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CONTINUE THAT THOUGHT …
Friday, January 29, 2021 - daily column #6652
Yesterday’s play outline ended without an ending.
Why, indeed?
So easy to say, Fade to Black or THE END.
But I’m not thinking about writing the ending, my ending, though people who can do the math tell me that’s inevitable.
As I read more intentionally, I often encounter something I’ve heard so many writers talk about – whether it’s a novel, a TV show, or a movie; the concept, to start as close to the end of the story as possible. Then, to start the story further back in time and then lead the reader, or the viewer, through the story culminating in a powerful ending, the stage for that which was set by that opening part …
Often we hear the planning mantra of, begin with the end in mind.
The Alpha and Omega of life are not our life – they are goal posts. The action, the life we make and remake, and the do-overs we do over and over and over again – that’s the DASH in our life.
THE BEGINNING
Life isn’t lived backward or forwards, no flashbacks – it’s lived sequentially, consequentially, one day at a time, one step at a time, and there is never enough time to waste, but we waste plenty. By that, I don’t mean rest or recreation – we all need that, but I mean we waste ourselves doing things that don’t matter much, which prevents us from doing things that matter the most. I believe we can recover. We can re-do, and while we can’t do-over, we can do better. And we can do more. And we can only do that if we don’t quit.
So, don’t start too near the end …
But you could start now.
Be the movie you want to see.
I’ll bring the popcorn.
And as we learned as youngsters, when the popcorn bag is empty, and the curtains close while the credits roll, or as actors come back on stage for a curtain call – that means the film or play is over, but the night is still young.
I am far more focused on what is next than on what comes last …
Reader feedback:
Love this…as I read in a book once, “you play the hand you’re dealt”. No use lamenting or blaming. In the end, you still have the freedom to improve what you have, or not, KV, Calgary, AB
Hi Mark, Thanks for your wonderful essay on the process of creating. One day we should share some tales of our stages of growth. Like you, I know I would not be the person I am without the blended detours – some wonderful and others disastrous. Keep sharing your messages Mark…they resonate with so many of us. Thanks for sharing your involvement with Third Action. I so appreciate you being part of our board, JR, Calgary, AB
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