Doin’ Work
My credit card just got a $30 hit from the Austin Film Festival so that must mean they received my 30 Rock script. And now the waiting.
I worked hard on this script. I probably did ten outlines and a couple of treatments, though only the final treatment came close to coherent.
Sitting frustrated at my desk at work I decided to imagine that Tina Fey– whoa, you usually don’t want to finish reading sentences that start like that– called me up and asked me to pitch my episode in as much detail as possible. So with a cramping hand I scrawled four pages. There it was, a complete episode with A, B, and C stories.
The next day I made this:
Over the next week post-its gathered like moss while I banged out a couple of pages per day. Then one afternoon, without premeditation, I sat down and didn’t get up until I had written the last 20 pages or so. My ass was numb, it was completely dark, and my dog was annoyed.
For a while I thought it was my best work yet, but now I’m not so sure. I keep thinking that it could have been funnier. Jokes keep popping up that I could have used, but oh well. My work is over now.
I sent it out to three contests: Script PIMP, Scriptapalooza, and Austin Film Festival.
It’s going to be a long summer.
03.17.09The Plan #2: Celebration! I finished a first draft!
And I am exhausted. In a manic fit I did some final revisions for my first draft of a 30 Rock spec and sent it off to a friend. I couldn’t sleep at all after it was finished, and I was literally shaking as though I’d just managed to lift a Buick over my head. Seriously, someone should have thrown one of those foil blankets over my shoulders and given me a Power Bar and a Gatorade. Writing is hard. But today I feel refreshed and free like the first day after finals, or…spring break.
Of course, this also means it’s time for a new script. Where to go from here? Well, this was really just my third script ever. I’ve written some short scenes, sketches, then I wrote my Office spec, then I wrote an Earl spec that was a real dud, and then I’ve got this 30 Rock spec that I think is effing brilliant. So now comes the scary part. I have to wave goodbye to all those “found” characters and wander off into uncharted territories with the hope of meeting some interesting people. Yep, I’ve got to write an original. So I’ll be digging through my notes and fragments and trying to piece something together. Hopefully I’ll find the next Beverly Hills Cop, wish me luck!
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