The Green Light

The beginning of a story. Now that part is easy, exciting and filled with endless possibilties.What will the characters be like? what will they have to endure? what lessons will they learn in order to grow? What message am I trying to portray to my audience?

My career was much like that in the beginning, so full of possibilities. My ideas revolutionary to screenwriting, my concepts thought-provoking and unlike any other. People loved my work. Loved.

I sit there in my 'office' which currently consists of a wobbly table as my 'desk' in a dusty old trailer the side of my head pounding in stress to the point where I can't think straight. I stare at my artwork, my script wondering what is wrong with it? How can I fix this and make it better, more appealing to my producers, my audience. My last two projects were a complete box office flop. "People just want a happy fulfilling ending" is what my co-workers keep telling me. All the reviews saying.

"The film was alright, I love the story but then the ending ruined it for me I wanted Clive and Marie to stay together at the end." 2 stars from John Wilkes

"The film was too bleak for me" 1 Star from Abby Marsden.

After my previous fails, my scripts have been denied over and over. I just need the Green Light on this one.

My phone starts to vibrate on the wobbly table I pick it up and see 'The Ex- Wife" on the screen. I'll answer that later. I let out a sigh. How exactly am I supposed to draw inspiration to make a happy ending in my work when my life itself is currently a shitshow? I have to figure out a different ending for my work though otherwise, they'll put a stop to the production and I'll be in financial ruin. The divorce is already costing me enough. I just need the green light on this one.

A knock from the trailer door brings me out of my downward spiral of stress.

"Hey, it's Dean! Can I borrow you a minute?"

Dean is the director of my current film and I am probably his biggest disappointment. I open the door wide to him and sit back at the table, head in my hands.

"Hey Buddy, how's that ending going?"

"It's going"

"Okay well it needs to be going a little quicker, we only have about a week of shooting now until we reach the third act and the script still needs approval before then."

"And I am aware of this Dean, like I said it's going."

"Okay okay" Dean says defensively. "Just get it sorted quick okay?"

I nod and wave him away dismissively. I stare at the pages again as I try to concentrate more the writing on the pages turns into black smudges. The white of the page then swirling with the black. I tried to blink and shake my head back into focus but every movement begins to feel more difficult to achieve. A weak feeling spreading across my head and down one side of my arm. I lay my head on the table, the weak feeling taking over along with a sudden intense pain in my head. Waiting for it to pass but it only becomes more intense. I try to get up and walk to the door of the trailer but I feel completely off balance and I fall to the ground.

What seems like a lot of time passes.I stand there watching over my body as the paramedics try to bring me back to consciousness. I watch as I am rushed into hospital. When my Ex-Wife is stood across the room crying out as they call my death the cause of which being a stroke. It's a funny thing death, you contemplate what it'll be like afterwards- heaven, hell, reincarnation all of that stuff. Here I am now just watching over everything.

In the months following my original script get's the green light. As a homage to the great writer 'Andrew Lang'. They think it'll be a success due to my untimely death but unfortunately even still it was a massive box office flop.

See I told you I'm bad at endings, even my own is unfulfilling..... but hey at least I got the green light.