I know I am remiss in getting this out yesterday, but now I have a few free moments to write about it.

The 48 hours went by quickly. On top of coming up with a script, real life also had its way with me. But I managed to get through it without too much difficulty, including a bout of stress-induced sickness on Sunday night (sorry, no Super Bowl for me, I just caught the highlights online.) The script’s page count came in at 95 pages, according to Final Draft. No title as of yet, but I’ll come up with something.

Now for the rest of the deal. The scripts are then swapped by the two writers, and we have until the end of the month to edit each other’s work. And, after doing this, if we think that we can do it, we start again at the beginning of March.

I’m not going to lie; this was tough, probably one of the toughest, craziest things I’ll ever do. But I also say that it was a good thing. There’s something freeing in putting yourself under such an incredible deadline. It’s not for everyone, but, if you think you can, try it. I would recommend that you find a fellow writer to challenge you with it.

Keep in mind that the point of this was not to get something written that would ultimately be produced, but to exercise the mind and spirit and get something written and completed. It is amazing to see what kind of storylines, sub-plots, and characters can come out of you in such a short period of time, sometimes without you even knowing it.

Just thought I’d drop a little update here on the 48-hour Screenplay Challenge. The coin has been flipped by our Officiator, and the decision is in:

I will write a science fiction space saga, while my counterpart will write in the fantasy genre.

From now until midnight tonight, we can prepare by outlining/characting, etc., but not a single word of script can be written until then. We did come up with a few little rule extras while I was on the phone with the Officiator and the other writer:

• Whoever got the fantasy genre must do one that is non-contemporary in nature (i.e., “no Harry Potter stuff with the real contemporary world in it”)
• The science fiction genre story must have some element of space involved in it, if not the primary setting.
• The Officiator will receive a copy of both writer’s works at or around 12:01AM, Monday morning to validate and verify completion.

As I said, I will let everyone know how it went this weekend after answering this challenge and see how well I can perform.