I’ve been picking at a screenplay loosely based on my time in college for 5 or 6 years now.
It’s one of those projects ‘I’ll finish one day’.
For the first time, I can see the end and I’m ready to finally be able to say it’s done. I think it will be especially good news for my close family and friends who have listened to me talk about this phantom tale for years.
Mostly because only a few have read it’s predecessor.
The first screenplay I ever wrote.
When I was 16, I finished my first feature screenplay called Behind Max. It was a story about high school basketball centered around a star player named Max and his struggle to decide what he wants to do with his life. The narrative twist to the story? It was told entirely through the point of view of his friends and family. Hence BEHIND… Max. (I was quite proud of that title when I thought of it.)
How is this story related to the one I’m working on now? There are 2 reasons:
First, if my high school basketball tale is about deciding what you want to be, then the college tale is about ACTUALLY doing it.
Second, some of the characters return in the new story.
The other day, I took it out and flipped through it.
Instantly, I could tell a high school student wrote it. I’ve learned a lot in the last 11 years. (Has it really been that long?)
Personally, I still think it’s a good story. Full of intense basketball action both at school and at the local park. It had drama and, of course, a high school romance.
Today, my screenwriting skills have evolved but I’m always going to look back at the story that made me want to become a screenwriter. A screenplay that brought back happy memories from my past and continues to inspire the writer I strive to be.
In a sense, both of these stories mirror my own personal journey in the film world.
First I decided to make screenwriting my passion.
Now I actually have to do it.
With that reminder close by, I almost feel like it’s a rite of passage to finish this new script.
I owe it to myself.
I’m also looking forward to evolving my skills again and taking on a more action based screenplay as a follow up.
Screenwriting. Awesome.
