...where distraction is the main attraction.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Metaphor of the week: The baby porcupine and the mug

I've struggled with Story on many of my writing projects, but last week was terrible.  Almost terrifying.

I'd like to think I'm fairly decent at the screenwriting process.  I've been doing it for many years on many many projects.  I know that working the story through usually takes shape in the form of a puzzle.  And I work on it and work on it and work on it, then I move on to the next step.

But last week, ugh.  I woke up every day facing a project that I couldn't crack.  The puzzle had become multi-dimensional, its instructions in a language not yet invented.  Every day.  Going at the problem from multiple directions.  Deconstruct, reconstruct, visualize, literalize, simplify, expand.  Silence.  Panic.  Try again.  Try again.  Try again.  Weeks like that shake one's confidence in one's ability, skill, and general mental acuity.

But this is a new week now.  I look forward to new and better challenges.  And I can look back with some objectivity thanks to this video which clearly illustrates my last week of writing.  A baby porcupine's breakfast sits at the bottom of a mug...


(Discovered via The Daily What)