We did it! We completed what is now known as “Draft A” – not “Partial Draft A” as I’ve been noting on the title page for weeks now, but full blown “Draft A”! It’s a mess. It’s a stumbling, sloppy, tripped-up mess, in need of a good bath and a shave, but there’s a real sense of accomplishment knowing we have 41 pages of script, and that for a 50-minute one-act, that’s probably about 10 or 12 pages too long.
Next will come a slightly tougher part – deciding what to keep, what to cut, what to add and what to move from point A to point B in an attempt to make the story, not only clear and interesting, but to also have that thing, you know…that, um…whatchacall “dramatic arc”. That’s where the real story-telling comes in to play.
It seems we also may have decided on a title too. I’m happy with it and it’s growing on me. My writing partner says it’s growing on her too. We seemed to agree on “yes, let’s go with that” but she had come up with some ideas that I want to review before I close that door. It’s my way of avoiding the questions of “what if…” down the road, and trying to be decisive in my decisions. Thoroughness.
So next:
- edits, rewrites and further draft versions
- a reading with friendly, professional actors and directors, who will give us some feedback (yikes)
- auditions
- more re-writes…..
Let’s just stop there. That takes us up through the next three weeks.
The burst of creative energy this project has given me over the past two months (? – when did we start writing?) has been just what I needed, and makes the day-job world a much more tolerable place. I’m only happy inside when my creative spirit has an outlet.
The Man In The Yellow Hat Lives Here 