Friday, November 11, 2005

Writing Again

I started writing again last night. Not that I haven't been writing in some form or fashion everyday for the past several years. But, outside of journaling and the occassional treatise, poem, or essay that I compose I haven't done any writing for myself. I have started so many different projects (novels, children's stories, play, screenplay), but I am a terrible undisciplined writer and am easily distracted and so have only finished one major work (the 1st part of a sci-fi trilogy) in the past 10 years. Several years ago I started writing a play. I stopped writing it because #1 I got distracted and #2 I didn't know how the play was going to end. Last night, I finally figured out how to end the play. The play is called Nice Guys Finish Last? I said I would never be able to finish the play until I could answer that question for myself. Last night, I figured out how to answer the question and present it on stage. In about 30 minutes I completed a couple of scenes. It felt so good. Besides the play, another project that I started was this homage to C.S. Lewis. I have the story completed in my head and have told it for the last three years to most all the cabins I have counseled. However, even though I haven't even finished writing the first story, I have a sequel planned. I know how the sequel is supposed to begin and end, but I could never figure out what is supposed to occur in the middle. Last night, I figured out a huge chunk of the middle section! I know now what Queen Stephanie's greatest challenge will be on her quest to find the Element of Hope that is supposed to save David Lewis.

Granted, most of these ideas are still in my head and not on paper. Granted, I'll probably be so distracted from now until the end of the semester that I won't be able to sit down and revisit them and start to write them down. Still, it feels so good to have finally figured these things out. Even if I never do completely finish writing my play out, I have seen the thing unfold once and even if the world never learns what happens to David Lewis and Queen Stephanie in the Land of Ainran, I know how it turns out. Stephanie has already faced her greatest challenge and my play has already been performed on the grand stage of my imagination. That's the best place to perform in anyway.

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