Senior Project- Day 2

Ok. What a day. So After a few more drafts, I have my rough outline of a story. It is no longer about me, but a broader picture of what can happen if you get caught up in LA life, loose focus, and not have a backup plan. Being my first screenplay, I found it very difficult to write about me and tap into my own emotions without sounding jilted or scattered. I had heard once that writing a story down is the hardest part, for things sound great in your head but can die on paper only after a few scenes. It was very frusterating to write an outline, and do the first few scenes to realize the story died and press delete. After four hours and a blank screen, I learned that the only way to solve this problem of my tragic death cycle was to take a little break and talk to my parents about my problems. My mom asked me a simple question- What do you want to convey? And if you can't write about you yet, why not have a fictional character with this theme? Light bulb. As an actress, I already appreicate the effectivness or ineffectiveness of the written word and so I am trying to sound real and not contrived. So far, by reading the script outloud after I write a scene like I am preparing an auditon seems to be the best idea. It really goes to show that you only know how something sounds when it is read outloud with all the inflections and punctuation. Tomorrow I will delve deeper and, God willing, make a bigger dent on this story. I'll keep you posted!