Friday, April 20, 2012

I Quit! I Win!

Mission: Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or "best" scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages is victorious and awe-inspiring and will receive a handsome Script Frenzy Winner's Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact.

Jumped on the ScriptFrenzy bandwagon this year, the timing was right. ScriptFrenzy is associated with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) which you have heard of. That "competition" began as motivation for people to finally write that novel. If people all over are writing, at the same time, and talking about it, that provides community for what can otherwise seem a solitary endeavor.

It also inspires a lot of people to trying creative writing who otherwise would not. You may have your own opinion about whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. I don't see how writing can harm anyone.

Started in 2007, ScriptFrenzy originally had a goal of 20,000 words, but switched to a goal of 100 pages because that is the way people who write scripts measure things. For example, I weigh 20,000 pages. 

Now, it is not yet April 30. And I have not written 100 pages. However, I quit! Thanks to this inspiring challenge, I have created the first draft of what is (currently) a 53 page one-act play in only 20 days. Creating this short work was my goal, and I made it -- so I'm done! And I win!

No, I cannot legitimately claim one of the awesome ScriptFrenzyWinner badges this year. Perhaps next year. But it was an extremely useful exercise, and I liked all the support and encouragement. Best wishes to all those still trying to reach their goal.

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