I’m using the collective juju of NaNaWriMo to finally write my sketch comedy musical.
The plan is to write 2-3 pages of script a day, leading to a 60-90 page script, which is more than enough to mount a show.
Once I committed to the project, ideas and plans began pouring out, mostly comedy/musical.
But today I started with a fight. Because my day started with a fight. Things were said that were painful and honest about the topic which is, coincidentally, the theme of the show.
I wrote them down as I remembered them, once the fight meandered into “uneasy truce” territory. My initial idea was to revisit this scene at the end of the month and add humor. That’s the formula…pain + time = comedy.
Two small but significant truths came to light as I wrote these three sad little pages of script. First, I really got behind the other person’s point of view. To make it real, I had to fully explore it, give it compassion, love, and dimension. It absolutely didn’t change my mind or my view point, but it gave me perspective.
Second, it may not be such a bad thing to have a real scene, an honest scene, a painful scene where two characters aren’t particularly likable for three minutes. It not only grounds the funnier pieces, but I think it adds honesty.
It was not how I wanted to start. I wanted to start off with hijinks and merriment, with perhaps a guffaw or a knee-slapper. But I cannot and will not fight where the writing wants to go at the draft stage. That is not going to get this done.
Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.
Day 1 Done.
Pickadilly Project 
Congrats on finishing day one! Sounds like you’re off to a good start even if it was painful. It also sounds like you’re going to end up with added depth because of this, which can only be positive. I had a book I started a year ago that went a different way than I was planning. I was actually so unhappy about it, I started it again, differently. Once again it took a different turn. I tried one more time and it STILL wouldn’t go where I wanted it to go. So I gave up, which was stupid in retrospect. At the same time, now I have the beginnings of three completely different stories, accidentally. This is all to say, following your gut and letting the story take you where it wants to is the smart thing to do. Good luck on your script!
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Thank you! It’s not an easy thing to let the writing go where it wants (needs?) to go, is it? And here we are, thinking we’re creating worlds. 🙂
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Yeah, and the harder you try to resist what your creativity wants you to do, the worse you make it on yourself. Creativity seems to have its own mind. I’m going to listen this time!
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I also just signed up for NaNoWriMo. I hope to pick up and complete Ray’s Ramblings AKA Sounds of Thunder a working title. I havn’t explored the site fully yet IM me on FB and let me know if there is a way we can follow each other and support each other through the NaNoWriMo. But for now I will begin this first day of writing by procrastinating. So I am off to the grocery store to. Cheers -Ray
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