2024 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge: Day 14

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

Write an entire draft of a script in September — 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!

Download your very own Zero Draft Thirty calendar — designed and created by Steven Dudley — and track your daily progress!

On Twitter, use this hashtag: #ZD30SCRIPT.

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Today’s Writing Quote

“Reprogram your brain so THE END isn’t a giant finish line. You got pages done today. You’ll do more tomorrow.”

— Eric Heisserer

Today’s Inspirational Video

Listen. Be inspired. And write.

Today’s Anita Loos Award winner: Sofi Odelle.

Over at the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group page, there was an interesting exchange sparked by this item posted by Jonathan Champ.

Attributed to author Martin Amis, it’s tagged as: “14 Rules for Writers.” Sofi responded with this comment:

Jonathan responded with this:

Sofi responded with this:

I appreciate the conversation between Jonathan and Sofi, both the respectful manner of their discourse and the substance of their discussion.

For those who have followed my blog, it should be clear where I stand on this issue. Witness my 15-part series: So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’.

Frankly, one of the reasons I launched my blog was in response to some screenwriting “gurus” and “consultants” who tended to pontificate about the craft with a lot of “nevers” and “always,” and supposed “rules.”

In Hollywood story development circles, there are conventions … paradigms … expectations …

But. There. Are. No. Rules.

Otherwise, there would be a rule book … and there is none.

Besides, rules are restrictive when what we, as writers, do is fundamentally creative.

One of my writing mantras which I steadfastly repeat: “There is no right way to write.”

Whatever works for you … do that.

Thanks, Sofi, for taking on this subject. An important one. As a result, you are today’s recipient of the Anita Loos Award!

Congratulations, Sofi! Feel to print this award and post it at your writing desk for inspiration.

To learn more about Anita Loos and her illustrious career as a screenwriter, playwright, director, and journalist, go here.

For your chance to win the Anita Loos Award, one given away each day during the Challenge, post something inspiring, here on the blog, via Twitter, or the Facebook group.

For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came to be and what it is, go here, here, and here.

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 1
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 2
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 3
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 4
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 5
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 6
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 7
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 8
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 9
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 10
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 11
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 12
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 13

Now Zeronauts…

SCAMPER ON!

Onward!