42 DAYS...

The goal is: a finished first draft of a screenplay by the end of the Spring Quarter. Per the academic calendar, the quarter ends on Friday, June 13. So I have 42 days.

In the meantime, I've had writer's block the past two weeks.



I'd never had it before. So when it came out of the blue and settled in and began smothering me, I wondered what was going on. Or rather, what was NOT going on.

What was not going on was, not a single word on the sheet of paper in front of me. A few Post-it notes. A few 3 X 5 card notes. But nothing on the sheet. Instead, a lot of thinking and pacing and talking about getting myself in gear. But nothing beyond that. Not even a "FADE IN."



And it's not like I'm desperate for a plot. I got the story. I got the beats. I know what happens and when it happens and why. I have a great inciting incident and a killer page 25 and midpoint to die for. So....?

It's like baseball. You're in a slump. You're oh for 25. You keep swinging. You play yourself out of the slump. You get your stroke back by taking your cuts.

I've decided to blog it to death. That's how I'll break the block.

The blogging starts today.

Here goes.

The working title is Melek Rik. Arabic for King Richard. It's what the Moslems called Cœur de Lion back when the Crusades were happening. My main bad guy is General Richard (Get it? Rik? Richard?) Bolivar (pronounced like "Oliver"). He's a Texas boy who's running our show in Iraq.

And oh, by the way, it's 2019. Future world. And there's gonna be an election next year and the President, a Republican by the name of Danny Prophet, is starting to get behind a "Bring the boys home" movement.

This has the General really concerned. More than really concerned.

Next post. The two main characters...