February 26, 2016

Chat with T over coffee at the High Five. He has been working on a script for twenty years, and when he receives a critique, he rewrites, landing each time further from his original conception. He long ago stopped writing from the heart and began to seek the trade secret, the popular incident or tone that would get him past the gatekeepers. Then he wants me to tell him why what worked for them is not working for him. I cannot tell him where to turn. When neither purity not calculation works, what road is to be sought? Of course, someone hearing me would hear the same words, the same tone, though I am canny enough never to seek advice. I am at once my own worst and best critic.