Scripts in Search of a Deadline

I’ve been writing a lot over the past five months. A short play, three new drafts of Humanity, another draft of Immigrant Story, and I went from outline through to two drafts of a spec I wrote for Agents of SHIELD.

I collected notes from a lot of trusted writers. I even paid a coverage fee to get notes from Austin Film Festival – one of the most writer-centric festivals out there.

It was a big scramble to get two of my scripts ready for the Canadian Film Centre’s deadline for the Prime Time Television Program. Two weeks later, I submitted Humanity and Immigrant Story to Austin Film Festival. If I make the second round of that competition, decision makers in Los Angeles are reading my scripts. If I’m accepted into the CFC, my life changes dramatically.

There’s a long wait ahead of me. I’ll hear from the CFC in mid-July, and Austin will be a month after that.

I’m now looking for my next writing project. I’m thinking a rewrite on Clandestine could be in my future – a complete tear-down, right back to cards on the board. Break the story, write a beat sheet, revise the beat sheet, move to outline, then write a new first draft.

I think I’ll also look for another script competition with a deadline set for late June. Hard deadlines help me focus. They keep me writing. No deadline means lots of procrastination in my future.

So there it is. A mission. Find a meaningful deadline, then write to it.