You can never have too many scripts.

The title of this blog may lead some of you to believe that I have an entire cabinet full of prescription medications just sitting around. Some that juice me up, some that bring me down; some for blood pressure, some for stool softening.

First of all, you're wrong. Second of all, why were you thinking about my stool?

see what i did there?

As an amateur film producer, I write scripts. Lots of scripts. Scripts for shows and films I may never produce. I just had to stop production before it even began on a project I've been working on with notorious +Jack Fossett .

We had this idea to write a series about a college band trying their hardest to become popular. They find themselves bickering over creative differences and having to work their way through underwhelming and, often times, incredibly awkward gigs. A love story develops between two of the characters which always makes for entertaining content and the audience falls in love with our series, it gets picked up by NBC and we become millionaires.

That was the dream.

At this point in my "career," I have no money to pay actors to be in my productions. Any money I do come up with is spent buying the cameras, lenses, lights, cranes, filters, and microphones needed to make the production happen in the first place. 

there's a lot more to it than people think.

Getting people to act for free isn't a difficult process. Simply put an ad out on facebook, twitter, and craigslist asking for people who want to see their own faces on YouTube and PRESTO: You've got free actors.

The problem with asking people to donate their time to a production is that most people don't have a whole lot of time to begin with. Everyone's got enough to spare when it comes to getting together one weekend to work on a project... but what about next weekend? What about the weekend after that?

Producing a series requires me having access to the same group of people on a regular basis. One I lose my cast, I lose my production. This uncertainty scared me. Do I want to get myself invested in something that may end up falling apart before I even really starts? 

With this, I decided to tone it down a bit. I decided that maybe a series isn't the best way to start. I decided to make a short film.

This was perfect. Short films are self contained. They can be produced in a few days and when it's over, it's over. If one of the cast members decide they no longer have time to dedicate to my productions, there's no issue. They're just not in my next production. The cast can be constantly changing which means no one has to be at the mercy of anyone else for an extended period of time.

Stress free production, right? Well, no. No production is stress free but this allows more flexibility.

So why am I writing about movie productions in my MS blog?

I'm glad I forced you to ask!

This is a great metaphor for life with MS.

You can never have too many scripts.

Always have a plan B and C and D. Always have something else to fall back on. Multiple Sclerosis is so unpredictable. Today, I feel great. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. If your life is a production, your body is your cast and crew. You work at the mercy of their availability. They may be here working hard for you today but they may not show up for work tomorrow. 

Focus on short films, not series.

Put together a list of short term goals and projects. Do as many little things as you can right now. Don't set yourself up with long term goals which rely heavily on you feeling exactly the way you do now. We all know that's not likely. Don't get me wrong, long term goals are important. Just don't let yourself get so caught up on dealing with the chaos of the long term that you miss opportunities to live your life today.

Appreciate your cast.

Your body works for you but your goals are totally in its hands. Take care of your body. Even if you can't always eat salads and get to the gym, do little things to keep it happy. Take a nap when it tells you it's tired. Drink water when it tells you it's thirsty. Always remember to play. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. A good director knows when to kick back. If you push your cast too hard without giving them time to have fun, they're going to resent you. They're going to act out. They're going to leave you when you need them.

Go out there and start producing. Make your life the best adventure it can be. But always remember: The production relies on all the parts working together so pick your productions based on the tools you have. Don't attempt the impossible, it rarely works out. Do what you can and enjoy it.

NickWithMS