ScriptFrenzy Update & Freaking the Freak Out

ScriptFrenzy is inching ever closer. I do not, for all intents and purposes, have a complete plot. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete. Reading is helpful. I read the script for the pilot episode of "How I Met Your Mother." I was pleased to see that the finished product was very close to what was written.

Now, I've read interviews and articles about different television shows about how they are still writing, rewriting, and rewriting again as they are filming the episode. I imagine that's true for movies as well.

It makes me wonder, though, how writer's view their scripts for television verses movies. To me, writing for television seems to be like writing a book - a chapter at a time - where everyone gets to see the chapter. So there's no way to overall edit the book, like you normally would. So, continuing with the metaphor, writing/filming a movie would be more like writing it all before anyone gets to see it.

I think writing for television would be interesting though. I feel as if you'd really get to delve in to the characters, and let the audience get to know them as well.

Also, it is my understanding, that are usally several writers on a television series. Ultimately, I think it would be easier, and possibly more fun, to write for television because you'd have people to bounce ideas off of.

****

I have an appointment next month to tour a nearby campus. They have a Movie Making Program. It's a small program, very limited, as far as the amount of people they'll take. One minute, I'm very excited about the whole process and the next I'm sick to my stomach. Going back to school would completely change every aspect of my life and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I'll go to my meeting and go from there.

Wish me luck.

Untitled Writing Post - March 18, 2012

So, apparently, I already suck at this.

I am looking forward to ScriptFrenzy. It starts two weeks from today. I'm not set on a plot yet, and I still have some reading to do before I know for sure what I'm doing.

I've started using Celtx.

So far it's a great program. They make it very easy to write. Everything's there that you need. And when the program is downloaded (for free, might I add) they have programming for many different writing projects.

It makes me very happy.

While I'm learning what I'm doing, I've taken an idea that I've had for a while and trying my hand at scriptwriting. I always thought that it would make a great novel, but I've never tried to write it before so maybe this will work at better.

If not, I'll try again - maybe use it for the idea for Camp NANOWRIMO in June.

I wanted to use my weekly writing blog post to talk about a certain aspect of whatever type of project that I'm currently working on. Unfortunately, I don't have anything picked out. It's been a crazy week and I have been work on a script.

I've been looking into a proper script writing class. I haven't been able to find anything close or exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not really interested in an online class. I would very much like an in person class, even if I had to travel an hour or two once a week. I'll keep looking, but until then, I'll keep researching and writing.

I'm very optimistic about everything at the moment. And that is . . . . nice.

ScriptFrenzy 2012: Step One - Accepting the Challenge

So, it has - rather belatedly, I might add - come to my attention that I need to be writing more - like nearly everyday. It's why I like NANOWRIMO so much. I have a goal - shared with others - to accomplish. I'm apparently not very good with personal goals. So, let's try it again:

Goal One: Participate in Scriptfrenzy. (We'll talk about that in a minute.)

Goal Two: Post something writing related on this blog at least once a week.

Every Saturday might work, too, now that I think about it. Goal Two set!

Now, back to this first goal. I've never written a "proper" script before. I don't count little skits in high school, although they probably should be. There were only ever a few of them and I remember they were pretty well received. They were always for a class project, too, and I can't remember getting a bad grade on any of the tiny skits I wrote during that time. So script writing shouldn't be too difficult. I sort of know what I'm doing.

Right?

Right?

Ha!

I've been doing a lot of reading over the last couple of days - mostly on formatting. I've never read a "proper" script before either. Lucky there's some on the internet that people can read. It's an interesting notion, to read the scripts from movies and television that I've probably watched a hundred times with thinking too much about it.

ScriptFrenzy wants participants to write 100 pages of script. I'm not sure about that, but I'm pretty sure I've just completely talked myself into this. I make no promises. We'll see where it goes.

Challenge Accepted!

Wish me luck.

The End of 2011 Post

So, another year is almost through. I have to say that it's bittersweet. This year hasn't been an awesome year, by any stretch of the imagination. But, still, I wrote, I read, and when it comes down to it, I can say that I'm happy.

I'm at work now (don't tell Bosslady that I'm blogging at work - although she'll probably just laugh), but when I get home I'm going to take a nap, get up and shower, before getting ready to go out tonight. My family and I are going to the bowling alley (my best friend, Poppet, might be going with us. She's not sure). We've been bowling a lot this year and I can tell you my game has significantly improved.

Though I'm pretty tired, so I'm not sure how well I'll do. Yesterday, after getting off work, I met up with Poppet and helped set up and serve at her friend's reception. That was exhausting. And I wasn't planning on having to stay. But, it happened. Everyone was very nice and the reception was decorated beautifully.

