2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 2

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 2.

Write an entire draft of a script in March — FADE IN. FADE OUT. Or any sort of creative goal you have in front of you.

Feature length movie screenplay. Original TV pilot. Rewrite a current project. Break a story in prep. Generate a month’s worth of story concepts.

Whatever you feel will ratchet your creative ambitions into overdrive…

DO THAT!

To download your very own Zero Draft Thirty calendar — designed and created by Steven Dudley — and track your daily progress.

You may download a PDF of the calendar here.

On Twitter, use this hashtag: #ZD30SCRIPT.

Zero Draft Thirty Facebook Group: Here. 3,400+ members strong.

Today’s Writing Quote

“If I have anything to say to young writers, it’s stop thinking of writing as art. Think of it as work.”

— Paddy Chayefsky

Today’s Inspirational Video

This is for all you sports fans. If you follow college basketball — which is awesome! — you may know the #1 ranked team for the last three weeks is the University of Virginia. I am a proud alumnus of the University and have been a rabid fan of the men’s hoops team for four decaces.

Some context for the video below.

Last year, UVA was playing the University of Louisville on their home court in front of 20,000 Cardinal fans and they were kicking our butts. At points in both the first and second half, they led by 13 points. With 4 minutes left, UVA trailed by 10 points. 2 minutes later, the game was tied.

Momentum the Cavaliers’ way, right? Wrong.

Louisville went up by 4 points with just 6 seconds remaining. The game should be over. Here are the improbable events which happened:

• UVA guard Ty Jerome drove up the court and — inexplicably — a Louisville player fouled Jerome on a three-point shot. Remember: Louisville is ahead by four. Even if Jerome hits a three-pointer, the clock would have wound down to zero by the time the ball goes through the net. Instead, the clock stops with 0.9 seconds left — that’s right, less than a second.
• Jerome hits 2 free throws. Now the score is 66–64, UVA still down 2 points. But Jerome only has 1 free throw left. 66–65 is close, but it’s still a loss for Virginia. So as planned, Jerome intentionally misses the free throw, hoping one of his teammates will be able to tip the ball into the basket. He misses the shot. Louisville grabs the rebound. Game over. But… the ref blows his whistle. Apparently, a UVA player is guilty of a lane violation which means… the clock is still at 0.9 seconds and Louisville, which gains possession of the ball due to Virginia’s infraction, must now in-bounds the ball.
• Getting the ball in-bounds should be a no-brainer. As soon as a Louisville player touches the ball, the clock will almost instantly wind down to 0.0. Another chance for the game to be over. One small wrinkle: The Louisville player bringing the ball in-bounds is instructed by the official, he can’t move his feet, he has to pass the ball while standing still. Guess what? He moves, shuffling about 15 feet before hearing the official’s whistle. The Louisville player is guilty of traveling. Possession: UVA. And still the clock sits at 0.9 seconds.
• Here’s what has to happen for UVA to win: They have to in-bounds the ball to an open player who needs to get a shot off within 1 second and hope it results in at least a 2-point basket and take the game to overtime… or pray the player hits a 3-point shot which would win the game.

Now watch the video of the game’s final play:

It’s likely that no basketball team has EVER won a game while trailing by 4 points with less than a second remaining on the clock.

And yet, UVA did precisely that last night.

My point for each of you participating in the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge: NEVER GIVE UP! Today is Day 2 of this Challenge. There’s LOTS of time, right? No pressure. 30 more days. But I guarantee you…

The daily grind of pounding out a script will wear at you this month.

Voices Of Negativity will assault your confidence at each writing session.

Your story will prove elusive and confounding.

In other words, at some point this month, you will have EVERY reason to give up, to quit, to say “screw it”.

Don’t. No matter the odds against you, as long as you have 0.9 seconds on your creative clock this month…

YOU CAN DO THIS!

Or as we UVA grads say: Wahoowah.

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 1

Today’s Loos Award winner: Jessica Olson.

A double whammy of goodness over at the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group: The ZD30 Challenge Calendar and a reference to a Go Into The Story post. For that inspiration, today’s Anita Loos Award goes to Jessica Olson!

Want an Anita Loos Award? Upload an inspirational thought or photo here, on Twitter, or in the Facebook group. Aspire to inspire! That’s the spirit of the Award!

Nail your page count today! For more inspiration, join us at the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group for our monthly 24 Hour Writing Scamper-A-Thon which begins tonight at 12AM Eastern (U.S.). 24 writers. 24 hourly writing scampers. Make progress on your project on the weekend.

Onward!