Have you ever loved something so much that you threw it out and made a new one five times? And then because the sight of it made you sick you burned it all, made something totally different, and then named that new thing after the old, dead thing?
Well, anyways, I finally finished a draft of Footrub that I’m proud of!
I started it in 2019 because I hadn’t written anything in a while and thought, “Huh. I should write a play.” Which as it turns out is actually a terrible reason to write a play. It was discouraging when after two years of tweaking, it didn’t seem to be getting significantly better, or even becoming anything that I myself would sit down and watch.
Then one day I added a throwaway line that suggested a much more bizarre, surreal, supernatural story than the one I’d been writing. I started writing that play instead, pecking away at it during my lunch breaks and other little hours found here and there. The result is a piece of writing that is more personal, less bad, and more good. I now feel less like, “I’m writing a play” guy, and more like “I am an amateur playwright” guy.
So… what do you do with a play? If anyone’s interested in reading it, or has any advice, please let me know.