Just Over Two Years

I ventured out into the cold today; realizing that I would accomplish nothing if I stayed at home. With my laptop in hand, I set up camp at a local Caribou coffee, and settled down with my screenplay. I am ecstatic to report that I have a completed first draft. It's hard for me to imagine I have reached this milestone, but indeed, this is the case. I knew I was missing a scene somewhere. I had written it, but could find it nowhere in my files. Finally, I perused the few scenes I had handwritten, and there it was. I was able to connect some final moments. After all of this work, I went through and read the entire script, trying desperately not to stop for minor fixes. I wanted to see how it flowed. Not bad, not great. There is a lot of work to still be done, but by the Lord and Heavens, I can say I have an actual first draft! I can't believe it. It clocked in at around 137 pages. Wow! And I thought all along I would never make a feature length by any stretch of the imagination. I know it has been over 2 years since I began writing this piece, cuz my lead character is 29; the age I was when this all began and I had the dream that sparked the story in the first place. Next up, I have to register the piece with the Writer's Guild of America, for protection. Then, I have three or four people in mind that I would like to take a first read. In addition, it will be time for a reading by my actor friends. Then the rewrites will commence. We have a bottle of champagne here, and the other half has suggested we open it this evening. Considering I rarely finish projects I begin, this is indeed a milestone in my life. I am pretty proud of the piece. Although it needs some serious work, there are some genuinely touching, funny, and scary moments in the script. Onwards and upwards!

:patting myself on the back: