fade out

"Fade out" are the two most beautiful words (next to "The End").

I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. The screenplay has been submitted for a grade. I now have exactly one day off before my next class starts. I'm going to crochet all day tomorrow.

It was cathartic to get this story idea out finally. I'd been carrying it around with me for several years now, not sure what to do with it.

The professor suggested that I change one of the characters from a girl to a boy, and that I cut out some of the unnecessary scenes at the end. Both helped the story quite a bit and taught me to let go of the reality of the event that sparked the idea in the first place and consider ideas that turned it into more of a story. Make it more "story-shaped," as Neil Gaiman would say.

It's far from perfect or polished, but now that I've got a substantial workable draft, I can continue to polish. I came in well under 100 pages, but seeing as it's a story for children, that's probably a good thing, as far as keeping their attention for any length of time.

The only downside is that I'm no longer able to watch TV or films now without analyzing them. "Okay, that's probably the end of Act I...so Act II ought to really take off now..."