When I wrote my personal experience newspaper column (circa 1992-2003), I had 750 words to work with. It began to be a game, and for years before I was… uh… “let go,” I was able to hit within three words of the desired length every time.
There’s no such word-count restriction on this blog, so when I’m through with a topic I stop, and if I have more to say, I go on. I love the freedom of a looser structure, but I also love the challenge of following a specific format, so I created entry deadlines for myself and post every “odd-numbered” day.
I graduated to one-act plays in the fall of 2008. The Willapa Players in Raymond had a script-writing competition, and I’ve always loved writing dialog, so I submitted two plays, and voila! they took first and second in the contest! Lightning had struck, and I was hooked.
I’ve been writing one-act plays for the past two and a half years now. I’ve seen four of them produced (two in Raymond and two in Ilwaco), and have another “under consideration” for the One-Act Festival in Ilwaco this August. Already I have a 10-minute skit that will be performed for “Railroad Days” this July.
Turns out I’m pretty good at telling a concise tale in dialog. Check out my next post to celebrate that fact in a little more exciting detail… 🙂