Damn it.
I had a solid idea for a TV Series. Seriously. This one was a gem. Topical, sexy, action-packed, and landing at just the right moment to hold a poignant mirror up to society. And then what happened? Marky Mark. Damn him and his handsome, talented face.
You've heard the expression "There are no new ideas?" Well, it's true. Pretty much every combination of story beats has been assembled, re-assembled, and laminated for posterity. All you can do, as a writer, is put your own personal spin on the tale.
As it turns out, my personal spin on the tale was SUPER CLOSE to the first season of the USA Show Shooter.
Damn it.
It's times like this that you question everything you've ever known about yourself, the world, and existence as a whole. You sit in a dark room filled with artifacts of your shattered dreams, curled up with a steaming cup of crow and a plate of humble pie. Maybe your dad was right, and this whole writing thing is just a pipe dream, and you should go back to the mines and pick up that shovel you'd hurled down so triumphantly years back.
Wait. No. Don't.
Set backs are a part of life, and an especially prominent part of this industry. Don't fret. Don't run away. And most of all (per the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Don't Panic.
Just take a look at your protagonist. He has a want and a need. And you need to click refresh on those and find the next beat in the story.
So that's what I'll be up to this weekend. Revising and rewriting. Hopefully, by Monday, I'll have a whole new idea to roll. If not, I have plenty of humble pie in the fridge.