Christmas Project

Have you ever taken on a project thinking it is going to be super awesome only to find that it is a lot harder than you thought it would be? Well that is where I find myself today...okay, the past several days. It is also the reason I haven't been writing on this blog as consistently this month.

A few weeks ago I was on the phone with my sister and asked her what she wanted for Christmas. Her answer: "You know when your on Broadway and you go backstage and have a mirror with lights all around it and a chair with your name on it and you put your make-up on and and have costumes and wigs and a script...Yeah, I want all that!" I hung up the phone wondering how in the world I was going to pull that one off!

I decided to ditch the idea of the lighted mirror and chair, she can pretend on those things. I didn't want to abandon the whole though, and spent a few days really thinking about what I could get her. One afternoon I was browsing the internet looking for inspiration and had a brilliant idea! I would write her a musical!!

What a super awesome idea right?!? I decided to write her a script that she could act out over and over in her room. It would be original so that will make it fun for her. I could download songs off of Itunes to fit with my script and make her a "soundtrack" that she can sing-a-long with as she acts  it out. I even thought that if I had time when I was all done I could go to the DI and look for costume ideas for the characters. It was brilliant and I was super excited about it.

Fast forward to today...It is eight days til Christmas and I am still working on the script. It has turned out to be a much bigger task than I had envisioned. Writing a script is a lot harder than simply writing a story. I have had to think differently than I am used to in order to convey my thoughts through the characters dialogue and actions. Oh and did I mention that my biggest weakness when it comes to writing is dialogue? I have always struggling with dialogue and a script is 99% dialogue!! Making it a musical is another new and difficult thing because I have to figure out how to transition my dialogue's into songs and then back to dialogue. Finding songs that perfectly fit into everything is another daunting part of this project.

While I am completely overwhelmed with this project I am also determined. I want to do this for her and for me. Trying new things is always hard, but that is how we learn and grow. Once I have completed this project my confidence in writing will increase. I will feel proud of myself for accomplishing something that really strained me and not quitting when the going got rough. It's things like this that push us to step out of the routine of our daily lives and discover the power that really lies within us. Projects like this can be difficult, but they can also be fun. Step outside of your comfort zone and do something that will stretch you. I promise there will be times when you'll  be just like me and want to shut off the computer and buy a gift card to the movie, but pressing forward will bring great rewards and you'll find you are capable of doing so much more than you ever thought you could.