Day Fourteen

I'm chugging away at 26 pages wondering how I'm going to slug through the next 50 because I think I've already lost sight of some of the greater themes of my play while taking my machete through the jungle of the dark place which will culminate at the end of act 1, then pick up in act 2 and come through to the incredible ending -- and I'm not sure what that is yet.

I'm trying to keep the themes of ancient Brigid of Kildare -- she multiplied stuff to serve more people. She loved metalwork and fire. She came to power in an offhand way that nevertheless changed her homeland forever. She and her bff Patrick were described as having "one mind, one heart" and were each accused of being frauds by those who were intimidated by them. Those are timeless elements I can bring to my biker gang story.

I know I can do this, but I might sacrifice the win to do it because what I am wrestling with in my play deserves my full effort. NOT that everyone else is not also putting their full effort in.

I have not written a single play in almost 15 years and I am scared and intimidated, yet exhilirated by my choice to press on anyway and give it my all. Maybe I find out I'm not so talented after all. Maybe I fail. I've never given all of myself, my heart, my intellect, my soul to a piece of work before but this time I'm not holding back, and if I can sustain that....in my heart I win. It's harder than I thought...more exhausting...much more scary. But what would be more scary is never really going for it and living my life halfway, held back out of fear.

So, congratulations, Dean. You've definitely inspired me on the road I am on, fighting with plot and dramaturgy, story arc and most of all, me.

I had an IM with my very best friend from those university blackbox years, Tom, who's been my best friend for my whole adult life even though we only communicate every couple of months. My wedding video shows Ed and me at the reception sitting on the gazebo rail talking to Tom for much of the reception.He'll always be part of my life. He does have a character based on him -- an aging rugby player -- in the first play of this series.

I've discovered that Tom (who's pursuing his MFA in visual art) and I need each other for creative inspiration -- like Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Bouvier. Like Wendy Wasserstein and Chris Durang (if you ever saw "The Heidi Chronicles, Peter says to Heidi, "I want to know you all my life. If we cannot marry, let's be great friends." Peter and Heidi were based on Chris and Wendy).

Thank you, thank you, Dean, and enjoy the view from the top of the mountain. I may be stuck in the snow but that St. Bernard will get here soon and I'll be back on my feet, warm and boozy and ready to climb again.

And I gotta say, I'm not much at going to the gym or any regular physical activity that isn't playing hockey, but writing every day, checking in whether I write or not, keeps me in that happy happy place where the writing is a joy! 

Congratulations and keep going!

GO TEAM!

LOL. We all go into that mode on a regular basis I think !

We know you're here and chugging ! :)

Hey Dorothy--thanks so much for the congrats.

It's by all means not finished, but it's nice to have my whole lump of clay in a pretty decent shape.  I know I have to go back and refine, polish, edit, beautify, expand, etc.  but those things are on the downhill side.  But yeah, it's nice to be on top of the mountain.  Especially since I haven't wrtten a full-lengher in quite a while. 

I wasn't sure I could do it, but it was like the planets just aligned and everything came together at the right time.  I am just elated that this came into my life right now.  I really needed it.  It's been (and continues to be) an awesome and spiritually/intellectually awakening experience.  It's like I feel like my creativity was just kind of dripping out of the faucet, but doing this opened the valve and now it's on full blast--and  never want to switch it off!!!

My advice to everyone is, just keep chuggin'!  You can make it.   Knowing that I was in the same boat with all of you helped me a lot.  And I knew we are all in here to support each other. 

Make a date with yourself to write.  I try to write every day.  If I don't I start to feel like something is missing.  It kind of felt tantamount to going to the gym at first.  I felt a little sore after the first day, but I soon shook the rust off and got in a groove.  Then I looked foward to the feeling of having written something at the end of the day.  I could look down at the page and say--"hot damn! That wasn't there yesterday, but by golly it is today!  I created that!  Let'd do some more!"  and that's what kept me going.  If you don't like what you wrote that day, or if I knew there was a problem, I looked forward to fixing it the next day.  Just keep writing, just keep writing, don't stop--sort it all out later. 

Much love,

Dean

WOW !!!!

YOU ARE AMAZING !!!

CONGRATULATIONS !!! Tell everyone on here how it feels so we can try harder !

Phew!  I have a rough draft.  There are some bits I need to go back and re-work, but it's all there!  Woo-hoo! 

I feel like I just had a long work out.  I feel much releieved knowing that it's downhill from here.

Yahoo!!!

Now I get to spend more time urging the rest of you on.  The air is nice and clean up here.  Come on up and join me.  Drinks are on me!

Much love

Dean

30 pages. I've done 17 today. That's crazy for me! I'm so proud of myself, I'm going to pop a lunesta, read some and go to sleep. Good night all and happy writing (yes, I'm old, give me a break, i go to bed at 9 on a friday night--actually it has more to do with usually getting up at 4 a.m. than my age but whatever!).

Argh, babbling! Night!

 I think I'm on page 42... I usually check in right before I do my writing for the day because it helps me feel a little boost of motivation right before settling down to write. It's especially helpful on days like this where I feel discouraged about pretty much everything. Reading about how everyone else is doing is really a big help and keeps me going.

I check in every day because I like to see how the rest of the herd are doing, and it makes me think about my play.  Today, alas, was a lost day, with other chores and paid employment and such like taking up the time.

I am at about page 52, and it's coming together nicely.  I hope to get to it tomorrow, do some work-work on the weekend, then spend some more time on it.

My chiropractor, a lovely woman, recommended going for walks and just getting away from the screen for a while, as I end up hunched over it like a coyote over carrion, snarling if anyone tries to take it away.

Week Two is tomorrow!

eek!

26 pages.

I'm really bad at checking in, but my schedule is pretty bizarre.  I've been working on a play about a man who thinks his house is haunted by the ghost of a murdered woman.  My inspirations for it are the stories "From Beyond," by H.P. Lovecraft, and "Stir of Echoes," by Richard Matheson.

I wrote like a madman for the first eight days, and brought the play to an end, with a page count of 78 pages.  I didn't like the end, so I cut off the last 22 pages and spent the next few days ruminating on it.  This morning I finished it again, with 82 pages.  I like it better this time, and I think it has a better ending, if a little more ambiguous.

I'll be posting it here soon as soon as I can figure out how to do that.

Only the sunday check-ins are mandatory ( or else we come and get you through the internet tubes !!!) , so I think you're fine.

You're fine.

:)

Sorry about the delay.  I just flat out forgot about checking in.  This is my first time participating this, so please forgive me. 
I've written 20 pages so far. 
-James

Oh wait. Sorry. Went into election mode again. Sometimes that switch happens without even thinking :).

But yes, I am writing today. I actually decided to have an early lunch at home (love it when I get to payday and I am already broke) and then head over to the library of the college my boyfriend teaches at. He's going to take me to dinner later, so I thought I would go there and get my writing on. It's fairly quite, there's a nice view from the upstairs of the campus (which is so darn pretty in the fall), there's internet and books if I need help. And it's free! yay free!

i've been doing daily-ish check-ins over in my folder for my play. I'm going to keep doing it there, but I want to let you guys know I am definitely still in the game. 14 pages now! yay!

I hope to double that today. We will see.