Learning to Struggle

Where has the summer of 1572 gone? Brocade sonnet
marathons were the rage. We used to dress up in the flags
of rival baronies and conquer one another in cold rooms of
stone.
Out on the dance floor we were all doing the Struggle...

--Billy Collins, "Nostalgia"

In my house we've been misquoting this poem for years, but it's still one of our favorites. We talk about our kids "doing a dance called the Struggle." Actually learning to struggle is turning into a big part of Jack's learning curve. He's good enough at certain things that when it comes times to flail, flounder and ram your head against the wall trying to get stuff worked out, well, he's still learning how to do that dance.

So am I.

Especially when it comes to screenwriting. I'm used to the flow of fiction where you can spend time and prose working into the scene, shading the narrative toward its destination. Not so with screenwriting. It's more like building a house, one you hope will keep your head dry when it rains. Nothing ever comes out right the first time, and you find yourself wondering if you're ever going to figure it out. You want to rush ahead, because that momentum mimics the sensation of knowing what you're doing. Bad news, though -- it's not the same.

Now I'm struggling with something new. I'm in the outline form of Project X. What's Project X? Well, it's not a remake of this...



Project X is something you'll be seeing next year, and I've never written anything like it before. Consequently, I'm moving forward slowly and I'm doing the Struggle every step of the way.

It feels good, though.

It feels right.