JaneEspenson.com

Just a small tidbit today. This is something I’ve been doing forever, and I find it helpful, so here it is. There’s always that big jump in the scriptwriting process, when you’re done working on the outline, and you start writing the dialogue. At this point, you’re opening a new file on your computer, right? (Or you’re renaming the file you’ve written your outline in so that you can gradually turn it into dialogue.) Either way, you need to name the file that will contain your first draft. Let’s say your script is called “Happiness,” okay? Instead of calling the file “HappinessFirstDraft,” you might want to try what I do, and call it “HappinessFirstTry.”

Then every time I go to work on that file, the first thing I’m reminded of as I open it, is that this is just a first try. It doesn’t ever have to become a complete draft, in fact. It can be full of stops and starts and experiments. It’s just a first TRY. Once I’ve got the whole script written, even if it’s a “garbage draft” or a “words on paper draft,” then I can rename the file “first draft,” but until then, hey! No pressure! It’s just a try.

Lunch: A veggie reuben sandwich from Aroma Cafe. Made with tofu. Somehow these are always even better than the meat variety. Isn’t that crazy?