Still at the Keys…

• Post By: Meghan Maugeri
• Date: January 27, 2018
• Category: Uncategorized

So I’ve been working on some writing I’m really proud of over the last two years and I’m hoping I get to share it with ya’ll sometime real soon. Most likely, it will be another 2 (to 5?) years and 1000 revisions before that can happen… Seriously. I’m sure you already figured it out, but we’re in this for the long haul, people. Just wanted to let you know I’m still at it. 🤩🤔🤗

I generally don’t like posting project specifics because I don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up– in writing there is generally a whole world of no before a single yes. I read recently that the average age for an author to sell a book is 37, average age for a screenwriter is about the same. (Yay! I still have a couple of years to go.) But, in case you’re wondering what an average week looks like, I thought it would be fun to let you know what I worked on this week. As per usual, I worked on a number of projects during the week. Here they are:

1. Revised feature length film KEYS for March Nicholl Fellowship deadline. Nicholl is the be all and end all of screenwriting competitions. (KEYS is a drama about a headstrong mother and an eccentric teacher who clash over the upbringing of a 10 year old musical genius, set against the backdrop of a school board that is about to cut the music department in a low-income school district.) I submitted KEYS to Nicholl last year and although it didn’t get a coveted quarterfinalist spot (top 5% of 7,000 submissions) it got 2 positive reviews from both readers and landed in the top fifth. The reviewers were more encouraging than I expected, each individually calling the script “charming.” They gave suggestions for improvement (mostly to do with plot), which I agreed with, so I’m implementing those changes and crossing my fingers. With so many submissions, Nicholl is very much a long shot, but since screenwriting comes most naturally to me of all writing forms and I can do it relatively quickly, I figure I should at least give it my best. Worst case, I’ll repeat again next year. The good news, the script is in the polish stage and I’m not unhappy with it.

2. Revised stageplay for Pear Theatre developmental reading due Feb. 19th. This is through the playwright guild I’m a part of. Each member can submit 1 full length play for consideration in a weekend festival of readings in July at the theatre.They’ll choose 4 plays from about 30 playwrights. I’m very much the new kid on the block as most of the other playwrights are all produced and have been at this much longer than I have, so I’m not going to get my hopes up too high. It will get me to revise a full-length, so that’s a good thing no matter what. I’m currently trying to decide which stageplay to submit — I have three written to choose from. However, they are all very serious dramas and all in need of work. So, I’m also toying with finishing up a zany comedy for it instead. I’m just in a comedy sort of mood, what can I say? I’m looking over all plays this week and trying to come to a decision. Oye. This one is tough. Nothing is really ready.

3. The Boy Formerly Known as Matthew Miller – This is the MG comedic novel I’m working on. The first draft is complete, so now revision (My least favorite 8 letters in the universe.) When I have downtime from the above two tasks, I look it over. I really love the characters, setting, and premise, but novel writing is the largest time commitment and is the most challenging for me personally, so this one is going to take a while. Once I finish up a play for the Feb. 19th deadline, the plan is to devote a majority of time to this project and have it ready for #Pitchwars competition by late summer.

So there you have it. 3 very different projects in one week. I’ve found having concrete end goals, like Nicholls and the reading deadline, really help me manage my tasks. The good news is that, for the most part, I’m in the revising stage for every project I’ve started. I should say that I have at least taken a break from short film for the time being to focus on full length projects.

I have considered focusing on one project at a time. It’s a tough call. While I generally do bursts of 3 days on a particular project, 3 days on another project, I’ve actually come to the conclusion that working on different kinds of writing simultaneously has improved my overall craft. Dialogue from playwriting has improved my voice in fiction. My fiction project has helped my character development in all forms. Screenwriting has helped me improve structure and plot in plays and novels. I’m sure at some point, I will need to focus a little more, especially when it comes to the novel.

As such, it’s taking me much longer to get to the ultimate end goal, but the end goal will be a much more worthwhile place when I do get there because the quality of my work will be stronger. Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself every morning. It’s a good thing I love it.

Anywho, thanks for checking in on me! I hope your projects are coming along well, too! Please drop me a line and let me know what you’re working on.