Dig a Pony

I did not grow up wanting to write a movie.

The idea of being a screenwriter (or a short story writer for that matter) was a slow process that took several years. But when it happened, it happened big time. I like something about how a good movie tells a story and how the movies are like our collective dreams.

Without sounding too pretentious, I've always liked to tell stories. Movies are just an extension of that. One thing I've learned about trying to write a movie is how difficult it is. I thought I could just magically go into writing a movie and finish it without any help. Having banged my head against the figurative wall in my head, I realize to tell stories this way I need a collaborator.

I understand why, too. To write a movie, you need someone to bounce ideas of off and get you through tight spots that might come along in the script. I'm writing a science fiction story right now and it's crap...but I am determined to finish it just so I can write a second and third draft that will keep the best parts of that crap. I'm in my "Dig a Pony" phase of writing this story. It's a first for me -- I'm writing crap just to finish rather than just stopping out of frustration.

As I write the crappy third of this otherwise really cool story, I feel I can glimpse into the collaborative process involved in writing a script. "If this was the third act of a script, I would have had that idea sooner, maybe, if I had a collaborator." As the author, the story is kind of funny now 'cause it's gone from high brow to action thriller with a lot of "tell not show" in it. But, I'm going to finish it and use the foresight of knowing the ending beforehand (for once) to be able to make the entire story better. (I usually just write a first draft of about 1,000 words and be done with it, no matter what. This one is getting closer to 5,000 words)

One reason I am going to finish the story is I have fallen in love with the characters. I, as the author, want to know more about them. I want to know what makes them tick. If I can create a well-rounded personality that others want to get involved with, then I've done something. The story will hopefully lend itself to becoming a script one day. For once I've create a universe and populated it with people who have conflict in their lives. I can see in my minds eye how the story could be a movie.