Literary Road to Glory: 2013

Mesnard’s “Glory Road” progress:

Lat year I had delusions of ambition.  Not only did I make a whole slew of writing goals, but I wanted to formulate a system where I could fail and still succeed: so I wouldn’t fall into the trappings of a majority who make resolutions for a new year.  Thus, I adopted this Road to Glory point system and progress meter…heavily stolen inspired by the PSP game NCAA Football 2010.

My version entailed a month-by-month roadmap: with secondary goals to help bolster any months which I faltered; or rather, my endeavors proved too ambitious.  To top it off, I made a more long-term (and secretive) goal which I gave myself a decade to accomplish.

What’s my secret agenda?  That’s still a pinky swear with Palpatine shrouded with secrecy.  Life would be boring without secrets, don’t you think?

Though my output was abysmal a few months (and then some), writing in December rather than enjoying Nanowrimo burnout was what finally helped me amass enough points to pull off a Road 2012 victory.

Since things seemed to go so well, I decided to definitely do it all over again for 2013.  Raising the stakes higher, I even altered my long-range goal (which is the second progress bar at the top of this post) to drive myself a tad harder.

What’s in store for me this year?  Hit the jump to get the month-by-month breakdown.

Literary Road to Glory: 2012 Recap

The dorm room is packed and cleaned; which brings my foray into literary ambition to a close…at least for this year.  I didn’t plan to give up after a single year of making resolutions.  The big question is how I fared.

Before I cap things off, here’s a look at the cryptic “score sheet” I scrawled out to help become my roadmap. [click to enlarge]

How cryptic was it?  I tried to decode it on at least three occasions.  The sheet of notebook paper made a lot of sense at the time, but I made alterations as the months rolled by…a bit because the unexpected cropped up, but mostly to make things more challenging for myself.

After the jump is my 2012 progress report.

Lots Happening in my Head (positively)

Weirdness – via jessiisthehizz

The image represents the heading a tad.  Some literary flatlining has been going on. Not in the blocked writing fashion, but more as a recovery effort.  I suppose the blog has become collateral damage as a result…just as my failure to update my writing sites.

In the last thirty days (in no particular order) I was:

• Completing Camp Nano with thirty minutes to spare; breaking my single day writing record.
• Finishing two short film scripts and a “micro-short” story (all contest entries) – while doing Camp Nano.
• Learning of Script Frenzy formally ending, and assisting in an organizational effort to rescue it in some form.
• Creating a new group on Figment to help an overlooked demographic.
• Committing to Camp Nano’s August session; taking a super-rebellious stance.
• Possibly bricked (then unbricked) my PSP again; consuming a few days.
• Joining a new writing site with the hopes of centralizing my stuff and offering perks to those who like my literary endeavors.
• Spending a weekend out of town.  Won’t get into the details; but  random pictures for posting.

Quite a logjam of information!  I’ll write about it all, but it will happen more out of sequence than a Quentin Tarantino flick.  The winners will be those who subscribe to the blog: since they get notified of my posts…no matter what I set the date as.  All the rest will have to keep clicking and checking for anything above which caught interest.  I’ll link as I go, meaning I’ll keep this post at the top until late July, but some things may get lost in the shuffle.

I’m not trying to force anyone to subscribe, but there are perks: especially once I give the layout another renovation.  Hopefully the posts will all be up before camp starts again, but who knows.  I still plan on adding to the “cabin blog” we started before the June session.  Call it moonlighting…but I did make a couple posts very similar here as I had there.

More could be mentioned, but I’ll save it for one of the secretive posts.  Keep checking back; unless you’re a notified subscriber – since you’ll know the minute something is posted; no matter how heavy on the chronitons an entry happens to be.

Figment Screnzy Summary Contest

I almost missed this contest opportunity, but I was busy writing.  Today I posted the summary for my Script Frenzy 2012 screenplay.

According to the site, it clocks in at 289 words and takes a minute to read.

Click the pic above, or click here to take a peek.  It’s free to read (no account needed), and having a Figment account means you can leave a comment or give a reaction.

