So, I decided to call it quits on the script. My first official participation year and I decide to label it DOA or at least put it on pause while I get up for a glass of water. It's not because I'm blocked. Okay, part of me is. I've hit a wall. The script should be a short story. Like, 30 pages short story. Not 100 minutes of screen time. Oh well. The main reason I wanted to hold off on the script is that, well, I have very active muses who dance up and down in front of me saying "please look at me! I want to be written! Please! Pretty-pretty please!" Well, Kirby wasn't. He's been my busy little muse (I think he's taken Grant's place?! --BTW, yes, I name my muse after their most memorable role in my world. This one has had several names--Kirby, Pit, Pep, Pip...but he's always known as Pipe in my heart). Kirby was a quiet, always constant, peeking around the corners at me so I knew he was there all along.
He just wouldn't fit into my script. He wouldn't and neither would any of the other muses who have skipped circles around me (they're pretty jolly, aren't they, those muses). So, my script was kind of halted because 1. I couldn't figure out what to do with the characters and 2. I was meeting a lot of other characters that needed their own stories. So, I moved to another story. Actually, the novel I was working on before April. Which came first? The script story. But regardless, the characters are still solid, they can hold off. But, after a new muse finally decided to calm down and settle in that story (after trying to give it it's own story that was mostly a series of moments) and not deciding to jump into my script, I decided to novel instead of script.
Well, that's not happening. Now, I'm kind of giddy again. Just the thrill of writing, the excitement. It's like playing house, honestly. Or like playing with dolls. I swear, that's how I got into writing. I grew up from playing house (or "soap opera" as we got older) and Barbies. Daydreaming needed to be documented and stories just happened.
But here is the email I received this afternoon that really jump-started my script mojo.
Kind of exciting.
I am SO GLAD to have these people in my life!
Dear Scriptwriter,
How's it going! Sandra invited me to contribute a guest pep talk this week, and her timing is perfect because I just got a letter that I need to talk to you about. The letter contains a petition about Week Two of Script Frenzy. And it was written and signed by all the characters in your script.
Weird, right?
Anyway, your characters asked me to pass along their concerns because they were too scared to do it themselves. The actual petition is scrawled on what looks to be a bar napkin, and I agreed to transcribe their list of demands and email them to you. Here goes...
1) They would like to wear capes more often. (This one seems negotiable.)
2) They sense that you are starting to struggle with them a little bit, and they swear that by page 30, they will be more interesting (and funnier!). They've really just been finding their footing this first week, and now that they're loosened up, they promise to blow your mind. Razzle-dazzle! Jazz hands! It's all coming your way this week.
3) {Illegible} (Dinosaurs? Binoculars? I can't really read this one.)
4) They would like to hang out with you this weekend. No pressure! And just for 10 pages or so. They say they have a surprise waiting for you.
5) Your main character would like to let you know that the on-set catering company you've hired to feed them puts out deli trays that frequetly skimp on the ham.
6) Your minor characters suggest that if you want to kill someone off this week, it would be MUCH more unexpected and powerful to kill off your main character.
7) The whole cast wants to express the fact that they love you, and that you are pretty much their only hope for playing a part in a completed script, and that playing a part in a completed script is something they've dreamed about since they were kids. Back then, their parents discouraged them from hanging around writers, saying it would lead to nothing but heartbreak. But look at them now! They're in a script that will be completed THIS MONTH! It's such a dream come true, and they can't thank you enough. Again, no pressure.
8) In closing, your main character would like to repeat the point about the ham.
Good luck on Week Two! I'm right there with you!
Chris
Fellow Script Frenzy writer and
Executive Director, the Office of Letters and Light
- Mood:creative
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