The Unavoidable Delay

I pride myself on delivery on or ahead of schedule, but, recently, family matters arose that were impossible to avoid. That led to, essentially, four days of lost productivity in the midst of completing a contracted first draft. Fortunately, the producer was forgiving and understanding. That said, a delay can have a greater effect than simply postponing completion.

After an outline is completed, and I swear by outlines and beat sheets, you should know that, the task of breathing life into the script is not so daunting. I know what my characters are doing, and I have a good idea of who they are. But, when taken away from the rhythm of the story, it becomes a more difficult task. All the second-guessing and doubt that accompany a rewrite are suddenly part of the initial draft, and it takes time for the characters to reintroduce themselves to me. Suddenly, my main character, Jake, is less talkative, more stubborn to speak. When he does, it's plain and simple language, different from the colloquial and friendly conversations we had before. If speaking to the characters in off time sounds crazy, you're probably not a writer.

I don't mention this to provide fuel to the procrastinator's fire, however. Deadlines are deadlines and, barring emergencies, must be met. Just because you don't feel like writing doesn't excuse you from writing. We all do lots of things we don't feel like doing. In the words of William Goldman, "Life is pain. Anyone who tells you different is selling something." So, no excuses, get back to writing. Which I have done, myself. Back on schedule, with a delayed completion date, but writing. Just not as easily as I did before.

The moral of this, I hope, is that if you are working and the writing is going well, for the love of all that is cool and awesome, DO NOT STOP. Keep the flow going from day to day. Ignore the fact that it's a weekend, or that there's a great movie coming on. Keep the story moving. You can procrastinate later.