I was catching up on Danny & Tim's internationally renowned UK Scriptwriters' Podcast (LINK), while I was walking the dog the other day, and they were talking about making time for yourself.
Tim mentioned he had booked some time off in February, writing it in his diary as he would any other appointment or deadline, to focus on his own work. He did this because he found when he was busy with commissioned projects he had little or no time to work on his own spec screenplays and by setting aside time for himself he was able to do just that.
I was chatting to Daniel Martin Eckhart at LSWF last October and he was also talking about taking a year out from his commissioned work to focus on his own ideas. He had been working non stop for years on other people's projects since he was handed his first commission and felt it was time to concentrate on his own specs.
I have the same problem. Back in December 2011 I planned to write a second draft of my comedy heist feature A FIST FULL OF EUROS, then in January 2012 I landed my first commissioned feature screenplay. I've been working steadily ever since and I still haven't found time to get back to the script. And I probably won't do for some while yet, as after I've finished my latest commission I'll immediately start a new one.
It's the same kind of problem I had when I worked full-time and struggled to find the time to write. But I made myself find the time, made myself sit down and write, even when I didn't feel like it.
It's great being busy but I do miss working on my own stuff when I'm working for other people. So I've decided to book myself in my diary for some me time, one day a week until A FIST FULL OF EUROS is done. But which day to choose?
1 comment:
What Tim does is definitely the right way to go. Stay focused, keep accepting the work, but dedicate/block time for your spec stuff.
My choice was a bit more radical - but heck, it worked, too - finished what I hadn't been able to finish for several years - now it's back to getting paid for what I love doing :-) ... and heck, maybe that other thing I've finished will, aside from having been a huge emotional charge, also pay off financially sometime in the future.
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