The Script Frenzy voyage has commenced! We've raised the anchor, sailed from the harbor, and are now somewhere out on that vast, churning sea of script. Some Frenzies have already achieved staggering page counts. Others–myself included–are off to a slower start.

Happily, at this point, there are 22 full days left. Even if you haven’t written a single word, you could start today and manage to win by writing just four and a half pages per day. And that, my fellow writers, is more than doable. It's done. Thousands of participants every year start late, and end triumphantly.

Now it's your turn.

You have a story to write, and you promised yourself you'd get it written this April. Wherever you are with your page count, today's a beautiful day to dive in and get caught up. I know for a lot of you, it's been a tough Week One. Whether you're just starting out or flush with pages, I offer you these tips for the week ahead.

1. Read scripts. Scripts are funny beasts that march to the beat of their own drummer. Reading how others have tackled short descriptions and dialogue effectively will help give you ideas and insight that will come in very handy this week. Head to simplyscripts.com or script-o-rama.com and check out the ways in which your favorite movies, plays, and shows tackled the same challenges you're facing now.

2. Let real life be your writing partner. In bashing out 100 pages, most of us are forced to pull off that difficult balancing act between creative work and real life. We know we should be focused on our characters, hurdles, and plots, but life has a funny way of taking the wind out of the sails of creative projects. Since so much of what makes a good story great are the details, you can use some of your non-writing time this week to add spark to your script. Steal a few details from the real "characters" around you. For example, I was walking to my car from a Script Frenzy write-in recently when I saw a young man graffiti'ing up a protective grate surrounding a newly planted tree. He had his hood up to cover his face and was clad from head to toe in a city-like camouflage uniform of all black. He could have walked out of Ocean’s 11 or Mission Impossible–nothing very original or unique there. But then I saw that he was using a silver, glittery pen. I had a pen like that as a little girl. I kept it with my puffy sticker collection. It struck me as funny–here was a scruffy kid breaking the law using something I associated with six-year-old girls. Nice detail, I thought, and wrote it down. It turns out there are great, character-defining details all around us, funny juxtapositions and idiosyncrasies that can help inform your story even when you're not writing.

3. The first draft is just that–a first draft. It will be flawed and that’s okay. If you run into a hole in your story and don’t know yet how to get out of it, just write yourself a note to revisit the issue in May, and keep going right around it. The hole will still be there, I promise, but you will be better acquainted with your story in May and will know what to do. Note it, and move on.

So, if you've fallen behind at page ten or even page one, recommit yourself and continue on. Completing a script is tough, and winning Script Frenzy this month is going to involve some epic creative battles against the forces of procrastination and the demands of day-to-day life.

It's a journey worth making. On May 1, you'll be so glad for all the sacrifices you made to get to that draft completed. Just think of the weight of it printed out in your hands; your accomplishment will be more than worth its weight in gold.

Here at the start of Week Two, I wish you all good luck!

Fill your sails with page after page of creative winds and have fun in the open water of writing! Anchor's aweigh!

Jennifer
Script Frenzy Program Director