It was a great first week. I finished 6 more pages today for a total of 53. Next week I will be rewriting and developing the arc - assuming I finish the first draft (roughly 60 pages). The plan is to have a 10 episode mini-series. Thanks for the inspiration and motivation.

Day 7 got me 5 more pages bringing me to p65... ZDT has helped motivate and encourage me to keep going. Lovin every second of it. Seeing so many screenwriters gathering together to encourage and enthuse each other is great. Would be great if this kept going at least as a support group for writers, if not the challenge. It seems we all enjoy giving and receiving that support... just a thought Scott ;-) Onward!!!

Chad, you da man! You certainly have time to rewrite the pilot and develop 10 episode limited series. Way to go!

Way to go, Andy. As far as keeping it going, there's the blog. Maybe there's a way to use it to help sustain the community. Of course, I try to do that anyway, but more of an educational thing with interviews, script and movie analyses, etc. There's the Facebook group which I'm happy to keep open. Maybe that can be reconfigured into an ongoing thing. I'm sure we'll have lots of debriefing after the Challenge. As I say, I'm open to almost anything. Thanks for that suggestion.

Here's today special brew of Creative Juju!

Day seven, week one. Zero Draft 30 helps motivate me to keep going. I had a goal to finish Act 1 by today. I kept thinking all week at work, I gotta finish Act one for ZD30, Gotta finish Act one for ZD30-- And I DID IT! Having the outline on my index cards with just the bullets of events, really helped me with the scenes. I didn't have to worry about where the scene should go, or how to move the story forward. It left my imagination free to create. I am about 3 pages over, but it will wash out with the re-write. What a great feeling! Next 7 day goal: Act 3.

Kudos, Ingrid! Setting goals and hitting them, for a writer, that provides a real sense of satisfaction. Onward!

5 pages today. Staying consistent. Gonna be a long re-write December. But I will finish this Zero Draft Thirty for November. :)

Wow what a day! I got a logline written. It got me focused, directed me where to go. When I got stuck I'd just ask myself "why?" for any particular scene. The answers always propelled me forward. Ten pages so far today. *I tend to edit if I type, so I write in a journal with a pencil, that way if I don't like something I just cross it out because later I may like what I crossed out.

Haven't actually written any new pages since this started. Although I had planned to start something. But I did take five short stories I recently wrote, rewrote them, then compiled them into a book as a longer story with two main characters who eventually hook up. The pressure here to write got me to do this. It's kind of a prep for a screenplay. Though I am also publishing it now as a book. Point being, it doesn't matter what you write, just that you do. And by the way, most films are adaptations. Maybe I'm really better at books.

It's good to start on a logline, or even just a title, or even just a one (or more) word conceit as Scott teaches.

There you go, OP. That's the spirit!

Pepper, I have a 1-week course I teach through Screenwriting Master Class called Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets. And the logline component talks about how a logline is much more than a sales / marketing tool. Indeed it can be KEY to us finding the focus of our stories, as you describe a kind of touchstone to which we can refer again and again and again, every scene, every line, just to make sure we're staying on point. Good for you, dude!

That's right, Jon. I was upfront about that from the day I first posted about the Challenge: It can be ANYTHING as long as the writer moves some creative project forward. So good on you with your short stories! And good luck with your book!

Today the critic was in full force. Doubted everything I wrote. Kept telling me I should of went into real estate. That I didn't have what it took to be a writer. For reassurance I contacted my old high school guidance counselor. The one who actually told me I should be a writer. He really believed in me. Loved my writing. After venting to him for twenty minutes I'll never forget what he told me. He said "Writer? No man I said Waiter." I hung up. Depressed. Went and bought some rubber soled black shoes and am now seeking restaurant work. Possibly giving up on the writing thing. But I did manage to write two scenes today.

Waiter? You kidding? Be a cook man.

4.5 pages today, 29.5 total. It took a while to get started today! Still catching up on sleep'll do that to you. I guess you could say I'm in Act 2 now, things have changed for my main character and he's outside his comfort zone. I feel the same way. Looking forward to being in the last stretch where I can start to pay off all the setup that's happening right now. Can already tell it's not gonna be ready for others by the end of the month. Gonna take revising to make it presentable. But no one can deny there's blood on the page.

A cook? You're right. What was I thinking? I should aim higher.

And David W wins the Internet today!

thedchen, Zero Draft approach says, "'Presentable' is not in our vocabulary! That' for First and Second Draft. Me? I'm about getting words on to the page. End of subject." Great that you're into Act II. And you've got blood on the page. That suggest vitality and a pulse. Keys to a reader FEELING your story. Hit it high and hard tomorrow!

It's a great way of life. I mean subsistence strategy. No wait, that's the Air Force.

I actually went out for the air force but due to some miscommunication during the interview I didn't make it. He asked why I wanted to be in the air force and I said I like to get high. He showed me the door. So now I'm trying to be all I can be.

15 pages, an excellent day! My protagonist is right in there, burning through act two like a hot knife through butter. I've decided page number doesn't count, plot points count. He's proving he's resourceful, intelligent and his own man who fights his own battles. Next step he needs to confront his past. Then we need the wheel to turn full circle, he needs to take full control. Next week is going to be fun, fun, fun!

Put all my seperate pages (writing in tram, writing on bench, writing on computer) into one document. Feels good. This sunday I am busy with theme. A lot of themes crept into the screenplay, because I have a lot to say. Crossed out most of the themes. My main theme now is Connection.

Finally got started on this after a busy week of midterms and all of the usual school work. My writing partner and I have about fifteen pages, and it's a true thrill to get started after planning for a few weeks. It's also great to hear all of the encouraging comments and progress reports from everyone else. I hope this is something that can be formalized via an official forum of some sorts in the future! Maybe even a separate website? So many possibilities for future years!

Starting day 8 with 55 pages total, and into the heart of the second act. There's no way I won't have a finished draft by the end of the month! Feels good to be writing regularly again, and not exactly hating everything I am putting to paper. Thanks for all the inspiration folks!

On Day 7, I wrote 4 more pages. I now stand at 28 for the week and am essentially right at the end of Act I. Feeling good about that. I'm not thinking about the quality of it, just focusing on the effort. More work awaits today. Keep it up, everyone!

15 pages is sweet, Philip!

Ricardo, I believe there are multiple themes to any good story. That said, always good to drill down and try to find a story's Central Theme. For example, Francis Ford Coppola has said he would reduce a story's theme down to one word so he could keep that in mind easily. So The Godfather = Succession. The Conversation = Privacy. As you work with you story, see how Connection resonates with your main characters. Also explore how Sub-Themes tie into Connection. Understanding and knowing how to work with themes is critically important.

Sid, glad to hear this is working for you. There have been a lot of comments here, on Twitter, and Facebook to do the Challenge again, and beyond that to see if we can sustain the community which has arisen from this collective effort. I'm happy to discuss any/all possibilities from Dec. 1 on, but for now, want to keep my focus - and everyone's else's - on the writing. But yes, rest assured, we'll figure out ways to keep the dialogue going after the Challenge officially ends.

That's confidence right there! Keep the forward momentum!

If you're at 28 pages through Day 7, Steve, you are right on target for that 4 pages per day pattern. Keep that up, you'll get to FADE OUT by Nov. 30!

Daily v. report no.7 - WOW, what a week. Writing and fixing plot problems, ready to start act 2.