I've chosen not to talk about the unmitigated disaster that was this years Script Frenzy up till now, because it was indeed a disaster. My initial script failed to take off like I'd hoped, and the thought of finishing it to the end made me sick with boredom, so I pulled out an old idea, and got crackin'. I did well, and I was excited with the prospect, but then reality set in, and I realized I needed to be focusing my time on my spec episode. So, I wrote that instead, but even in the middle of that, nagging story issues and a premise that just wasn't holding water led me to the very exciting (but depressing at the time) conclusion that I needed to start anew. So I did, and right now, I'm on the path to full recovery. But, not before the end of April. Sad face indeed.
100 pages is a fantastic goal for one month, and very doable. I don't doubt that. I think I'll just have to dub June my own personal Script Frenzy, so that I can get something finished.
As for next year, I suspect I'll tackle it as such: preparation. Script Frenzy seems to put the emphasis on "just write something!", and while that's fun and all, it's not conducive to even first draft quality writing for me. I'm a perfectionist, even at the earliest stages, so if I'm forced to continue on with a terrible story, just for the sake of a fake writing contest, I'm going to go crazy, first draft or not. So, it has been decided by me, and myself, that come next year, I will prepare more earnestly beforehand to establish a feature-length idea that is not only interesting for 100 pages, but also fully-formed in my head, and more importantly, on paper.
Thus it has been decreed, and so shall it be.
2 comments:
Nooooooooooooooo!!!!
So sad for your story because it will never be told! Just kidding, it will be, just not this month.
I for one will encourage and cheer you on in June.
What TV spec were you working on?
At least you were able to do some writing. I remember last year I jumped into it without a real outline or goal and the end result was a few weeks late and obviously unstructured. It was still fun though and it made me write - which for me was the challenge. To get myself to actually type something out is my greatest hurdle.
I think that deadlines are good, but you shouldn't fry your creativeness because of them. I learned that last week when I had a panic of writer's block - only because of an impending deadline.
Anyway, good luck to you sir and let me know how it goes.
-E
Last year I only wrote like ten pages before giving up... 100 pages seemed to be impossible.
I think there were a few things that helped make it work this year:
- I had a writing partner. This meant that I could count on getting someone else to help. It also meant I had to hound said person to get his portion done.
- I'd finished a feature length screenplay just prior. This meant that I've done it before and I knew I could do it again.
- Even if you're writing by yourself, it's only three pages a day. Something that helped Eric and I who didn't always get around to that challenge, was to do days where we did six pages each. We always felt a lot more accomplished, and it gave us days off.
Normally I'm a perfectionist plan everything out to a tee (you read our outlines for Gilliam Effect), and when you read the script that we just finished it shows. It's awful, but it's done.
You'll do well next time. Just remember it's just a fun goal to encourage writing. Nothing serious.
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