The Year of Challenges: February Report

As I've mentioned, I've given myself a year of Challenges to accomplish. Last month, it was rewriting my pilot script. This month it's finishing my new play. It's the end of the first week of February and I've finished Act One.  Admittedly, I only probably had 18 or so pages to write to finish the end of the Act. But on Monday, Feb 1st I didn't even know what the end of Act One would be. I didn't know how close I was to the end of the act. So now I'm ready to start Act Two. I know where I want it to start. I know where I want it to end (I think). So now I need to figure out how we get there.

Here's the new challenge. I worked on both projects this week. Act One of the play is 76 pages. Act Two will probably be another 50-60 pages. That's not a small play. That's a two and a half hour play with intermission. Listen, not every play can be 90 minutes no intermission. I love those plays. I've written one or two plays like that. Four characters, no intermission. But my last couple plays have been long. And this story is actually two plays I'm thinking. So indulgent.

Okay, that's not the challenge I was talking about. I finished Act One this week. I also got notes on my pilot rewrite. I worked on those notes last night. I'm at the place where I'm ready to start Act Two of the play and the new outline for the pilot. I'm thinking that I'm going to have a rewrite of the pilot done at the end of February. That will be my second Challenge of the month. Is this year turning out to be even more productive than I thought?

Not like focusing on one writing project a month isn't ambitious. But last month I rewrote the pilot. I also did my cleanse. I did very minimal work on the play. This month I'm going to finish the play and finish the pilot rewrite. Next month…

Okay, let's not spike expectations just yet. I need to figure out how to prioritize. That's the overall challenge this month. The main challenge has always been to finish the play. Let's finish the play this week! I'm still percolating on the new scenes of the pilot and how to rearrange some plot points. I need time to think on that. But I'm motivated to get it done sooner rather than later. So let's get that nuts and bolts planning shit done this week while I prep to write the pilot in the last two weeks of the month.

Okay, that's a plan.

I am grateful for friendships with writers.
I am grateful for smart, talented actors.
I am grateful for friends who send me job opportunities.
I am grateful for friends who put me up for jobs.
I am grateful for all the spinning I've been doing this week.