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.