I found some prompts that inspired me while on a writing community on LiveJournal. It ran a little dark, but I can honestly say that I'm happy with what I wrote.

I'm still work on The Quill & The Mirror but I have a new story forming in my head that is fighting for attention. We'll see which one prevails.

I hope 2011 was kind to you. Here's hoping that 2012 is much better.

Happy Writing,

Megan

NANOWRIMO 2011: The End

NANOWRIMO is over and this year I can count myself among the "winners."

That seems a little weird to me, though, that with National Novel Writing Month there are winners and losers. The way I see it, if you fell short of the goal and wrote . . . erm, say, 40,000 words, then that is 40,000 words you wrote on a brand new story that you didn't have before. So, if you participated, congratulations on the start of your novel, whether you reached 50,000 words or not.

(Word of advice for those doing NANO: don't used Open Office. Overall, I like the program, but there will be a discrepancy in your work count, so be careful.)

But I won and I ordered the t-shirt. I've never reached the 50,000 word count goal before and I can honestly tell you I was shaking. I was also running sprints in the chat room I was in, so it was doubly nice to have people to celebrate with.

I hadn't planned to even open the document until my birthday, on the 16th of December, but when I got up this morning I couldn't not work on it. (Alert: Double Negative in play.) I have a lot of editing and writing to do before I can even let anyone else read it. The book is currently entitled "The Quill & The Mirror" and I have a feeling it'll stay that way. Yesterday, when I was daydreaming at the bowling alley - yeah, I know, whatever - I came up with an idea for another story using these characters. Will I write it? Maybe. I wasn't planning on working with these characters again, but it's hard to let go.

I've created this world that I've come to love and this is before I've done any editing. Well, I deleted the words I had marked for deletion and went over some spelling and grammar. So, there was a little bit of editing.

I have a lot of work to do, so I'm going to get to it.

Happy NANO, everyone!

Another NANOWRIMO

So, as it turns out, I am a terrible blogger.

Another NANOWRIMO is not only upon us, but almost over. As of this post, I'm at 43,798 words. That's quite a feat for me. I've never done it before. And as proud as I am of myself, I'm freaking out, too. Because at some point, people know will want to read what I've been ranting about for a month.

While I'm totally in my right to say no, I probably won't. But I'll make them wait until what I've written is more organized and together chronologically.

I'm registered on the site, if you would like to add me as a "buddy" over there. Here's the link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/storywriter84

If you are also participating in NANOWRIMO, good luck. If you aren't, then you can ignore this post. Maybe once this beast is more presentable, I'll post something.

Until then (or the NEXT NANOWRIMO),

Megan

November is NANOWRIMO . . .

. . . and it's been kicking my ass.

I spent much of October plotting and taking notes, writing down ideas.

I did really well the first week. I've been pretty lucky because I have a job where I can write at work as long as there isn't something more pressing to do (i.e. - guest at the desk, ringing telephone, etc.)

Today, I forgot my flash drive. So I'm unable to work on the project. I have a backup document in my email but it's a few days old and won't do me much good. I wrote over 3,000 words yesterday. I'll try to write when I get home, to make up for today, but I'm afraid I won't hit the 50,000 word goal.

And that's okay.

Why?

Because the story is crap.

Let me rephrase. The plot is good. The story is crap. I've just been mindlessly writing whatever to up the word count. I've even used a NANOWRIMO plot device this year: The Traveling Shovel of Death.

It's an ingenious idea and I'm quite happy with it. The idea is this: someone dies by shovel. I don't know the origin of it, but it was quite fun to use. It's something I plan to put in next year too, if my story will allow it.

This project will be my longest draft to date, but it won't hit the 50,000 word count by the end of November 30; and like I said, that's okay. It's okay because when I'm done with this draft (whether you consider it draft 0 or draft 1) I'll get to take what I've done so far and . . . fix it.

I'll go back and add details, take out huge, disgusting paragraphs that I wrote when I was hopped up on caffeine and fretting under pressure.

It'll be a relief, quite frankly.

So why do I continue to put myself through this? Because it forces me to write. Sure, I come up with an idea and I work on it for a while, but the inevitable happens: I either get bored with the story or fed up with the characters. It happens every time. And yes, I've been known to go back and work on a story but it tends to get saved on a flashdrive, that I carry around, and there it will stay, collecting virtual dust.

So I've spent nearly the whole of last month putting words on the screen, most of them will be deleted and/or changed by the time I go through it again, after NANOWRIMO.

And that's okay.

Because I was writing.

Happy NANOWRIMO kiddos, let the insanity start all over again next year.