"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
-Lewis Carroll
Hi Script Frenzy Writer,
Script Frenzy Program Director Jennifer Arzt here. Welcome to the third installment in the Script Frenzy franchise! It is great to have you participating in the fun this year. I'll be sending you one of these emails each week from here until May 1. We'll also have Cameo How-tos filled with expert advice up on the website throughout the month.
Before you head off to the world of words, here are some numbers to think about:
720: The total number of hours in April.
3.33: The number of pages you need to write per day to hit 100 pages.
60: The number of cups of coffee (or caramel lattes) I plan on having in April.
Okay. Enough with the numbers. We're storytellers.
When I was small, I lived in a blue house with a forest in the backyard. (I've been told it wasn't a forest, but that's how I remember it, and this is my story. So, I had a forest in my backyard.)
My friends and I would play out there for hours and hours making up different adventures. We explored ancient burial grounds, found alien spaceships, crossed the River of Death, and saved the world from the Mean Boys in the Back. As we played, we created stories that were alive and continually shifted. Where a story was at the start of our adventure and where it ended up were very different places.
Your Script Frenzy script will be ever-changing, too. The more time you spend in your adventure, the more you'll understand your characters and the world you're creating. Your story might veer around a hairpin turn you hadn't expected. Your characters might change their minds about what they want. For your Script Frenzy draft, I say follow them. (You'll be amazed at how creative and crafty you are!)
In other words, during your Script Frenzy writing adventure, play.
In order to play, I need you to break-up with your inner editor and burn your perfectionist hat. There is no place for them in April. You can do so much more than you think if you just ignore the imperfections and have fun with the story-finding process.
The scripts we write in April won’t be Hollywood blockbusters or Broadway hits on May 1, 2009. Nope. They’ll be first drafts. And, that's good! It is much easier to get to the final script when there is a draft to work from.
The plan for April is for you to convert your brilliant idea into a story. The Script Frenzy deadline gives you permission to be imperfect–and to play.
I know you can do it!
Here we go, writer! To The Forest!
Jen
Program Director
