The (relative) calm before the Frenzy.

Lately, I've been having some major anxiety. I keep getting that feeling that I'm forgetting something. Then I remember: April is only a few days away, and all I really have is an idea. The idea is fairly promising (I wrote about it in an earlier blog post, for those interested), and it even has some potential to become more meaningful than I first thought. But there's that lurking, rookie feeling that I'll never reach 100 pages in 30 days.

So far my process has consisted solely of imagining and then creating deep and realistic characters. Because of that, it's also the only part of my script that I've started. I have a lengthy character list that instinct is telling me to cut down, which is proving rather difficult. However, I figure I'm going to take the "only write during April" rule quite literally and leave the rest for this Sunday. This lack of general outline is yet another source of great anxiety. I'm usually a huge fan of outlines; they are my road maps.[[MORE]]

But, in starting something so new to me, it's almost more fun to play it by ear, and I'm excited to simply try. As a primarily academic and non-fiction writer, penning a screenplay is about as far from my comfort zone as it gets, and that can only mean great things for my writing skills in general, no? So rather than plan, I will hunt for the best of writing nooks in cozy coffee shops and at my newly-renovated local library that will be the stages for my productive writing process. Hopefully I'll also have a pretty little certificate at the end of the month to show for my efforts.

- Shelby

Photo by Flickr user Dr Phil