Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton
Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding of the craft from the experiences of the Questers. I should also add they are a great group of people, so I expect you will enjoy getting to know them.
Today: Sandy reflects on collaboration:
Reading the reactions from the other Questers this week, I have come to realize how much I appreciate having a writing partner. There are some writers that love holing up alone somewhere and getting to run amok within their own thoughts. Then there are people like me — discussing, analyzing, arguing, and talking about our characters and stories to death. Writing alone, I get lost and distracted. I’m pretty sure I was a raccoon in a previous life — LOOK! SOMETHING SHINY!
I love collaboration. It keeps me focused and infuses new life and ideas into my worlds. Perhaps it’s my background in television — the ultimate in collaborative storytelling. Breaking a story with a talented and creative group of people gets my engine revved. It’s a high. Even though the writing process itself ultimately is solitary, the discussing and sharing of ideas is what gives it the gas. It makes me a better writer.
Miranda and I try to come into each Quest teleconference with a unified vision but sometimes, a Quester will bring up something we didn’t think about and then the debate begins! Sometimes Miranda and I agree, sometimes we don’t. When we don’t agree, we will sometimes bring the question at hand to the group and see what the consensus is. Sometimes her point of view wins. Sometimes mine does. And no matter which way it goes, I truly believe our story will end up the stronger for it and am grateful for such a collaborative process.
I looked up the definition of collaboration and found this: “the act of working with another or others on a joint project.” The Quest would certainly qualify in that regard. For Sandy and Miranda, who are working on their script as a writing team, the term has even more relevance.
There is another definition: “something created by working jointly with another or others.” The first definition focuses on the process of the collaborative effort; the second is about what gets achieved through that process.
Whenever we write a screenplay, no matter how long it takes, no matter whether we workshop it with a group of writers, craft it with a writing partner, or collaborate with the various aspects of our Creative Self, the fact is the ongoing process has an end point where we can point to that “something created”.
Here’s to the Questers — and each of you! — having a successful collaborative effort over the next few months where you may be able to type these words:
FADE OUT.
Tomorrow: Another Dispatch From The Quest.
About Sandy: Bostonian that learned how to pronounce “R’s” upon moving to LA. A lefty that loves the unusual. Dreams of owning a taxidermy dodo bird. @scriptchix & @lil_sjl.
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