We 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:
- It’s possible it’s too silly
- I worry it will be seen as politically disrespectful or insensitive somehow
- 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.
