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So here comes the big question: why are you taking this course? You really shouldn't go any further until you answer that, like really answer it. I want you to get out a journal tonight and I want you to answer that question: “Why?”

I need you to connect with your motivation and I want you to write it down on an index card, or if you prefer take a dry erase marker and write it on your bathroom mirror so that you can look at it every morning, but place that index card or that statement somewhere you can see it every day and when you are wondering, “Why would I continue?” I want you to reconnect with how you're feeling right now. The joy, the expectation, the hope, the drive to make something great. The going is going to get tough, I have to be honest with you, but that tough journey is going to be worthwhile. There's very little in this world that's worth undertaking that doesn't demand some form of sacrifice from you. You know, we often ask the question, “What are you passionate about?” If we look at what the word “passion” means, that question really could be rephrased as “What are you willing to suffer for?” 

So get excited. Remember how you feel right now and when you feel like you're suffering just a little bit too much and you want to give up, go back to that notecard, go back to your mirror, and remember that you are here for a reason, you’re taking this course for a reason, and you’re writing this story for a reason. So the process is going to be really simple: I want you to look at your calendar and set aside twenty days. Be realistic! A lot of us will think, “Oh, I'm just going to set twenty days apart in the next 3 weeks.” But is that realistic given your schedule? Is that realistic given work? Given your need for rest? Given family expectations? Whatever it may be, we don't want to set a goal that is unattainable. I want you to push yourself outside your comfort zone but at the same time I want you to be able to achieve your goal, so look at that calendar, think about twenty days over the next few months that you're willing to commit to this process and remember that at the end of this journey, you'll have the first draft of a project, so give yourself enough time.

The creative process can be demanding, but it doesn't have to be tough. I want you to embrace it with joy, I want you to embrace it with enthusiasm, and most of all I want you to embrace it with grit so that when a scene is really working you and challenging you, you don't give up. Your “why” is what makes this journey worthwhile and it's time to sit down and anchor that now before you begin.

© SJ Murray, 2018