Big Week

So it's a big week.  At least I've got it started on the right note.

I drug my butt out of bed at 6:30 (child at grandparents COULD have slept in for once) to jog.

Coffee brewed by the time I returned and now I sit at my desk at 7AM.

So what's on the agenda.

Oh, I need to rewrite the third act of my script and turn it in on Friday.  Oh, that.

I have turned this script in now twice - and both times we've gotten closer.  The first was a faithful execution of the outline (that I worked on forever and exactly three days) and the second was one I was given permission to run with.  Running with it got us closer.  But not close enough - I ran into a dead-end in the third act.

I blame the wrong turn on the fact that one of my main characters had not completely showed up to the party.  If you have a problem in your third act - usually you have to go all the way back to the first act to fix it.

I fixed that and to this point I have rewritten that character (and how he interacted with all the other characters) up through the second act.  So now it's time to tie it all together.  In a week.

Oh, and I need to trim 15 pages out.

Oh, I'm playing in my club championship, closing escrow on a house, formulating a marketing plan for the movie I'm directing next Spring*.  I also have two other projects waiting in the wings and during bouts of insomnia I have been writing on my iPhone a spec.  Yes, I'm 30 odd pages in on a spec that I'm writing entirely in "notepad" while my husband snores next to me.

But until I get this third act perfect, nothing else can matter.  We are running up against our production deadline.  It's literally now or never.

My schedule for the week will go like this (mom and dad and husband watching my 3 year old as much as possible since he's on spring break):  Monday - work 7-midnight, Tuesday CC then work 2-midnight, Wednesday 7-midnight, Thurs CC then work 2 until it's done.  Friday re-read, tweak and turn it in, close escrow.  Saturday CC.  Sunday sleep (or is that pack moving boxes).  Monday gird loins for notes.  

So, here I go.  Today's goal is to rough out the bad version and look for as many cuts along the way.  I'm going to have fun with it.  These are the good times, after all.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Writing.

*Movie I'm producing/directing in the Spring.  The movie that we were preparing to shoot this summer is now aiming for Spring 2013.  In hindsight this momentary setback was a blessing in disguise as I would have not had time to get everything done PROPERLY.  Plus other keys will now be available, we'll have a larger talent pool to pick from in Canada where we're shooting and more time to raise more financing.  Yes, our budget is going up, but so are our expectations.