Day 360: Another 15 Pages Complete

So I over estimated what I could achieve in two days. Again. I had hoped to hit 30 pages by the time the next Rewrites workshop rolled around. I made 15. I actually did about 20 pages of work, but the final count when all was said and done was 15 completed pages. I'd like to take credit for the 20 and all that material that I cut because that would put me closer to the 30 I predicted, but it was really only 15.

Of course, I could have made the full 30 if I had been more productive on that first day where I accomplished a whole lot of nothing. Still, combined with my earlier pages, I have now met my monthly minimum quota and still have close to 30 pages to get through to complete the script. I'm hoping to finish this rough draft by the end of the weekend. That will give me a three-day leeway to have it all wrapped up by the end of month and the end of the one-year online odyssey. 30 pages will also make up for the July deficit of pages. So there is a lot riding on these next few days.

I also took 10 pages of The Devil's Tramping Ground into the Rewrites Writer's Workshop tonight. There was a smaller turnout than usual, but some very interesting pieces were presented. The Tao of Mao, a short film script by group sponsor Rob Berg, was particularly nice with a very beautiful set up. It has been a fascinating journey to see how Rob has molded and changed the script and the evolution of the characters since the first time I heard this piece. I'll be interested to see where it goes from here.

As for my own script, the reading went fairly well. I thought it started a little slow, but picked up in energy and pace by the end. The other writers did begin to ask questions about certain events, choices and character motivations. They've been enjoying the ride, but seem to be getting antsy for some answers as to what is going on. A number of answers will start to be revealed in the next 10 pages, but the fact they are beginning to show some impatience means I may have to move some answers forward to keep the audience wanting more, not just teasing them.

Moving things forward may also help to reduce the page count. I'm still currently holding at 117 pages, but that is bit long for a horror flick (The Conjuring 2 notwithstanding at 132 minutes). One of the goals with rewrites is to get the page count down to about 105 pages, but I need to get a solid story all the way through before I can start cutting the fat. And I've got a max of 6 days to complete that story. Time to work.