How many writing projects are too many?
Write all the words!
I can't say that I've ever been good at focusing on just one project or bringing things to fruition. This is evident in how many different screenplays I have on my to-do list at the moment...and how few I've completed.
- One feature, "Jayden", in process with a solid outline and ~8 pages written on the first draft
- Another feature, "Bros and Hose", with ~12 pages written, but heavily outlined (I decided to try using The 90-Day Screenplay for this one from scratch)
- Index card outlines and rough character sketches for two other features ("Ethical Harvest" and "College Debt")
- About 100 pages written in a story, (working title: "Poems That Won't Get You Laid") that is composed of a series of funny poems...each of which I of course want to produce as shorts for YouTube or something.
Now compare that list to the one of screenplays I've completed and you'll see that I basically just need to do the work and finish one of these things ASAP!
Completed:
- "Dave Deserves It" - a pilot about a guy (Dave, believe it or not) who thinking he is in a reality show is, unbeknownst to him, the only one not in on the fact that the entire show is to humiliate or harm him for an audience. Think "Truman Show" meets something like "Squidgame".
- "Guides" - a pilot about a marketing exec who, upon realizing his greenwashing campaigns will cause his childhood refuge at Camp Whiteface Pines to be destroyed, joins the guides at that camp to try to fight the monster he helped create.
So, yeah. I'm a little unbalanced on the work in progress vs the completed work front.
Okay, cool, so...whatcha gunna do about it?
I was hoping you'd ask!
That's where my decision to just dive in headfirst on one of these screenplays (and then maybe the second) is coming into play.
"Oh sure," you're thinking, "it's that easy. You definitely haven't tried that before and failed."
Okay, well, I don't really like your attitude. You're a guest here on my site. Maybe have some respect even though you make a good point. What I was about to say before you got all snippy, was that this is exactly where a screenwriting competition - and hence real, true, honest deadline - comes in handy. Do I believe in the value of all screenwriting competitions across the board? Nopers. But I believe in picking and choosing the relevant ones that are legit (I'll write on some ways that I have found to figure out which are legit in a future post) and getting notes if your budget allows, so the competition can serve multiple purposes for you in helping you:
- Get the screenplay done
- Get notes because, you know, who doesn't need notes so they can improve it?
- Get your work out there and make connections
Cool story, bro. Which competition and why?
I've found that Coverfly gives me a good way to sort through and filter out irrelevant competitions and ones that don't seem like they're particularly worthwhile. Using that, I figured with a push on a hectic, but doable timeline based on where I am in my screenplay writing process at the moment, I can finish by the late deadline of September 20th for the 2022 Launch Pad Feature Competition. If I'm lucky/actually GSD (get shit done), then maybe I can eke out my second screenplay as well before the final deadline of October 20th, though putting two screenplays into a contest may be a little more expensive than I want, given it'd cost about $160 to submit both (one at $75 in Sept, the other at $85 in Oct) without notes, and over $300 to submit both with notes.
I chose this competition mostly because of the timeline, and the fact that the jury seems solid. Of course, my screenplay(s?) won't be reviewed by the jury unless it gets far enough in the competition, so who knows. Additionally, the genre of the first feature screenplay I intend to submit seems to do pretty well based on the "Coverfly Insights".
Aight
Time to get crackin'. Fingers crossed I can man up* and do the thing, or at least that caffeine gives me the assist I need. Never forget that I love you, you complete me, and if you truly loved me back you'd shampoo with a shampoo that smells like tacos.
*I'd like a gender neutral phrase to replace that some time soon, but I haven't come up with one - feel free to give suggestions. "Adult up" doesn't feel right and "grow up" doesn't have the right connotations. "Saddle up" is too Texas for me. Maybe I need to cut out the "up" as well...