Summer Sentiments on Screenwriting

I’m listening to Sigur Ros’ Staralfur and feeling inspired to let my thoughts bleed out a little, so here I am.

Today was my last class of screen writing at BU. To be honest, its difficult for me to truthfully say that it was a good experience. I didn’t like most of the people in the class, the Professor was iffy at best and I didn’t feel any of the usual pangs of nostalgia that come along when you leave behind an incredible experience. So why do I tell everyone else, and myself, that summer screen writing 1 was a good experience? Because it was. I didn’t leave with a polished, finished product, but I left knowing something. I left with an understanding of where I am and where I need to be. An appreciation of the level of commitment, foresight and creativity that goes into writing something that people will both enjoy and be moved by. So in that light, it has been a good experience. Maybe my skill as a writer is the same as it was six weeks ago, but that wasn’t the purpose of the course. It wasn’t intended to transform me into screen writer. The class was designed to give me the basic tools so that I could make myself a better writer. I can look at what I’ve written and identify my flaws and (ideally) correct them.

I’m not a better writer yet, but I honestly think that I now have the skills and potential to create something beautiful in the future. And that’s all I want.