Courtesy of Joe Wright

All it took was a trip to Toronto to get this project restarted in my head.

I faced the longest drought period with this script, and I swear it's not just me being lazy. I've been giving Armaan so much attention, and it's a completely different mindset than this one. I always maintained that this one would take a few years to complete anyway. I think going to Toronto and being completely taken away by ATONEMENT help get me back in the proper mindset. It's very nearly the same year, that's 1935 and this is 1937, and the same setting; a large mansion in the middle of nowhere. Difference is that one goes into the war and this one sort of stays put. Between that and re-watching PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, I've sort of come up with a new approach to the script. Thanks, Joe Wright.

The biggest problem with the script as it stands is there is no second act; everything is sort of heavy and dead. It's fine if I want to keep her confined in the house, but there has to be ways to really liven up the second act. More importantly, I think I would really benefit from sitting down and coming up with an outline for the story which is something I never, ever do. It's sensible, simplifies things, makes complete and total sense, but I hate doing it. I feel restricted by it. I think I need to force myself to do it just once and see what happens. Perhaps that will be my goal today, to come up with some sort of beginning of an outline for this story. We're going to some gourmet food market in a bit, which is beyond irrelevant, but I'll get started after that.

If I ever actually go through with a single plan I've made, I'll die of shock.