Script Enabler

I’m growing more and more convinced that modern technology is a hindrance to good writing.  Being accessible by cell phone, text message and email may have its advantages but it certainly has its drawbacks.

The luxury of having undisturbed, unstructured time is something we have to grab for ourselves.  Many people don’t understand that writing is a process.  The path from inspiration to execution is rarely as straightforward as it would appear to the layman.  There are only so many movies you can watch, so many scripts you can read before you have to let your imagination wander to where ever it wants to go.

How many of you have heard your wannabe writer friends ‘plain, “I could write if I had the time.”  I suspect that even if you gave them all the time in the world, they couldn’t write as much as a thank you card, let alone a full length screenplay of any quality.

I just returned from a three hour morning hike in the Santa Susanna Mountains.  Everything on my todo list is still on my desk waiting for me.  This is the view I now compare my problems to.

Simi Valley from halfway up the Chumash Trail

My cell phone indicates two voice messages already and I have a half a dozen emails.  This is my typical information load on a Sunday morning.  The world is going on perfectly fine without me and if you needed an immediate answer from me this morning well, seriously, you need a life.

Some people believe that giving 100% means being chained to your computer 24/7.  That in this bad economy, every last bit of productivity needs to be squeezed, every moment needs to be monetized.

Unless you consider yourself a disposable battery, you will need some down time.  Down time that you need to prioritize for yourself.  No one will give it to you.

In the meantime, I’m going get back to work while, in my mind, I’m still playing on these rocks.

Sandstone formation along the Chumash Trail