Countdown to FADE IN: Day 6

6 days from now, participants in Go On Your Own Quest are scheduled to move out of Prep and into Pages: In other words, type FADE IN.

Over on the GOYOQ forum [which is free and you are invited to join], some folks have been posting thoughts on what they have learned thus far during the Core and Prep parts of the process. This week as we count down the days to FADE IN, I’d like to share some of those observations with you.

Today: TheQuietAct

Weeks 10, 11 and 12 have made me realise I would have gotten in a total tangle without the Prep process.

The questions posed about character motivations, obstacles etc., have really helped me with my creative process in an intangible way.

I couldn’t understand why I had to spend all this time preparing. I wanted to get to the main event.

Now I have seen the light.

I actually can’t wait to get started on Pages. ( Which I had already attempted to start but I got well and truly suckered into quick sand. Now I have the tools and method to set myself free. I can see my route out of the jungle. I’m now aware there are coconuts, tigers and poisonous snakes that I’m going to encounter on the way, even if they’re only in my imagination at the moment. All shall be revealed.)

Here’s how the Pages part of the GOYOQ process is structured: 10 weeks, 10 writing deadlines, 10–15 pages per week. You should target Monday as the start of your writing week and Sunday as the day you deliver your pages. Repeat each week for 10 weeks and voila: Your first draft. Done by December 30. Great way to end 2012.

By the way, the 8 writers with whom I am working in The Quest are following the same schedule. So if you believe in strength in numbers, between the positive energy of that group and your fellow GOYOQ participants, especially if you join the Forums, you should feel a swell of momentum to push you through this muscle draft.

6 days to FADE IN. Hollywood needs great stories. Here is your chance to write one.