "keeping the dream alive" is about each and every step taken towards the goal. I'm thinking if I take the energy I spend figuring out what I'm not doing - I might be off to a better start! ;-) Thanks as always for the inspiration!