Checkpoint 1

PLAY

I did the checkpoint, but I don’t think I like it. It seems really angsty to me and I don’t want to write angst. I want to write drama. Angst bad. Drama good. I’ve been really distracted lately, so coming up with a good plot line has been difficult. Once I get locked down what I want to happen in the play, writing it will be a breeze. If it comes down to it, I might just have to start writing and see where it takes me. I don’t know.

Becca is a high school sophomore. She’s too young to be in 10th grade, but she’s smart. She’s average at school. She talks to people. But she doesn’t have really close friends there. She has a best friend, Reese. He’s not real (but shhh the audience doesn’t know that yet). He’s actually the main character of a book, Becca’s favorite book. He did some amazing, dangerous, adventurous things (I’m not sure if I want it to be an adventure novel or if I want his life to somewhat parallel the brothers life). He’s pretty cool. He’s her everything. They have a great relationship, as demonstrated in the first act when some bad stuff (first example of my inability to come up with non-angsty high school goings-on) happens to Becca in school. Reese makes everything better. But when the book goes out of print (cause it’s old and no one reads it anymore) Reese disappears. Bye-bye Reese. Becca gets sad, really sad. End Act I. Act II. Welcome back into Becca’s life her drug addict brother, Owen (2nd example of angsty-ness). Becca and Owen have a huge fight, then a big bonding moment. Becca asks Owen to stop using drugs. It’s a no go. The Act begins to follow Owen’s life, rather than Becca’s. Later in the act, after seeing how important it is to Becca, he tries, but ends up dying of an overdose (ohhh angst). At the funeral, we see Reese again. There is no big reuniting scene. He just is there. Becca might not even see him. End play.

Here’s the things:
-I wanted three main characters who aren’t all knowingly intertwined, but they are very much so important to each others stories.
- I wanted an imaginary friend, but we’re not sure if he’s real or not.
- While I was writing the above, I thought that maybe they could be each other’s imaginary friends, but that’s silly.
- I wanted it to be all symbolic and moving and stuff. I thought having Owen’s and Reese’s stories somewhat parallel each other would be cool.
-Originally I thought the book could be obscene and be banned (or burned) but then I felt like I was ripping off our poem from last year.

I’m feeling really badly about this right now.
Jeff just gave me an awesome blog that I need to read and use to help me. http://bethanyharvey.com/blog/posts/2007/07/write-characters-not-mary-sues/



UPDATE ON POEMS- maybe if I have extra time I'll do a chap book

Done(ish)
Paper Airplanes
Prayer Request
Christmas Wish
Tessa

(Re)edit
Ave Maria
Brandon- work
Niall- coda
Sister Jean

Worth it?
Risk Taker
Brandon- art
Andrew- fornicating goats
Paris Hilton
Project Hercules

Ideas
Roman
Gay Love
Sairus- time zones