Live(-ish)blogging the ScriptWorks Fling

SW logoWe get the three ingredients for the Fling tonight, and I have to say that this is still one of my favorite writing events. It’s fun to write with the random ingredients, and it’s also fun to be in a competition to get produced in the spring.

There’s a small meetup planned for 6pm tonight at Central Market, where we’ll share the ingredients, and then get to it.

Usually my process is like:

  • mull
  • mull
  • land on a potentially good concept
  • sleep
  • write
  • decide if it’s good by Saturday afternoon
  • edit, write, edit
  • sleep
  • decide if I’ve screwed myself by taking the wrong path and if I have just give up
  • edit
  • edit
  • send

FRIDAY

3:19pm: A glimmer of excitement is in the air!

3:20pm: Oh yeah, back to work…

6:15pm: Here are this year’s ingredients:

1) An object lost 20 years ago is found
2) At least one character must experience a reversal of fortune
3) The play must include a folk dance

7:15pm: Lots of potential with these ingredients. The first two leave a lot of room for almost anything. But that folk dance. That’s tricky. How to really integrate it without it being a throwaway (e.g., “Hey, let’s dance” at the end of an otherwise non-folk-dance-y play)

10:30pm: You could really handle all three ingredients in about a minute, like:

People dance –> an old valuable thing is found –> someone’s rich

Boom.

11:45pm: Ugh, going to bed without any good ideas. Sucky.

SATURDAY

9:01am: Still nothing. What the hell.

10:14am: Okay, how about we start with a dance. Maybe a character is teaching others how to dance for upcoming event, or as part of a class, maybe a way to stay in shape that’s easier than aerobics?

11:35am: Focusing on the found object. First thoughts are obvious things like an old ring, or a map, or something that leads to value.

But… what if it’s something more unusual.

Hmm, how long can vital organs be sustained?

11:45am: Not long, it turns out. I guess finding a frozen kidney after 20 years isn’t valuable.

But what if… what if…

Oh man. I’m thinking brain.

1:51pm: Going ridiculous. Too ridiculous to even say here.

But there is this book, which I’m reading up on…

2:21pm: I’ve had too much coffee. Ugh, jittery.

5:16pm: Late lunch at Soup Peddler. The usual.

On page 4. Going okay. Super silly.

Not sure if that’s okay yet.

6:25pm: This thing is kinda unraveling as I race toward the end.

Too many characters. Too much zaniness for 10 pages.

Gonna read it over again before heading to see The Back Pack’s new one.

SUNDAY

1:08am: Just read over the first draft. Enh…

Night.

1:32pm: Trying to finalize this bad boy. I have a couple of concerns, or maybe three:

  1. It’s possible it’s too silly
  2. I worry it will be seen as politically disrespectful or insensitive somehow
  3. The folk dance still isn’t really an organic part of the story (and I just haven’t been able to figure out how to make that work)

Okay, making a few updates, then will read again…

2:33pm: Getting closer. Getting a little nervous too. Let’s print it out, I guess.

3:20pm: Printing out 8 pages of decent stuff. Off to the store to get a few snacks, then final tweaks, then up to the salon.

4:28pm: Just about there. Last couple of tweaks.

4:48pm: Okay, printed. Zip it up.

 

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