Screenplay Success

On Saturday, I finished a rough draft of my first-ever screenplay. I was late to my 4:30 p.m. soccer game as I kept putting more words into the computer so I could say, really say, that I had finished it on Saturday like I'd planned. By Saturday night, I had remembered five things that I forgot to put in it, and came up with one set of scene sequences that I'm going to have to figure out how to include. But never mind. I finished the thing! I really did.

This week I will amend and add, tweak and rewrite. But I'm feeling really good about the accomplishment.

I love that the product evolved out of me fairly quickly. It took about a month. The idea only came to me on about March 10 - I started writing it about a week later - that is a lot to put together in a short period of time.

I love, too, that it is a screenplay. I miss the novel form a little bit. Not able to do narration like I did in the baseball novel, which can be so fluid and caring to the topic. But there is something about recording all those conversations that go on in my head... Using pithy one-liners, creating moments of awareness simply through other people's conversations that feels magical....

And for as start-and-go as this month has been - for as frustrating as the evolution of the story line has been now and then - I think I have never been so happy at my work as I have been this past month, writing this screenplay. Not in such a sustained way. I love the law. But this - just made me happy. Content.

I think it was the freedom of writing every day, or not writing as it turned out for some days. Every so often I'd think - what about money, how will I ever earn the money to support this writing habit - and then I'd realize - I didn't have to worry about that just yet. Soon. But not yet. I just needed to write this, and write it now, and let it evolve, and let get through to its own natural end. And then do that twice more, so I have three screenplays ready to go...

After I edit this week, I will give the product to my writing group, and then get it to Paul Castro (my instructor from the screenplay writing seminar). And then I will make plans of what to do. So it is finished but it is not complete, as I am also just beginning the next stage. Nonetheless - I think it's good. It's sort of a murder mystery with grace. And I like it. So I'm happy and willing to celebrate this moment. The next moment will be along in its own time. But this moment is its own celebration.

Oh, and yesterday? I spent the whole day resting and napping. I was tired!