Script Frenzy winner

At tonight’s write-in I got my 100 pages and verified – making me a “winner” as they call it.

I crossed the goal – but I have much more to go.  The good news is the script is starting to fall into place.  It will be a huge first draft, but then I can whack more liberally with my machete of a digital red pen.

How far am I?  The second third at least.  This story does have an online/medieval and real word/present element, so I guess bordering on an “epic” isn’t so unfathomable [for a first draft].

At least I got a little bit of positive feedback.  Click the image above to find a taste of it (for a limited time?).

Script Frenzy Progress

Here’s my progress bar.  I hit 50 pages on the 20th, but I know I can still pull off a win if I stay diligent (even if it means a whopper of a rewrite later).   Script Frenzy ends at the stroke of midnight May 1st.

I usually write pretty tightly when it comes to screenplays, but that’s what happens when I don’t have enough preparation time to follow my own advice I suppose.

Screenwriting Crash Course

To all of the Nanowrimo brethren unsure of Script Frenzy or the people who always wanted to write a screenplay – hopefully this post can help a little bit.

If you’re even the smallest bit hesitant about writing a screenplay, give this a read. The following link is an article I’ve been using since the second screenplay I ever completed. Entitled The Three-Week Screenplay and written by Dov S-S Simens, it originally appeared in a 1998 issue of the magazine MovieMaker. The article is six steps, but I diverge halfway through. The simplistic and sometimes humorous article can be a quick confidence builder.

http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/article/the_threeweek_screenplay_321…

I don’t follow it exactly as written, so I wouldn’t expect anyone else to either. This can be a map you glance at before deciding to trudge into the desert alone…or you can use it as a guide until you meet a fellow traveler.  Keep reading to learn the rest.

Script Frenzy 2012 signature and poster

I prefer a rougher edge, or amateur feel; opposed to super-slick.  Maybe it’s the indie vibe or something.  The statement is obvious with the look of my blog and obviously this image too.   Hopefully it’s not too much, but I’ll subdue it if deemed “too much” by the Script Frenzy populace.

Maybe a lot of writers have a jumble of a mess of ideas and thoughts scratching towards the surface – similar to the unnecessary occupant in the lonely grave of Paula Schultz.  The ones with substance eventually burst through, and the rest either languish or try to accumulate more gravitas or intrigue to be considered another day.

I figure here is as good of place as anywhere to post it.  I also made a quickie dummied poster for my Screnzy profile.  Give your opinion on either.

Frenzy-ous News, Everyone!

This may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid this is a big deal for some: especially me.

I was chosen as a Municipal Liaison for our region of Script Frenzy.  Most of you probably just asked, “Hubba-wha?”  That’s fine.  It means I am a cheerleader and scout who is supposed to make sure as many people make it out of the jungle alive; surviving the task of writing a screenplay.  You could have done it the easy way (if you clicked any of the images or linked phrases), but I’ll explain for anyone who prefer me to paraphrase things.

Script Frenzy is a spin-off of Nanowrimo [National Novel Writing Month].  The difference is instead of writing a novel in November, this is writing a screenplay in April.  100 pages, to be more precise.

If you’re a writer but curious about writing a screenplay – or you want to write that screenplay that’s been collecting dust…now it the time.  No pills.  Only a ticket.

Will you click it?

[Yeah I know Last Action Hero ruined magic tickets for many - but imagine this one inside a Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar.]

If you need to learn more, comment or mail me.  Either is fine.

Literary Road to Glory: 2012

Mesnard’s “Glory Road” progress:

It’s hard to explain the reason why, but I’m feeling mighty ambitious this year. Maybe basking in hitting my goal from last year; maybe senility – but I decided to try something dangerous.  Creatively dangerous that is…

Instead of a new year’s resolution, I decided to have a month-by-month roadmap: with secondary goals as well.  Maybe I’ll falter- or maybe I’ll exceed my expectations.

For a full rundown of the declaration, hit the jump.