Hello Again

Sometimes I get to the point on a script where I feel the need to step away. I'll just leave it alone - for a few days, a few weeks, a couple months. Get some distance.

Then there are those scripts that I've been 'writing' for years. I'll misplace the script, realize that additional research is needed before I try to complete the piece, get frustrated and shelf the work, or even just get so distracted on other projects that I'll completely forget about the other scripts.

Recently I found a script that I started working on when I first moved to Chicago in 98. I revised it a few years later, and then again a year or so ago. I remember what it was supposed to be about when I originally conceived the idea. Not surprising is the fact that over the years my perception of the central conflict has changed.

The protagonist was given a raw deal. Ambition and promise were not allowed to blossom into reality. The unfairness of it all was tragic. Somehow the hero would find his way. Somehow the Prince would come into his own and save the day. Now, the wizened sage I have become, sees it a little differently. The tragedy is still there but now the truth of the matter is that the protagonist exacerbated matters. He let himself to be victimized. He took the raw deal and allowed it to run his life. He was probably even grateful to have the control taken away from himself. It's so much easier to accept mediocrity when it is someoneelse's fault.