20,000 Words in Twenty Days

Script Frenzy.

Nailed it.

Best … contest … ever.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not the title claim itself. Made the 20,000 word quote in twenty days, but completed the first draft of Doc On Loan today. It ways in at a heft 27, 885 words (or 155 pages, fully formatted). To give you an idea, the rule of thumb is one page of script for one minute of movie, bringing this bad boy in at two hours and thirty-five minutes of hilarity. WAY too long, especially for a comedy (which are generally recommended to be shorter than two hours).

(Conventional wisdom suggests that scripts be between 110 and 120 pages, with some sources citing 117 pages as an ideal page count … why that number?).

Anyway, I got a certificate for my Script Frenzy accomplishment, suitable for framing or at least keeping hidden in my desk drawer somewhere.

Several things came out of this exercise … first, such a feat can be done (and I proved to myself it could be done and still live my normal life). Second, I really enjoy the self-motivation and challenge to complete the contest. Third, I REALLY love screenwriting. I may be the most successful screenwriter in Hollywood, but I feel confident I could hold my own in the prolificacy department.

What's the future hold for Doc On Loan? I'm taking a two week sabbatical on it and will be working on other projects. Then, I'll be editing the first draft with the goal to cut thirty-five pages by September 30 (I have a vacation in mid-August which will encroach on my editing time for several days). By the end of October, I'll have it posted on Inktip.com.

As far as other writing projects, it's back to my short stories … the one in progress is "Bones Under the Bed." I need to complete a few more for the collection and my goal to have all of them edited and ready for inclusion in the book's first draft is by November 1st. February 1st is the target release date.

On the screenwriting front, I still have Original Idea to start outlining as well as Thirty Years, my first drama. I'm trying to decide which one I want to write first, with the goal to write that script's first draft in a month as well … perhaps starting as early as July 7th.

With the non-fiction writing, I need to start writing articles for American Chronicle again. I have to admit I enjoy writing fiction much more, but it's good to do non-fiction, too, if for anything else, the satisfaction of getting something published on a regular basis.

I'd love to go back to outlining some of my novels in progress, with the ideas of writing one of them for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, sponsored by the same people who sponsored Script Frenzy). That will happen in November. If I have a proper outline by then, I think I can churn out 80,000 words in 30 days.

I have a few other ideas on breaking into other genres, too. More on that later.

So, it's no rest for the wicked, I'm afraid … and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Have a creative week, all …

Michael

Writing on the Road

I just returned from four days away, so this will be a fairly short post. Not only that, but I've pretty much eschewed all writing since last weekend except for Doc On Loan for Script Frenzy and the blogs I write. No American Chronicle articles, no "Bones Under the Bed" (my latest short story) … just me facing 20,000 words by June 30th.

I'm happy to report that I have over 12,000 words logged on Doc On Loan, thanks to the long plane trips and time in the hotel waiting for my wife to wake up (she's a heavy duty sleeper, especially when traveling). I credit a lot of this production to spending time in the early part of the week writing out the scenes all the way until the end. As much as I was hoping I could just write it from start to finish from my head, with all the characters I was introducing and the multiple story lines, I was getting confused.

I figure I'll finish this by June 30th, edit it through the month of the July and then post it on Inktip.com by August 1st.

Meanwhile, I came up with a great screenplay idea on my trip and already started writing out key scenes and dialog. After the first draft of Doc On Loan is completed, I may put this new one ahead of Original Idea. Strike while the iron is hot, I always say! Anyway, I'll reveal more about that one sometime down the road, but the working title is Thirty Years.

Nothing more than that to report, folks … have a great week to all of you (including those now residing on one of our islands in the Pacific).

Michael

PS Happy Father's Day to all the papas out there.