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Practice Makes Perfect

Last night was our practice pitch session.  YIKES.  I'm pleased it was only a practice run as it was shocking, painful and just plain horrendous.

The pitch itself wasn't too bad.  Three minutes to do an 'elevator pitch' where you get across your story to someone (anyone) and include major plot points, title, themes, genre, main characters and story arcs.  Ideally not in that order.

I rattled through my film pitch mentally ticking off key points as they hit the air and when the iPhone called time on me I sat back and breathed.  I'm pretty sure I smiled to myself in a 'job done' kind of way (not in a smirky born-to-do-it kind of way I hasten to add!).

That's when the pain started and it didn't end for twenty minutes.  She (the script consultant Lady who was amazing and knows her stuff though it almost killed me to take it all in last night) saw me coming.  She knew exactly where the plot holes were even though I hoped and prayed that I'd done enough to sort them out in my own head let alone an audience's.  She ripped my characters to shreds so that they are now very much dead though I need to make them live again and sort out their issues and make them work.

There's basically a huge amount of 'making it work' to be done and make it entertaining but thoughtful and beautiful and a flipping good story.  That is all it boils down to.  A good story that someone would want to watch.

Even though the confidence is in tatters today and I can't bring myself to think about the film, I know that I have to get back on it as soon as possible and not let it scare me off.  This is all part of the process.

And the real pitch is on the 19th March...pass me the gin...

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