Some Fires Aren't Meant to Be Put Out......

"Some fires aren't meant to be put out..."

I've made this my new motto (when it comes to Screenwriting). 

One of my favorite movies growing up (and it still is today) was The Preacher's Wife starring Denzel Washington, The Queen of Songbirds aka Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance. In this movie, Whitney's character "Julia" asks Dudley (played by Denzel) something along the lines of "What do you do when your marriage loses its fire?" or "It's spark"--something like that. Dudley tells Julia that you go out for dinner and dancing, but in the end, he reminds her of the conversation and gives a better answer: "Don't let it."

Dudley telling Julia to go out dancing (from IMDb)

I'm taking Dudley's advice. Too often, ideas have come to my mind for this ONE story I've been working on for about a year now--and I've ignored them. I failed to write them down. Instead of sitting at the computer and typing away, I chose to sit at the computer watch yet another episode of Scandal. I've only written one completed draft of this screenplay--and that was for my Screenwriting class. 

I'm a master at procrastination and to be very honest, I'm self-doubt's faithful servant. Many times I've asked myself "Am I really a screenwriter? Is filmmaking really for me?" No quote about writing and procrastination could assure me--they still don't--but I just have to remind myself that the many stories that float around in my head aren't floating around for no reason at all.

Just a quick reminder...[Hypable]

As stated before, I've been working on this one screenplay for almost a year now. It's gone from being about a girl from Harlem who dreams of Broadway to being about a girl from Richmond (my hometown) who dreams of Hollywood. Now, it's grown into something else (something I don't wish to disclose yet). I really don't want to give up on this story--I have no intentions of doing so, but as I get older and closer to graduating and entering the "real world", I realize that procrastination and adulthood don't mix very well--and time wasted is definitely a life wasted.

Tee hee. [Source]

So, if you're like me and you're working on that one special project while dealing with self-doubt and procrastination, just don't give up. I know it's cliché, but it's true (that saying is a cliché too, isn't it?).

If you're a screenwriter, watch movies or read other screenplays. If you're a novelist, read other novels. If you're a painter, observe the world around you. Do whatever it takes to keep that fire from dying!

Books I've checked out from my school's library (my gasoline)