Well, dear friends, we have come to the end of our first "intensive" at Film School (I'm reticent to go into details, but suffice to say, it went very well. Thanks again for the support!). Now we have a few week in which to:
Write the 1st 15 pages of a thriller/rom-com.
Write an outline for the entire first season of a brand-new television drama, and a detailed scene breakdown of its pilot episode.
Write an outline of a feature length screenplay.
Panic. Panic. Panic.
It's at precisely this point that I begin to think that I really would love to:
Do the laundry
Tidy my closet
Reorganise Grandpa's books
Dust Grandpa's books, individually
Begin training for a marathon
Take up a craft
Cook gourmet dinners
Run away
Sadly, I know myself only too well and will soldier on.
It is also the start of Passover tonight, and we will be having our Seder at my parent's place as usual. At times like this I realise that the family depends so very much on my mother's strength, nurture and love of homemaking. I have spent most of my adult life being a homemaker first and foremost, but BEGRUDGINGLY. I've often wondered if my general disdain for my own cooking, decorating, repairing, care-giving, nurturing within the family is a product of my genetic disposition. Perhaps it is due more to the generation into which I was born, one in which women have one foot firmly placed in the home and the other madly hopping up and down in the outer world. It's an exhausting exercise.
Perhaps this is also the reason why all of the protagonists I create for my screenplays are women who are struggling with these issues. Time to create a brand-new Superwoman for the screen, don't you think?
Passover is the festival of freedom, so perhaps I shall try to be a little less hard on myself this year. It's never too late to start.
10 comments:
Perhaps this weekend will prove the spark to your writing reqs. Who says the world hasn't been waiting for a Seder-based romcom??
with thanks for taking care of that woman at the shops for me and best wishes for staying focussed on the tasks at hand, A.
TAKE UP A CRAFT.
Exhale, well it took some pretty serious pressure, but I knew we'd get you there eventually Eleanor. Of course screenwriting is a craft in it's own right, but I know that deep down you were aiming higher weren't you? Knitting, sewing, felting, you name it, I won't judge you, it doesn't matter where you start. Once you are on that slippery slope it's a very short journey until we have captured you fully. There's no use fighting, craft will win in the end...I bet your mother would agree with me, no?
Go on, Eleanor. Write something for us. Write something that SPEAKS ELOQUENTLY FOR US AND AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF WOMEN.
No pressure.
I have an essay due so I'm reading blogs and I cleaned the loo today. (And washed, and cooked, etc).
Also, what coffee lady said. No pressure, mind.
wishing you a most wonderful festival!
it will all be great.
I know it.
Your mother and my mother are woven from the same cloth. I say, organize Grandpa's books, tidy your closet, let others do the laundry, run away, come back...then order out for dinner and write to your heart's content.
You are a gifted poet/writer. You have a wonderful sense of humor. A soaring intellect. A hearty love for life. A mean competitive streak. And frankly, you're related to me...so...what more can be said?
Anything you do will be excellent. We are all your biggest fans.
We are our own worst enemy aren`t we? How come we ( women in general I mean) are so hard on ourselves? Genetic? You are one of the most talented people I know - this is your time now - be selfish and make the most of it.
....and when you recieve an Oscar for best screenplay I will sit in front of the TV and proudly say to my husband - Thats ELEANOR and I know HER!
Go for it!!!!!
Jeanette
I'm with Jeanette on this one. We'll host an Oscar party together just to get a fraction of your talent's - in the eyes of the other guests.
Honestly, you've made look at tv drama in another way. Which I don't really appreciate since I find myself now wanting to see how things progress, rather than turn the damn thing off. Regardless of what it's showing.
Yes, yes and yes.
I can't wait to watch it.
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