Feeding Script Frenzy 2012

It's been a while since I've done an update for this (I know, 7 weeks since my last entry? WTF, HB?) But I have good reason for my absence... at least recently.

As most people know, every April I partake in the sister writing challenge to National Novel Writing Month, Script Frenzy. The objective is to write at least 100 pages of script within the 30 days of April. And this year, I originally set a high bar for myself. No, I wasn't going to write a second second of the sitcom I wrote in April 2011 (although, it would've been a good idea), but attempt to write a script that had some fandom implications to it.

Most people know that I'm a fan of the 1990's Canadian television series, "due South". And for the longest time, I felt the way the series was "wrapped up" in 1999 with the last half of the two-part episode entitled, "Call of the Wild", didn't really give it a proper send-off. So, my proposed mission was to write a Reunion movie to rectify all of the things that didn't sit well with me in the "Where Are They Now" montage at the end. I had a lot of ambition going into the project; however, I admit that I didn't properly prepare for the task at hand.

As a fan of the show for the past 15 years, I believed I knew enough to pen the script; I thought I would just have to watch a few episodes to refresh my memory of the different nuances of the characters, narratives, and dynamics that made the show what it was. But like the adage goes, I assumed too much, and ended up making an ass out of myself and the memory of the series. Although, it was more of what transpired as I sat down to actually start writing it on April Fool's Day. After polishing off the first six pages (I had given myself a goal range of between 180 and 240 pages since I was thinking of turning it into a two-part, four-hour made-for-TV movie), I sat there and said to myself, "HB, what the frak are you doing?" I tried to rationalize my mission, but I just couldn't do it. I wasn't "feeling the story." So, after a discussion with a dear friend of mine *waving towards the east coast of Australia*, I decided to shelve the project for an undetermined period of time. Does this mean I've given up on Script Frenzy 2012? Not on your life.

Instead, I decided to pen a different script altogether, and it is one that resonates with me on a more personal level. I decided to write a biopic about myself and my battles with problem gambling. I detailed my first memory of playing the lottery (buying Wintario tickets for the weekly Thursday night draws back in the 1970s), the memories of betting on Monday Night Football games with one of my 8th grade teachers, up to my introduction to the one-armed bandits here in Ontario. I also mentioned other facets in my life -- the stint as a competitive swimmer in the 1990s, and relationships I've had in the past with my grandmother and my current girlfriend. And it's all told in a one-on-one interview intersped with flashbacks to certain points in my 40-year history.

It harkens back to the first script I wrote during the 2010 edition of Script Frenzy when I detailed the events of my roommate's then recent drinking binge that sent him into the hospital for two weeks. It's emotionally raw, but it was something I felt I wanted to get out there.

As for my progress on this biopic script, I'd like to think I've done fairly well in scribing it; amassing 105 pages between April 2nd and now. I don't know how much more story I can squeeze out of the script, but I do know what to write for the ending. This past Wednesday I ventured to Woodbine Racetrack and filed for self-exclusion from all OLG facilities.

And that in itself, is the happy ending that I've been wanting to write for a very long time.

Until next time, the views may be from the outside, but I now have a clearer conscience.