The Year of Challenges: March

It's the middle of March. Actually, it's the 17th. St. Patrick's Day. I have two weeks left of this month and I am not anywhere near a script for the pilot. I have been working my outline like crazy.

I also have two day jobs right now. I'm teaching. And I'm staffed on a web series. I'm producing a night of theatre for my students. And I just finished coordinating a Play Rewrite Challenge for my theatre group.

I've decided to say no to applying for another writer's group. I've had to postpone a reading that was supposed to happen in April…to May. I'm nervous about getting that done. And now I have a new manager (more on that soon), so there's even more work to be done.

This month's challenge was supposed to be a non-writing Challenge. Like Yoga. Or Hiking. The way this year of Challenges is turning out, it's not going to be that. Maybe my Challenge this month should be to get some sleep. I'm sure that will be an upcoming non writing Challenge. I have to finish this new pilot rewrite by the end of the month. I'm seriously uncertain if this will happen But it needs to because I need another sample to have in case I need it for something.

I've thought about abandoning the Challenges because the point of them was to stay productive. But work has taken care of that. I still think it's important to do my own work while still getting paid for other stuff.

If March's Challenge is a final draft of this pilot.
Then April's will be the play rewrite for the reading.
And May's Challenge will be a new pilot idea suggested by my manager.
Then I'm leaving shit open-ended.
June could be the play rewrite of the play I just finished if I have nothing else to do.

But in the spirit of keeping the path open and making sure my launching pad is clear (this is an idea that worked very well for me earlier and I believe helped make room for the web series job), I am not going to plan anything else for the rest of the year. I'm leaving room for work to start filling those voids.

But at that point I will have rewritten a pilot, written a new play, rewritten that pilot again, rewritten an old play, started a new pilot and rewritten the play I started in February. That's literally a script a month. And it will result in working on three scripts in six months. Plus the two scripts I'm getting paid to do.

Holy shit. That's amazing. I can't complain. I'm working at a breakneck pace.

And then maybe sleep. Somewhere. Somehow.

I am grateful for the rest I do get.
I am grateful for peace and quiet.
I am grateful to have money in my pocket to make plans with friends.
I am grateful for the good things that have happened.
I am grateful for the love of friends and family I have.
I am grateful that I have some peace and quiet. 
I am grateful that I'm seeing some very good playwright friends next month.

The Year of Challenges: February Recap

When I started out in January thinking about giving myself one new Challenge a month, I had no idea how much work would be coming my way. I'm still committed to getting one Challenge done a month, I'm not going to slow down. The original idea was to stay productive. Last month, I got staffed on a web series and that's keeping me busy. I'm writing my first episode this month. And my second episode next month.

In the middle of that I completed my February Challenge. I finished a new play. It's 107 pages. I gave this whole diatribe in a blog post last month about how long this play was going to be and how it was really the first of two plays. I no longer believe that. I went off on intermissionless plays. I heard it read two weeks ago. It's going to be a play without an intermission. I'm restructuring it that way.

I'm amazed at how people are reacting to the new play. I spent eight months last year working on a new play. I had a series of readings and a workshop. Then I sent it off everywhere for development. I didn't want to be obsessing with what was going to happen to it out in the world. So I decided to write a play I had been thinking about since April 2015. And four months later, I finished it. In that amount of time I've worked on two pilots.

With the 61 pages of the pilot I rewrote in January and this play at 107 pages, my page count for the year so far is 168 pages. I've got a lot more to do this year.

I have a play reading in May, so I'll be rewriting another play.
I want to make some minor changes to the new play so I have something ready to be read by the theatre company whose writers group I'm in. The moderator of the group I'm in seems to be really into it.
Then maybe there will be some play development stuff going on with the play I wrote last year and maybe even a production. So I expect my page count will be going up.
I have rewrites of the pilot from January that I need to do. I'm tightening up my outline now.
I'm teaching and grading plays.
I'm getting ready to produce an evening of theatre in April.
There's a shit ton going on.
But I did say I wanted to be busy this year. I am busy.

So right now I'm 2 for 2. I didn't get the secondary challenge of finishing another rewrite of the pilot in February. That's being pushed to this month. More on that…

I am grateful for every word I type.
I am grateful that the work keeps coming.
I am grateful for the new challenges that have come my way.
I am grateful for the new friendships I have made at work.
I am grateful for my students who continue to challenge me.
I am grateful for everything good in my life.