No Pressure

Rather than fork out a few hundred dollars for a 3' x 5' bulletin board, I turned to my trusty king-sized bed, complete with dark bedspread for contrast, to provide an easily accessible display for my scene cards. Once laid out, I decided to snap this photo. As I did so, I said aloud, "No pressure, now. Just write a little something on 55 little cards. Piece of cake." This was followed by a deep breath.

I pretty much had Act I down in a half hour, but that's mainly because it's the part I've worked on the most in my head and the part of my pseudo-outline spreadsheet that was most full when I started. Referring to my spreadsheet, I worked out the second act in about 90 minutes. This including a fair amount of pacing back and forth to which I commented aloud, "I'm pacing. I'm actually pacing. One of those books said I'd find myself pacing." I then added, "And I'm talking to myself out loud. The book said I'd do that, too." Act III had the largest gaps going into this exercise, but the bookend scenes helped guide me through and I wrapped that up in another hour.

So, in literally three hours time, I had my spec's basic framework down on 62 little cards - knowing full well that I'll add and take away a hundred times before I'm done and what ends up in the draft will likely contrast those cards more than my bedspread. I can accept that. It's a necessary step. I took it. With that behind me, I think I'm ready to start this thing in earnest. I'm vacationing with my family this weekend, so I won't be able to tackle that 'FADE IN:' thing until I get back, but I'm sooo ready.