A few weeks ago, a classmate and I were chatting about how many great projects we’ve started so far while in school and how disappointed we were that we hadn’t finished them. He and I have become good friends over the last two years and we both recognize a lot of talent and potential in one another. Combined, we probably have 20 scripts or so just dying to be finished so they can enter the market and hopefully be a success.

We realized that the main reason we hadn’t finished any of our projects was due to the fact there was no pressure on us to do so. In our courses, we are often encouraged to “start” a piece or to compose X-number of words, but rarely are we required to submit a finished document. For that reason, we have a plethora of started stories, scripts, poetry, and even video game plots that we’ve set to the side at the completion of each subject.

My friend proposed that we institute a new deadline, a new “assignment” if you will, to encourage us to finish something we’ve started and see it to fruition. Finish one screenplay by the end of October. That’s reasonable.

However, knowing how busy both of our lives were, we realized that just setting a deadline wasn’t enough to make us prioritize our script. Life, homework, job, family – something would always take precedence, since we had nothing to lose if we didn’t meet the Halloween deadline.

So we upped the stakes. $100. If one of us didn’t complete our script by 11:59:59 PM on October 31st, we had to pay the other person $100. If we both failed to finish a script [which we determined needed to be no less than 90 pages], then neither pays up. If we both succeed – well, then we both have a finished product! It’s a win:win.

So… here we are. It’s October 27th and I’m only 45 pages in. Yeaaaaaah, Sunday is going to be a VERY busy day for me. And Monday. And Tuesday. And probably Wednesday.

I am NOT losing $100.

Optimistic I’m about to win a Benjamin,

~ Victoria Elizabeth Ann