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November 2010
5th Grade Plays Done!
All our plays are done, but I cannot finish typing them in order to upload them tonight. I will upload them, drafts though they be, as soon as I can! They worked in groups of 4 and 5, so there are 15 short plays altogether by the 10 and 11 year olds. I will post the ones I typed up so far!
The First Time
I finished my first full-length play ever and I want to give my thanks to NaPlWriMo, my will, and strength. Man, I'm ready for next year now!
Finished!!!
It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted in here. Thanksgiving (and the lead-up to it) was a lot more disruptive than I anticipated. I actually didn't think I was going to get my play finished. This was after I started it three weeks ahead of Nov. 1.
BUT, I managed to pull everything together for a late fourth quarter rally, and I am happy to announce that I finished my very first full-length play a mere five minutes ago! HOORAY FOR ME!!!
And let me tell you: it is not very good. A bad first draft, if ever there was one. But I couldn't care less. I got it done. And now I have something to work with so I can make it better and turn it into something.
In other words: it's Miller time.
Congrats to all you other Rhinos out there on the last leg of your writing marathon. Keep it up, folks - you can do it!
Day 30: Tuesday, November 30 DAY THE FINAL!
FAITH
Dear BZ:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." --II TIMOTHY 4:7
No doubt about it, more important than the race and the fight is faith. Whatever that means, spiritual or otherwise, It's crucial to keep the faith. Never stop believing.
Faith requires discipline and a lot of imagination.
ADS
Baltimore, Maryland
September 2003
(Letters to a Young Artist, Anna Devere Smith, page 173)
I may have posted this before, but it's worth repeating today when we have 18 hours left in National Playwriting Month. Fighting the good fight and finishing the race are good, but you all have kept the faith. You've kept the faith in yourself as a writer and a person to be able to finish, and YOU DID IT!
If you haven't finished yet, you can still make it! Just keep writing!
And if you don't make it, don't feel bad. This is a hard thing to accomplish. Life happens, and sometimes plays aren't ready to be written. Don't be hard on yourself. Just show up next year. Hell, show up tomorrow and continue to work. Just because you didn't finish in November doesn't mean you can't finish in December. So just keep working!
What to do when you cross that magic page number
First, give yourself a big old pat on the back. YOU JUST WROTE A FULL LENGTH PLAY IN 30 DAYS! That's a hell of a thing. Srsly. CONGRATS!
Second, go here and upload your play. Don't worry, your work will stay your own. We don't have you upload your work so we can steal it. We want you to upload it so it's available for your fellow Rhinos to read and to verify that you actually did finish!
Third, treat yourself. This is a major accomplishment! Congrats again.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or post below.
2010 winners
2010 Winners.
Congratulations!
melodrameric
Kchandler
solarcirclegirl
standp
CanCanElf16
Teacher Rachel
nytheatremike
Winner Archive
Day 29: Monday, November 29th
HELLO!!!
I hope everyone out there is jazzed that it's nearly the end of the month! I am so excited to see everyone's progress and we even have a winner!
I am going to make this short--keep going! You guys can make it. You've made it this far! And break a leg in the next day or so!!
Sunday Check in #4 AND FINAL ZOMG THERE'S TWO DAYS LEFT November 28th
We're getting down to the final 48 hours. I know at the beginning I NEVER think this day will get here, and then I hope it will never get here, and then it's finally here and I'm like AIEEEEE! So much to do so little time. And you're in good company:
"Although writing has been my job for several years now, I still have to fight for time in which to do it." J K Rowling
Today I have a message and a question.
First, the question: WHERE ARE YOU IN YOUR PLAY?
Second, the message: WRITE WRITE WRITE!
Carry on!
3 Days to Go
We talk a lot about how difficult writing is here.
We talk about doubt. And fear.
We talk about the challenges - finding time to write, getting life to cooperate, confronting the blank page, ignoring the editor.
We talk about those things as a way of acknowledging a shared experience.
Because sometimes when you're in the process of writing, it can feel very lonely. And sometimes it has to be that way. I know that I feel that right now. The play I'm writing is working on me and I want to isolate. Just be with it and listen to it and not have to pay attention to anything else. Sometimes that isn't possible. But I'm realizing that I need to make more time to listen. To let my mind wander. Because that's part of the process too.
We acknowledge the difficulty, the challenges, the doubt and the fear because in one way or another, those are the elements of the process we share. And it's nice to know that you're not alone that way.
As we head into the last three days though I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about fun and enjoyment. Pleasure. For all the doubt, fear, difficulty and frustration - oh the frustration - there's a reason we show up and write. For me, it's because there's a twisted sort of pleasure in going through this.
I enjoy writing. When I'm writing I know who I am. Or learn more about who I am. What the world looks like and how I think it functions. Or how I wish it were. Or words. Words. Words. I love them. And there is joy in letting them move through me and onto the page. I forget who I am. There is relief from all the noise. A satisfaction in thinking it all through or not thinking at all, only writing. To rip it all out like a new bleeding heart. Or a fluffy bunny. Or whatever it is that is revealed. I enjoy it all.
May you enjoy these last three days. May your fingers be nimble and the words free flowing. And a few last words: Trust yourself. You are the foremost authority on your play. It is your world. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. (paraphrased from Volataire who paraphrased it from an Italian book about Dramatic art or so the rumor goes) Don't judge. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Day 27: Saturday, November 27, EON-3 Days
Three days left, Rhinos! Where are you in your progress?
Here's a lovely little poem I found to keep you going.
Don’t Quit! When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
when he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst, that
You Must Not Quit. - C. W. Longenecker
Rhino Love
Naplwrimo runs on love, sweat and your generous help.
Thank you to our donors!
Machelle Allman, Holly Arsenault, Will Bond, Karen Chandler, Michael Lee, Leslie Liautaud, Jeff Mackey, Maggie McAleese, Marian McNamee, Marla Porter, and all our anonymous donors.
