So, you’re thinking about writing a script in a month as part of the month long Script Frenzy (Screnzy) challenge? This sister event from the people behind NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) gives you the chance to challenge yourself to write a 100 page script in 30 days this April. I’m here to try to give you some tips to help you complete this huge goal.
While you are trying to write a 100 page script in a month, don’t forget to have fun!
I know, cheesy, right? Not so.
There is something completely ludicrous about proposing to write a script at all, let alone writing an entire script with no plan and in 30 days. Embrace that ridiculousness. It is much easier to write something light and fun in a situation like this than War and Peace, so keep that in mind. This isn’t to say that you should steer away from high drama or horror or whatever is your bliss. But make sure that you are writing something that you are enjoying writing, not something that you feel like you should be writing because its good for you or whatever.
In the end, Screnzy is not about producing the greatest script ever (though sometimes it does). It’s about proving to yourself that you can do it, that you can write a script. It doesn’t have to be a great script on the first try, that will come later in revisions. All that matters is that you set out to do this difficult task and accomplished it which is something to be totally proud of.
If a script about crime fighting monkeys is what gets you to 100 pages while your intellectual allegory about rape stalls you at 10 pages, go with the monkeys. Pulitzer will forgive you.
Hillary DePiano is a playwright, fiction and non-fiction writer who loves writing of all kinds except for writing bios like this.
