I want to take you through the process of Reflective Progression. If you haven’t already read the first steps I suggest you read those quickly before delving into this part of the blog. Identify is the first step outlined. When I started writing Getting Lost is Part of the Journey I had already identified a problem in my life. I had written a screenplay and my co-writer and I couldn’t agree on the final version. It had been a painful process for us both. We obviously wanted a solution to the problem but how could that come about if neither of us were willing to back down? The following is the first excerpt in the book where I start to identify the problem.

A few weeks ago I bought some lining paper and cut it into
wall size lengths and pinned it to the wall. I’ve got three
rows of paper for each script that I’m working on at the
moment, twelve rows in all. One has been rewritten 9 times
and I’m still not happy with it. Another is a preliminary
draft. The third is a disaster. I fell out with my co-writer
on that project. To be honest Martin Alice and I weren’t the
best of friends to start with. Now we’ve reached deadlock
with the script. There are two versions, his and mine. I
don’t like the structure of his, he believes we could never
send mine out. Apart from my qualms about the structure
there’s something lacking in both versions. At the moment I
can’t be specific what that is, I’m still searching.
There is interest in the story. A lot of interest. And that
script, that story is very important. The characters are
closer to me than any other work. One of them is me. The main
character. The story is about a particular time in my life.
That’s what makes it probably the most important of all the
ideas I’ve had. Of all things I have written, co-written. And
now I’m lost. That’s why I’ve decided to write this book. The
one that will take shape on those three blank pages on my
wall. Since I discovered this parallel road to life – writing
- this is the way, I feel, I can best examine myself. I hope
to find out why certain relationships and partnerships
haven’t worked.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to find a solution in my
working relationship with Martin, although I am not sure
whether that can ever happen.

As you can see at that time I felt there might not be a solution to our problem. But if there was to be a solution maybe it lay somewhere in my past. There had to be something that I could learn from my experiences that I could use again. At this point I did not know where this idea would take me. I was embarking on a journey. And I knew I would get lost along the way. Getting lost was definitely going to be part of this journey.