When people find out I'm a writer, I frequently hear, "I have a great idea for a book." then they launch into an animated description of the plot and the characters, . . . or say something like . . . "It's Star Wars, meets The Lord of the Rings, with the heart of "When Harry Meets Sally."They get all excited about it, and expect you to catch the fire, rush right home, lock yourself in your study, and not eat or come out until it is done . . . like Hayden and his composition "The Messiah."
When I ask if they have written any of this down, their jaw drops like the ghost of Jacob Marley before Scrooge, and with genuine shock in their eyes, they stare at me as if I've suddenly sprouted another head on my shoulders. Their once articulate speech slurrs, they stutter and list major obstacles that are aborting the gestation of their dream . . . like an unsorted sock drawer or winning the lottery .
Perhaps 10% of these author wannabes actually get anything down on paper. Even fewer get past the 32 page block. Here an writer is happily wordsmithing along and suddenly switches from dialogue and action ... to outlining ... to trailing off into oblivion.
Several years ago, I was asked to work on a project intended as a television series. As research for my treatment of the pilot episode, I was shown copies of previous scripts submited or contracted for the project. One such treatment came from the Italian producer of the major motion picture, Jesus of Nazareth. With trembling hands I carefully turned the pages . . . and then . . . there it was; The 32 Page Block. This award winning author/director/producer went from action and dialogue to describing what should happen.
As Ken Gire wrote in his Windows of the Soul,
"Some people have a romantic view of what the life of a writer is like. They think writers go out and sit by the sea with their notebook and pencil, muse awhile, write a while, spread out the beach towel and tan awhile, muse awhile, write awhile, tear the ragged end off a loaf of French bread, smear it with a little Brie cheese, sip a little chardonnay, muse a while longer, write a while longer, and at the end of the day, savor what they've written like an afterdinner mint on a serene walk home.
"The truth is, writing is mostly blue collar work, not much different from that of a stone mason. At least, it is for me. Every day I go to work where I pick through a rubble of words, looking for one that will fit, hoping the mortar will hold, that the work will stand up. I go back and forth from the word pile to the worksite all day long, searching for the right words and the right places to put them. …Instead of tearing off a piece of French bread, I was tearing off my fingernails an anxious bite at a time, jotted notes on a legal pad, picked up a work here and there, discarded some of the things, set others aside."
The rewards of writing can be very satisfying, especially when the check arrives in the mail. But make no mistake, as one Scottish writer said,. . .
"Writing is easy, . . . It's like wrestling alligators all day long!"
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