Focusing on writing and NOT making new years resolutions

I haven’t blogged for a while. I’ve had a few ideas for blogs, thrown a few thoughts about, even started a few blogs but then I’ve been distracted by another thought that seemed would make an interesting blog. Truth is this is very reflective of me as a writer. I get very enthused by a new idea and rush off into development notes. I draw out the ideas for the story and then just before I start the actual writing I get another idea and off I go again. Or I see a competition deadline that sparks an idea so I rush off a half baked script in order to meet a deadline which at least gets a script on paper but it’s not really a finished script. So I’m surrounded by lots of developed ideas waiting to be written or half-written scripts, or drafted but not completed scripts. In the last year I’ve completed to draft stage a radio script, 2 short film scripts and a television script which doesn't seem that impressive for a whole year. I know that I need to get more focused on writing the scripts and re-writing the scripts and getting more scripts ready to be sent off as examples of my work. I want to be able to say – that script is finished and I wouldn’t change a single word in it.

Now I don’t believe in making resolutions because I believe if you want to change something in your life then you should do it, whatever the time of year. New Years resolutions are made to be broken but a change you make to your life at any other time is something that can be seen through. It is merely a coincidence that my new philosophy of writing is being birthed within days of the end of the year.

Or rather it ties in to the fact that my birthday falls on the 2nd January so getting a year older brings with it the inevitable thoughts of the declaration that I made aged 35 that if I hadn’t made it is a writer by the time I was 40 then I was giving it all up. But then I also used to say when I was 18 that by the time I was 26 I would be married with two children then I grew up and realised I believed in neither marriage or children. But I do still believe in writing, and I long since realised that I write because I love making up stories. I have a mortgage to pay which means I’ve also accepted that I do have to do that day job so I have a limited number of hours in which I can write but then who doesn’t and who wouldn’t wish for more hours of writing. But I’m not being very smart about the way I go about the writing and I need to get smarter.

So for my new plan. I’ve written a list of the projects that I currently have in development or waiting for re-draft on a large piece of paper in front of me. 10 projects in total (7 in development and 3 scripts that are waiting to be re-drafted). Amongst the 7 projects are a feature film, 2 tv scripts, 2 theatre scripts, 2 radio scripts. This time next year I want to look at the list and say – those scripts are finished and I wouldn’t change a single word.
So next week I will be starting the first draft of my new television script. I will be focusing on that and nothing else until the first draft is finished.