Sam: This is it.
Frodo: This is what?
Sam: If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been.
Frodo: Come on, Sam. Remember what Bilbo used to say: "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
The Fellowship of the Ring, based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hello Script Frenzy Scribe,

Welcome to the just-past-midway point!

I think this is the most challenging place to be. You have come so far already, but there is a big gap between you and the end, and that gap can look like a sea of quicksand.

If Script Frenzy were a movie, this is the point where the hero is broken, lost, and only has one shoe. Just when it looks like it can't get any worse, her backpack is stolen.

BAM! Lightning cracks! Thunder growls. Cue Hollywood-sized raindrops.

But the credits don't roll. Nope. The hero keeps going. She finds a second shoe to wear, even though it is a size too small. She huddles in a doorway, dries off, and finds a lucky penny.

Grandson: Has it got any sports in it?

Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

Grandson: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.

-The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Greetings scribe!

In Week One, we were all about setups and introductions. Sets were elaborate. Characters were witty and glamorous. That part of scriptwriting is my favorite because anything is possible. The beginning holds the promise of a story. And that setup is so fun to jump into and play around with.

Then, we hit the story.

Off to a slow start? I am!

I'm on page three and a half. That is a full six and a half pages behind. I'm not worried, though, because you know what we've got sitting right in front of us?

(Besides the computer you are reading this on…)

A weekend! The first weekend in April 2009.

To be on track by Sunday night, we should be at page 16.66. What do you say we use this weekend to get on track?

The goal: Get to page 15 by bedtime on Sunday.

Are you with me?

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One can't believe impossible things."

"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.

Hi Script Frenzy Scribe!

I'm Jennifer Arzt, the Script Frenzy Program Director. We are in the final hours of March. And that means April, the best month for scriptwriting, is nearly here. I'm so excited I can hardly sleep.

We've got a Scriptwriting Trek in front of us, and I'm here to share the plan with you.

Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.
~Pablo Picasso

If you're signed up to get Pep Talks emailed directly to you, this one will be delivered via owl post later today.

Dear Script Frenzy Participant,

We are in the home stretch my scriptwriting friends! You have made it through the hardest part of the Frenzy, and the great FADE OUT is around the corner.

If you've crossed into the latitudes beyond Page 70, your journey is nearly at an end. You're likely typing away leisurely from some shipboard hammock, enjoying the light breeze on your laptop.

Like most Frenzies, I'm many, many leagues away from that hammock. I'm four days behind schedule, still trying to right my page count from the storms that have blown me off-course these last few weeks.

Calvin: "You know, Hobbes, some days even my
lucky rocketship underpants don't help."
~Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

Dear Script Frenzy Participant,

I can't believe we're already halfway through the Frenzy! What is even more astonishing to me are the people popping up on the Script Frenzy site with over 100 pages. The lesson, especially for those of us stuck below 50 pages, is that you can do the whole enchilada in two weeks.

Just in case that didn’t sink in, let me say it again. People have written 100 pages in 15 days. Though I don’t know each and every participant personally, I can tell you that our rigorous screening process did not reveal a single participant who was also a registered superhero. These folks are just like you and me. We can do this.

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless
he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."
~Andre Gide

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.

If you're signed up to get Pep Talks this one will be delivered personally to your inbox with zing later today.

Dear Script Frenzy participant,

Tonight—as the second-hand waves goodbye to March and hello to April—a couple wonderful things are going to happen:

In the future–in the very near future–this will be the cozy home of the Script Frenzy 2008 Pep Talks.

What's a Pep Talk? I'm glad you asked! Pep talks are friendly emails from me to you during the month of April. We’ll be going on the 100 page adventure together and I’ll be checking in with you along the way with words of encouragement, coffee requests if you live in the San Francisco area, and general scriptwriting musings.