Friday, June 17, 2016

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE


Writing a terrific screenplay is harder than doing a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, okay? Only so many wannabe writers want to keep all the pieces inside the box with the lid securely shut. And they shake it and shake it, hoping the pieces will eventually come together and mean something great, but they never do.  

Others will actually open the box and stare at the pieces and try to assemble an approximate picture keeping everything inside the box. Alas, there is never enough there to make a complete picture.

To tell the truth, writing a screenplay is nothing like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's more like emptying the box on a giant kitchen table and discovering that there are 5 or 6 or even more difference puzzles all mixed together and not knowing which pieces one can trust to make a complete picture. In the beginning you can never tell if a piece belongs to the puzzle you're working on or not. And if that isn't bad enough, you soon discover that there are parts of pictures on both sides of every piece and your partner or kid is wondering what's for dinner.

- BILLY MARSHALL STONEKING

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