After a somewhat restless night, I dragged self from bed, drank tea, ate breakfast and engaged in my morning meditation. Shortly after, I fired up Ye Olde iMac and tuned into Al Rodriguez’s inspiring blog for Save the Cat!. Perfect timing indeed.

A career in entertainment is one borne of hard work, staying power and determination. Luck, of course, can play part, but I hold firmly to the adage that Luck = Opportunity + Preparation. Tenacious is a word that has been used to describe me, and yes, I would somewhat agree. I’m determined. Sometimes I slip up, but I’ve learned that art is not perfection, and that you won’t get anywhere without risks, so I tend to dust myself off, examine the lessons learned, and get right back on the track.

Al’s blog moved me in many ways. He spoke of the need of the writer to push him/her self. I’m feeling like pushing myself again. Of course, there are the goal pushes – pushing oneself towards completion, a huge accomplishment. There there is the push of writing outside of one’s comfort zone. I love this one, and must say that I am a bit of an adrenaline writing junkie in this regard. I love taking something new and foreign on. Probably because I love research, and by research, I mean throwing myself into a story and its world without abandon. I’m a tactile writer; I like to get my hands a bit dirty.

And then there is the push for excellence.

Mmmm. Tasty, tasty potted meat bits.

Excellence is not perfection; at least, not by my definition. Excellence is elevation – of voice, of style, of character, of genre (or cross-genre). And that’s where I am finding myself. “Good” is not enough; yesterday, my partner used the term “meh” in regard to a project we’re beating about… and I almost fell over from an apoplexy. I’d rather hear that someone “hated” something that I did, rather than felt “meh” about it. The former means that I either a) wrote an incredibly train wreck of a script, and there’s something that makes me smile about that, or b) that what I wrote really touched some nerve in the person – and that’s a Good Thing. In other words, I’ve pissed them off. I must be doing something right. But “meh?” Really? It’s as if I had invited my partner over to dine on a perfect rack of lamb, only to hand him a plate of Wonder Bread and Spam. With Miracle Whip, to boot.

So, it’s back to FADE IN: with a new take and a new idea… and Al, I promise you, I will push, dammit, push.

Now, go write.

HRH, Princess Scribe