I’m really happy with where the work I’ve been doing on my play has led. It has a much stronger opening, and as a result, the characters are much better defined. The stakes are higher, and the central conflict arises much sooner.
I wrote 7 more pages last night, and I’m only on scene 5 (of 14). Five of those pages were spent on a brand new scene. Didn’t know I’d be writing a new scene until about a minute before I started.
Sat down last night in the coffee shop, put the finishing touches on scene 2, changed a word or two in scene three, swapped out the word ‘supper’ with ‘dinner’ in scene four (apparently ‘supper’ is a Saskatchewan thing). And then as I read scene 5, I recognized a massive leap forward in the characters’ arc – with no explanation.
It’s the same leap that was always there, but it wasn’t until my work on the first two scenes came to fruition yesterday, that I was able to see how glaring that hole was. This wasn’t a gap in a scene that needed mending. This was a hole in the story. The only thing to fill that hole, was a brand new scene.
The new scene is a gooder too methinks. I figured out a way to close the gap with action, and not exposition. As I mentioned previously, the central conflict arises much quicker now. The scene is also funny, which is important. I have a lot to say, and sometimes in my enthusiasm to explore certain philosophical insights, I forget that I’m also writing a comedy.
The table read is tonight. I have some errands to run, an apartment to clean, and revisions to complete. It’s possible I’ll have an houseful of very diverse people creatures. I’m excited for how the new changes will be received.
The Mind of Jarrett 