October is Going to Fly By

What do writers call October? Pre-NaNoWriMo season. And that's just how I'm planning to treat it. Because I know that November will be an intense time trying to start and finish an entire first draft, I'm using October as one of those cleanup months. I plan to take all of those half-finish projects that have been lingering and finish them. I'm mostly talking about shorter works--poetry, short stories. But if there's a revision project I can tackle, I'll throw that on the pile too.

I've also been thinking about all of the pieces I have around that are finished but need an update. This includes my spec scripts--something that I haven't had the chance to use yet, but know that I should keep on hand.

First, I will have to fully abandon my sitcom spec and write a new one because the show I wrote it on is not television anymore. I didn't know that my drama spec needed an update until last Thursday. The script is for Law & Order: SVU so I thought I would have it around for a while as is--at least until the show went off the air. Nope, there's a couple of glaring twists they put in last week's premiere with Carisi getting a new job and Benson getting a new title. I scoured the internet for information on whether a slightly outdated script will still work, and it looks like it now has a six-month expiration date, then I should rewrite it. This script still didn't have that final polish (it was a few pages short), and I have had a second SVU storyline floating in my head for a while, so doing a rewrite won't actually be that bad.

But it does make one think: spec scripts are only used as calling cards, so how many of these scripts have been created only to be forgotten once it was used to get someone in the door? I bet there have been lots of great ideas left in the recycling bin...

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That's the plan for October. If you want to stay updated, watch this space, join me on Patreon, and make sure to check out what new items show up on Medium.