It all started on a dark and stormy night… not really. Actually, for me, it all started three years ago on a hot summer day. I remember it as if it happened five minutes ago. I was watching my friend’s merchandise during a sidewalk sale. It was late afternoon and hot as hell. Normally I would decline to work in the heat, but being as though I was jobless at the time I couldn’t refuse the invitation to make a little money. Tim, my friend, had just rolled out another cart full of items from the storage space. He asked me to sort through everything and set it on display with the other stuff. One of the reasons I love working for this guy is because he has so much stuff and I’m always finding something unique or cool. I was stocking DVDs onto a rickety old bookshelf when I caught glimpse of something that stopped me dead in my tracks. On the spine of one of the DVDs was the beautiful face of Scarlett Johansson. The movie was the 2006 Woody Allen thriller, Match Point. Anyone who truly knows me knows that I have a big crush on Scarlett. I set the movie aside and continued working.
Later that night, I sat in my room with a half bottle of Walnut Crest Merlot soaking up Ms. Johansson’s beauty on my fifty-inch screen TV. By the end of the movie, I was left speechless. If you haven’t seen the movie and you’re into drama thrillers, I suggest watching it after reading this post. In my honest opinion, it’s probably Mr. Allen’s best screenplay. The film got my creative juices flowing. Ideas began to race through my wine drunken mind. I stayed up for a good part of the night before settling on the Love Limit concept. I said to myself, “I have to pursue this.” I pulled out a piece of paper and began to mind-map. The ideas literally poured onto the page. I wrote until I could hear birds chirping, at which point I elected to get some rest.
During the next couple of weeks, I went about gathering more ideas, taking notes and structuring the rough draft. Everything was running smoothly, and then one day I said to myself, “I can’t do this.” It was only after reading the synopsis that I came to the conclusion that the story was too sad. No matter what I did, I couldn’t bring myself to write a single word. I lost my motivation. On top of my emotions getting the better of me, I was afraid of what people might think of me. I ultimately scrapped the idea.
Fast forward a year. I’m at an art reception when I bump into a friend and fellow writer. During the course of the conversation, I bring up the Love Limit idea. He asked me where I was with the project and I told him that the story was so sad that I stopped writing. He explained to me, “Those are the stories that people love to read. The novels that move people emotionally are books that do the best because they are more impactful.” His words triggered a paradigm shift. At that moment, my motivation to write the book returned, but this time stronger than before. I went home, turned on my computer and began to write.
After six months of solid writing, Love Limit was finally complete. I owe a lot to my friend. If it wasn’t for him, Love Limit would probably still be a scrapped idea. What ideas are you neglecting because of fear or lack of motivation? I believe that we all have book ideas that are worthwhile, but most people let fear or emotion paralyze them. This is why it is important to keep the company of others who will nurture and support you.
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