Script Frenzy 2009

[mindglitter]

caitlin and my Script Frenzy crossed the finish line at 105 pages, and I'm trying to put together the parts I wrote for validation at NaNoWriYe.

It was an interesting experience, but it's not one I think I'll be repeating.

There was a time when I was actually aware of how to write a screenplay. I was thirteen, and a single one-act play took over my life for the better part of a year. I did actually enter a contest, and I did actually do well. I got to the national semifinals, and if I had won, would have gotten a scholarship to Marymount Manhattan. Considering where my interests ended up laying in later years, I think I'm glad I did not get it, but at the time, it was a crushing blow to have lost that competition after getting so far. It was a good experience, but in retrospect, I'm not sure it really prepared me to do the full ScriptFrenzy experience the way I thought it would when I started the project.

I will admit, when caitlin suggested it, I was less than thrilled. However, once I had time to think about it (and since I was unemployed during this period, I had a little too much time on my hands) I decided I wanted us to do it. I threw in full-tilt, spent the next little while tossing ideas back and forth, trying to decide what to do... and I suggested the universe she wrote her last NaNoWriMo in.

It was, and remains, a good universe to do screenplays in. And it looked a simple enough task.

The problem was that there didn't seem to be enough time during the month to get everything done, and I had time more than caitlin did. There were many parts that were shiny and pretty and popped in my head separate from the parts of the novel she had created originally. It is a new universe, and there's a lot going on, so there was plenty of room to grow. However, it seemed that I was falling further and further behind many days, and only caught up due to a couple of 10+ page writing sessions near the end of the month.

I was, and continue to, feel the world. However, as time went on I was not feeling the format. I could see things in my head, but there were many aspects that I would have otherwise written had I not been trying for the screenplay.

There was at least one aspect of ScriptFrenzy that I enjoyed. The chance to do collaborative fiction with my primary collaborator. And I'm still wishing for NaNo to have that particular aspect to it. We have discussed potentially trying to find a way to get that to work, and we probably will. As it is, she's still nice enough to allow me to play around in the universe even now that Script Frenzy is over.

In short: it was nice, but can I have my prose (purple or otherwise) back now?