As a filmmaker and storyteller, ideas are my bread and butter.  They are the seeds I must water and nurture if I ever want to harvest full-grown films and books.

Generally speaking, the best parts of creating art are the beginning and the end.  The end, of course, for the obvious reasons of being finished and looking upon your completed work with satisfaction.

And then the beginning – for all of the possibility that lies in front of you, all the excitement you have for that new thing in your life.  That one special idea.

See, folks: I have an addiction.  And the thing I’m hooked on is starting new ideas.

I respect all parts of the writing and creating processes, but I also probably have ADD.  As much as I’d love to stay committed to any one seed, my brain always comes up with a new one to lead me astray with.

After a certain point, the process becomes a grind you must push through before you get to the end, a trial of will so to speak.  How badly do you want to finish the work?  That is the question it presses at every turn.

In a way, for me, it becomes less about pursuing the pleasures of new ideas and more just a concession made to satiate my restless mind.  Plainly put, it’s like I’m playing a game of Whack-a-Mole with my own self.  And I need to get better at it.  Read more...