Go Into The Story — Interrupted

UPDATE: Due to post-operation recovery, I won’t be able to resume blogging until the end of July.

The consecutive blogging streak ends… and here’s why.

As of today, I have posted articles at Go Into The Story for 4,428 consecutive days. Despite pneumonia, flu, hamstring strains, a chaotic variety of technical issues, world travel and confusing schedule changes, and various other roadblocks, I’ve somehow managed to sustain this streak. Why? To make the point: if I can write every day, you can write every day.

While that message still stands, the streak officially ends today.

The culprit? Surgery.

[Note: my son Will is typing this for me.]

Last Thursday, I had a two-hour shoulder operation to repair a torn rotator cuff and various other ailments in a right shoulder that had been the source of chronic pain for several months. The combination of an unusable right hand and haze-inducing medication means I simply can’t blog.

I will know more about my situation later this week after visiting again with doctors and physical therapists. Hopefully, Go Into The Story will be back to its regular schedule next week.

Meanwhile, I invite you to visit the Archives, where there are literally 29,000+ articles on virtually everything a screenwriter would need to know, including:

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas

Character Types

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work

Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs

Go Into The Story Interviews

Go Into The Story Reader Questions

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis Series

Guide to Aristotle’s “Poetics”

How to Generate and Critique Story Ideas (10 Part Series)

How To Read A Screenplay

Is My Screenplay Big Enough to Be a Movie: 10 Questions to Ask

Movie Script Scene-By-Scene Breakdowns

So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’

The Business of Screenwriting

The Definitive Spec Script Deals List [1991–2019]

The Spirit of the Spec

The Story Behind Script Coverage

The Theology of Cinema

Writing and the Creative Life

I may be able to highlight some posts via my Twitter feed, @GoIntoTheStory, so you can check that out (58k+ followers).

When I launched the blog on May 16th, 2008, I didn’t know if I would do it for 12 days let alone 12+ years, and certainly not every day during that time. I’m proud of The Streak, but I’m told by my doctors that rest is key to rehabilitation, so I’m setting aside my obsession to heed their advice.

Assuming my arm doesn’t fall off, I’ll be back soon. In the meantime…

Keep writing.