The screenwriting part of the challenge was by far the most challenging part, and the part where I learnt the most. It was an area that nobody could help me and if any obstacles arose, which they did then I could only battle against myself to get through it.
So what did I write? I finished writing a web series, wrote 2 shorts for a friend, a one off piece for TV, a 6 part TV series, a 2 hour film and restarted a film idea I had 5 years ago. The themes have been sport, futuristic and even sci-fi.
The two challenging aspects which I found with screenwriting were keeping up momentum and writing when I couldn’t write. Life happens and it gets in the way and takes turns you don’t expect. So from April till July I couldn’t write at all due to getting over a break up which took way longer than I thought it would take. 4 months of no writing meant I had 116 pages to catch up on. Whenever I wanted to write my mind would either drift or the characters I wanted to write about were coincidently going through similar things. And during those months I couldn’t think of an idea where I could be completely distracted from what was going on in my life. (More on this in my previous screenwriting post.) That part was tough, especially coming into September I still had an awful lot to catch up on and it was the one time I was scared of not completing the challenge.
But then I created strong plots which got me through and kept me distracted. Platinum Heaven was easy to write to begin with, but got a bit more challenging towards the end. And with Marathon Money it just flowed and at times I struggled to keep up with the ideas I was having.
They say you should write about what you know and for quite a few pieces that was true. The web series and Stuck on You were stemmed from one of my ex’s. Marathon Money used my small amount of knowledge I had on running in sponsored events and pole lessons which I took. I used a lesson that a lecturer taught me about thinking of ideas for articles; what if this happened? How you can change the angle of a story that had been written time and time again by simply asking one question and making it different. So Platinum Heaven, Stuck on You and If We Aren’t Married all came from that question in a way.
Through the lows of the year I gained an emotional tool kit which means any future characters I create can have some depth to them.
Going forward writing is definitely going to be a regular thing, as it’s been about 7 years since my interest in screenwriting began and I can’t stop and restart again. Although I may not write 29 pages a month, I’ll definitely write something every month.
So what’s the plan now? I'm going to finish If We Aren't Married. After that I have 3 ideas that I’d like to complete. One I have already started writing and has a beat sheet written out so I know how the plot will develop. It’s called Somebody Else’s Dream and that is my next film to complete. I’ve also got another screenplay idea called ‘2 hours You’ll Never Get Back’ which is another futuristic film, and has the potential to go in lots of different ways, so that will take a lot of work. And the final is a comedy series. I’m also interested in seeing how it would work if I write with someone, so I might explore that also.
People have asked me what am I going to do with Marathon Money now I’ve completed it? Well I’m going to write the other pieces I stated above first and then I’ll go back and make notes ready for a second draft. I feel if I have a break from the characters, not only in Marathon Money but also Stuck On You, then I can come back afresh with new ideas. I also feel that if I do a second draft too soon, then I’d become too attached to the characters and would find it harder to change things. I may get some people to write and make notes on what to improve, although that’s a scary prospect. I’ve only just opened up to the idea of people hearing my ideas to begin with.
Jane Goldman also said: ‘Allow your first draft to be crap and just focus on getting to the end. Then go back to improve it.’
So the next chapter of writing is all about improving.
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