Dear Sally,
I am currently a graphic design student, in my last year, and my thesis is getting nearer and nearer.
Last year i started working on a play, creating the story, the set design, the costumes etc... I decided to keep working on that project, make it evolve. Now video is playing a large role ( even though i don't know yet how important it's going to be ! ).
The point is, I am going to have to write this play, and it scares me to death since i've never done anything of the sort, and even though i have a literary background... i feel i'm facing a monster i don't know how to master, if one ever does.
I've just seen YES for the 20th time maybe, and am more and more amazed at the scenario. Through a simple story you managed to reach subtle and complex symbols and meaning. And i won't even mention the language itself, every word seem to flow in the most natural manner. I won't start praising the image nor the actor's game because i could spend the night at it !
The question i wanted to ask you is how long did it take you to write that script ? I dare say it was a long process, but in general how does the writing occur ? Where do we start ?
I do want to create a text which will have as much interest as the visual elements of the play, it is most important to me, however, i get lost in complexity, the simpler i try to be, the more complex it seems...
At this point, I dare say any advice would be most welcome !
I sincerely hope Carmen is being as successful as i'm sure it ought to be, I only wish i didn't have so much work to do ! For i'd take a train ticket this instant to go and see it !
Wishing you all the best,
with all my admiration,
Camille.
Thank you for your kind comments about YES.
I believe the script for YES took just over a year to its last 'official' draft, though in practice I continued fine-tuning and making even a few quite substantial changes during the shoot. By my standards a year is relatively short. I spent seven years writing repeated drafts of Orlando, for example, and the film I am about to begin has evolved over nearly a decade.
To gain fluency in any medium requires practice, above all, and writing is no exception. When working on a script I begin first thing in the morning, five days a week and write for about four or five hours a day. It took me years to learn that a disciplined routine of this sort was the only way. Before that I used to stay up all night if the inspiration took me, and then was, of course, too exhausted to keep it up. Inspiration is rare enough and is, furthermore, unreliable. Sometimes what you feel is a bad day will, surprisingly, produce the best results. As a dancer I learnt that you have to get up and go to class whatever you feel like, and that true progress is slow. I think that applies to writing as well. It is not a sprint but a marathon.
Having said all that, the only way to do it is to get started. Simple as that sounds, for many people the first step is the hardest.
But it sounds as if you are well on the way with your project and that at least some of the writing is already quite well formed in your head. An enormous part of the scriptwriting (or playwriting) process concerns structure and the deeper intent of the piece, so you have already gone some considerable part of the distance. Now it has to manifest in more detail, so getting the words onto the page has to become part of your day. When I was struggling with Orlando I investigated writers' methods and found out that some great writers only worked for an hour or two....but every single day....maybe that would suit your rhythm. Sitting down to do it in the early morning light while the mind is rested and before you get on to all the other pressing tasks that the project demands.
It is a truism that scripts are not written but re-written. Once a bit more is visible on the page your editorial mind will come into play and things will move fast. Graham Greene's dictum was to generate more material than would ever need to be used...perhaps that is the complexity you are referring to. Simplicity is a form of distillation and requires the bold use of scissors.
I hope this is useful. Good luck.