Nothing earth-shattering here, and I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences, but I was once faced with a challenge that felt insurmountable: I had to write a full-length play in a very short period of time. It was one of those “Where do I even start?” situations.

I had the basic premise, which I had agreed on with the other members of the production team, but that was it. So, what I decided to do was think about the total number of pages I needed for a full-length play (it very roughly works out at around a page a minute of stage time) and then divide that number by the number of days I had to complete it. So, for a full-length play, I would need between 90–120 pages, and, if I had ten days to write it, that meant writing 9 to 12 pages a day.

Then, I just made sure that I completed the necessary number of pages each day, without fail. I would then go over the pages I had already written the next day before getting to work on that day’s set of pages.

So, what I learnt from that is that if you split something difficult or overwhelming into smaller, manageable chunks, it’s not so daunting and can build into something impressive.

“Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land.”

Samuel 

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Key phrases and vocabulary

• Earth-shattering – 衝撃的な・非常に重大な

Extremely surprising, important or significant.

• Nothing earth-shattering – 特に驚くようなことではない・大したことではない

Something that is not particularly surprising, important or revolutionary.

• Insurmountable – 克服できない・乗り越えられない

So difficult that it seems impossible to overcome.

• Where do I even start? – いったいどこから始めればいいの？

A phrase used when you feel overwhelmed because there is so much to do or consider.

• Premise – 前提・基本設定・構想

The basic idea or situation on which a story, play or other work is based.

• Very roughly works out at – おおよそ〜になる・大体〜くらいになる

Used to say that a calculation or estimate is approximately a particular amount.

• Without fail – 必ず・欠かさず

Every time, without exception.

• Go over – 見直す・復習する・確認する

To examine or review something carefully, especially something you have already written or studied.

• Daunting – 気が重い・ひるませるような

Making something seem difficult, worrying or intimidating.

• Manageable – 対処可能な・無理なく扱える

Something that is difficult but still possible to deal with or accomplish.

• Build into – 積み重なって〜になる

To gradually develop or grow into something larger or more impressive.

• “Little drops of water, little grains of sand…” – 小さなものの積み重ねが大きなものを作る

This famous line comes from Little Things, a poem by Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney (1823–1908). The poem uses drops of water and grains of sand as a metaphor for how small things can gradually combine to create something much greater.