Today starts Script Frenzy 2012, my third year participating in the month-long writer’s challenge. The goal is to write 100 pages (about three pages a day) of a script over the month of April.

One of the greatest learnings I had from NaNoWriMo in November was that by planning out a longer written piece I am more engaged with my characters and I stay with the story. So, when Script Frenzy was approaching, I knew I needed to chart out my script if I was ever going to finish it. So there it is (on the right). The acts, the scenes, the characters, and the locations. That is my outline for Overheard.

Now for the background pieces—the stuff you might never know I was planning on if I didn’t tell you. For some people this ruins the experience. If you are one of those people, you will want to stop reading.

• The idea for the story was triggered by the recent motorcycle accident and following coma of Rickey Kraemer. Other than the accident and the coma, the rest is from my imagination.
• The names (not the personalities) of the nurses in my play all come from a group of women I work with.
• The name of another patient in the play is Wilson after Wilson Wilson from Home Improvement.
• Rickey’s father in the play is named George. His first wife, and Rickey’s mother, is Mary. They are named so because of King George V and Queen Mary. George’s second wife is Jan. The combination of George and Jan comes from the Brady Bunch where Jan makes up having a boyfriend named George Glass.

That’s all for now. Oh, and I have written four pages so far. Here’s to hoping I can stay ahead of pace.