Adapting a book into a screenplay is hard. I only found this out when I started to adapt Trip City. The task seems to be compounded by the fact that I wrote the book fifteen years ago. And it's a London novel, and I haven't actually been back to London for ten years. But tonight something happened. I would use the word magical, but magical sounds too meta-physical. What happened was simple really. I could actually see this as a finished screenplay. A good screenplay. That excited me, and I don't get excited so easily. It was as if the prose and dialogue actually became poignant, and had meaning to me again.
It's my goal to finish the screenplay by a week on Wednesday. The 26th. If you read some subsequent posts you might even find out why 1/26/05 is an important date for me. Anyhow, tonight, somehow I regained my faith in my own ability. I don't mean to sound arrogant. But right now I don't care even if I do... If you can remember why you write, if you remember that thrill, things fall into place. It happened to me. It can happen to you. And believe me, if you keep writing, despite all the bullshit, and all the distractions, it will happen to you. Perseverance is the answer. It is the only answer. So hold tight, and persevere. Writing can be magical. It is for me tonight. I'm finally back in my stride. It's a good place to be.
Roll on 2005. Roll on Trip City. Right now I'm unstoppable!!!
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