An Unscripted Life: The Last Screenwriter Andrew Kinback | Whim Alumni
| Published 12/12/03
Graphic By: Jonelle C. Thackston
I just saw "The Last Samurai," which starred Tom Cruise; it was an
absolutely beautiful movie. While the jury is still out on if this is
Tom Cruise's best acting job, the movie itself portrays samurais not
only as hard, disciplined warriors but loving fathers and gentle people
as well. It is an accurate portrayal of the real samurai, and if you
get the chance to see this film, please do. Afterwards you will find
that guns and bombs are the most cowardly weapons and creations ever
made.
I mention this movie only because of the word "discipline." We all have
a level of discipline. Be it the discipline on the battlefield, the
workplace or simply the repetitious cycle of getting up to class, we
have our levels of it. The samurai are the most known for it. They lived
it. They lived and died by the Code of the Bushido. Imagine if we all
had that level of commitment and discipline. If you ask college students
what is the meaning of "discipline" or "honor," and they would probably
say they have something regarding the amount of alcohol you can hold in
one night.
Being a young screenwriter, discipline is perhaps the hardest thing I
have had to master. While it sounds easy to write a script, it isn't.
You have to worry about a number of things such as: structure, format,
are you being too descriptive, are you being too little descriptive, is
your dialogue flowing, or is it all in a jumble. Add on top of that your
daily responsibilities like a job, family time, maintaining your house
and health and keeping in touch with long distance loved ones, and your
plate becomes full. It is hard to get up first thing in the morning and
get on the keyboard. It is hard to come home from work after a double
shift and keep your eyes open while sitting down. I wish I was well off
enough to just sit at home and write all day, but I have not reached
that level yet. One day I will, though.
Until then, I have trained myself to get on the ball and get on my
scripts. There are some days where I am so tired or so distracted by
something else that I want to put off hitting the keyboard. However, I
pound myself and force myself to do it. The more I train myself, the
more I feel like I let myself down if I haven't written at least five
pages a day. However if I keep to my schedule or five pages a day, then
I feel good the rest of the day. Writing a good script is like having
great sex. You put a lot of energy and emotion into it; when you are
done you are usually tired, but you are just happy as can be. Try it,
and you will see what I mean.
Are there ways of building discipline? Yes, there are. Take a martial
art or join a sports team, club or organization. You can even follow my
lead and just pound it out. Discipline, while it is an age-old concept,
is something everyone needs. It gives an edge to any individual trying
to reach their goals. I have seen some people that are so smart they
make Einstein look like Beavis, but they don't have discipline. I
guarantee they will not go as far as they say in the future.
Currently, I am on page 51 of my second full-length screenplay titled
"The Katterskill Pirates". Crap, I haven't done my five pages yet. I got
to get to them.
___
Andrew "Shaggy" Kinback is an RU Alumni and aspiring screenwriter.
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