Inertia

Do something different. Do something new. Do something different.

Laura wants to make a film. She is going to be the greatest filmmaker ever. She watches as many films as she can, because she doesn't want to be derivative. She spends all her time watching videos; all the classic movies. She soaks it all in to learn her visual language. She soaks it all in to try to be inspired.

Laura dropped the video case on the counter of the shop. The video was due back two days ago, but the man in the shop didn't seem to notice. In fact he didn't seem to care about much about anything since his clock had stopped. A loud-ticking Cheshire cat clock with swinging eyes, it lay in pieces across the counter. The video-shop man poked its parts, and picked up a screwdriver. One of the eyes lay on the counter staring at Laura, still in her mind swinging from side to side.

Daniel wants to write a book. He's going to be the greatest comic writer ever. It must be true, because he's read every book he can find so he knows exactly what he doesn't want to write. His book is there inside his head, he can feel it, but it doesn't want to come out. Every day he writes the opening line onto a clean sheet of paper:

"It wasn't the first time he had woken up with a horse."

Every day he writes the opening line onto a clean sheet of paper, and every day he balls up the paper and throws it away with nothing else there. At least they don't live in a snowbound hotel, thinks Laura.

Laura scans the racks of videos looking for something new. She's seen all the classics, from Suspiria to Scarface. Now, she needs to see them all again. Every one she watches is something else she mustn't do. Every one makes her work more difficult. She is glad the cat-clock is no longer working, because each tick reminded her of time slipping away.

"Do I always write duds?" says Daniel, earlier in the day. She appears to be thinking while she says: "You don't always." She doesn't need to think, because he hasn't written anything longer than a single line for years. She has to placate him, though. A fresh creative idea sparks at the back of her head, and she hurries to write it down. She goes to the video shop to prove it's been done before.

Laura's head is filled with film. It feels like a head-cold, and she can't see a way to do something new. Daniel feels the same, but he is even more resigned to it. He can't see his way out of anything at all. She needs some fresh air and a nap, and maybe if she reaches the fresh air she'll be able to think of something. Maybe if she goes outside, the horizon will open up.

Do something new. Do something new. Do something new.