Wow, I can’t believe I’ve let so much time pass in between posts. My scriptwriting endeavors after April never really took off. I didn’t get around to editing Variations…In fact, I didn’t even finish writing Act 1. So I’ve decided to regroup and start working on Variations again. I plan on tightening the focus of the story (that’s going to be a herculean task all on its own), revitalizing some of the characters and their plots, writing the music, basically everything I’ve really needed to do since last April. This is the first time that I’ve come back to a project after so long and actually wanted to work on it again, and I find that really encouraging. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that this show still has a pulse!
The Fifth Year
Only moments ago, I completed the first draft of Variations, which came in at exactly 100 pages. 41 songs, a hard drive crash, and a loss of 43 pages all led to me winning my fifth Script Frenzy. Of course, as I’ve said before, I didn’t go back and rewrite the 43 pages of Act 1 that I lost, but I still counted them. After all, I did do the work, and I think that has to count for something. Now comes the fun part, actually going back and reconstructing the first 43 pages.
All in all, though, this was such a wonderful experience. As I was writing the finale, I was actually feeling a little upset that this was over. Still, though, I’ve got editing to go through and everything, so it’s not like the story and these characters are out of my life forever.
For now, I’m not thinking about the reconstruction or the editing, I’m just reveling in the joy of winning five consecutive years of Script Frenzy!
Endgame
Today, I hit 86 pages total written this month (I’m still including the pages I lost in the crash. I mean, I did write them this month, they still count for Script Frenzy). Anyway, I was looking at my outline just now, I’ve still got about a quarter of Act II left to go. In fourteen pages. I’m starting to think this script may run about 105 pages, which still isn’t bad for a musical libretto. Not nearly as bad as the 150 page scripts I tackled the past two years. Seriously, what was I thinking? 150 pages? That’s, like, a four and a half hour show. August: Osage County is shorter than that.
Anyway, back to this year. Things are going really well, and I’m so excited about writing these last few scenes. Some really fun stuff happens here at the end which I won’t post the details of, but it’s going to be such a thrill to write it. The whole show kind of turns on its head in the last pages of the script, and I can’t wait to tackle the change. All in all, it’s been such a wonderful month and I’m really looking forward to continuing on with Variations!
The Home Stretch
Alright, Thursday I wrapped up my writing session with a grand total of 71 pages written so far. However, this past weekend I’ve been out of town and I haven’t gotten the chance to write, AND I won’t have time to write until tomorrow! Luckily, I have it all worked out right now; I still am aiming at finishing on April 28th, and to do that all I have to do is write 7.25 pages a day. Certainly, it’s not an easy task, but it’s manageable. If I just stick to my guns from here on in, I can tackle this monster. Of course, then I have to tackle the monster of rewriting Act I. I’m trying not to think too much about that right now, but this is one of those moments that I really love myself for handwriting my outlines. Anyways, I’ll go now. I just wanted to check in and start my journey into the final stretch of Variations, Draft 1.
Second Chances
Alright, so it turns out that my hard drive did indeed crash, which means I will have to reconstruct most of Act 1. However, I’ll be tackling that project in May. In the meantime, I’m forging ahead and finishing the script as is. It’s times like this that I really love myself for handwriting my outlines.
I’ve moved on and finished the first two songs of Act 2 today. I did absolutely no writing over the weekend, but only because it was a crazy weekend. Still, I did the calculations, and if I continue at a rate of 5 pages a day I can finish ahead of schedule. Anyway, that’s pretty much the only thing that I have to say right now. I’m still chugging along!
And Curtain!
An entire day ahead of schedule, I’ve managed to accomplish two things; I have reached fifty pages, and I have completed Act 1 of Variations! Unfortunately, with great triumph comes great frustration. I would have been at this point yesterday, had my computer not come up with a message telling me that my O.S. was unable to start. It’s been at home running diagnostics for nearly twenty four hours now, and my father was gracious enough to lend me his computer (smart on his part, since he knows that without my computer I would go insane.). My father is also a computer technician, and he and I looked at the error message and agreed that there was nothing wrong with my computer aside from a corrupt file in my O.S. This means that my documents should not be affected and that I can pull my important files off my hard drive by hooking it up to his computer.
Of course, all this goes down yesterday morning, when I was going to go on and back up my important docs on a flash drive. Variations was amongst those docs to be copied. My luck, of course, I never had gotten the chance to back up the script before the O.S. conked out, so now I’m stuck with the last seven pages of Act 1 that I wrote today on my flash drive, and the first 43 pages stuck on my laptop at home, where I cannot access them. Like I said, though, my documents should be safe, and we’re going to hook up my hard drive this evening and pull my important docs.
On top of all this (because there has to be more), the pollen is finally getting to me, causing sinus drainage, sore throat, all the wonderful crap that spring brings along in its dusty, yellow paws. And because no cake is complete without icing, I have an audition for Big River on Tuesday. Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaat’s right. Oh well, the good with the bad, I suppose!
Keep Moving On
As we come to the end of the first week of Script Frenzy 2011, I stand at 30 pages and ten songs. I’m so thrilled with my progress this week, and I’m quite proud that (with all the other craziness happening in my life right now) I am ahead of schedule. There’s still a good way to go, but I’m confident that these characters will see me through.
In unrelated news, I’ve already come up with an idea for my next project after Script Frenzy. I won’t reveal too much right now other than the fact that it’s titled “The Light in the Lennox House”, it is a dramatic musical, and it takes place in Victorian England. You’ll just have to wait and see how Lennox House develops!
Paint the World
Six days into April and I’m already a fifth of the way through the goal of 100 pages. I’m currently a little bit less than halfway through Act I, which, even though I’m only at 20 pages right now, is alright because there’s still a lot more story to go. The dialogue gets heavier later in the act, and Act II is actually longer overall. Right now, I having seven songs written and I’ll be starting on the eighth tomorrow. Yeah, there’s a lot of music in this show (I think I counted 39 or 40 songs in the outline), so I have a feeling that should fill up a 100 page script. Right now, songs are running me about 2-3 pages, but the further in I get with the story, that’s going to fluctuate. I’m thinking that there are songs later in Act I that could be maybe 4 or 5 pages long, so that could definitely improve the page count.
Anyway, it’s going really well so far. I’m loving this story and the characters are revealing so much about themselves through the writing process that I never knew. It’s been a great experience so far and it’s only going to get better from here!
Into the Words
It’s only 8 days until Script Frenzy 2011 begins and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am! I finished up the outline for “Variations” yesterday and it seems like it’s going to be incredibly fun to write. The characters are so intriguing and I feel this connection with each of them that I think is going to make the process of writing a whole lot easier. So far, that’s really about it. I don’t think I’ll have a lot to blog about until I actually start writing. All that’s left to do, I guess, is start anxiously counting the days until Script Frenzy begins!
“Variations” On My Project
Alright, so I’ve decided to move away from doing a television series and have gone back to an earlier idea I had right after I finished words unspoken. The show is called Variations and follows the story of Claire, an artist who begins to live vicariously through her paintings after her mother dies from cancer. Just when things can’t seem to get worse, the daughter she gave up twenty years ago appears out of the blue wanting to finally know her mother. As Claire envisions a different life for herself on the canvases she uses, the lines between reality and art become blurred. Her relationships with everyone in her life are tested and it seems that everything that she worked to build could come crashing down.
The concept is still kind of rough and will continue to evolve as I work on the outline. In the meantime, I’ve done up a teaser logo:
