First Quarter Evaluation

It’s been a full three months since starting the No MFA Project, so I thought it was as good a time as any to evaluate how things are going.

When I was in college, I had a professor who would grade in two ways…. The obvious way was on the overall quality of the work. The other was to look at how far the student had come. A paper might not be the best in the world, but if it was a 100% improvement over what the student had turned in at the beginning of the semester, the student could still get an A. I’m going to evaluate myself in both ways.

As for the quality of my writing, it has remained pretty much the same as it was when I first began this project. It’s good, it’s solid. For quality, I’d probably give it a B+. For improvement, I’d give it a D. I haven’t done much to push the quality of my writing beyond what it was – I’ve been more focused on just making sure that I actually AM writing to worry about taking it further. Don’t get me wrong, the sheer act of devoting time to writing is a big step, but this project is about becoming a sell-able scriptwriter, and to that end, I need to hone the writing so that it’s not just good, but great.

This first quarter was a lot about establishing the project and figuring out where to go from here. It was about learning new things, things I’d never done before, like sound editing. It was also about networking, meeting new people, and lining up new projects. Overall, I’ve met maybe ten people in the industry. I’m now going to be helping out on the web series ‘50 to Death’ and organizing the production and filming of Brooke’s short project ‘What Do You Care?’ I’ve reconnected with a Manhattan director who directed a small stage piece of mine last year to work on one of my scripts that he’ll be using for a short film, and I’m helping a friend to move her documentary project forward. For trying new things, meeting new people, and lining up projects, I would give this first quarter an A.

From here on, things will become more challenging. I’ll need to balance projects with making time to write and, most importantly, improve my writing. I’ll be going to writing groups and reading up on the craft. While the first quarter was about setting things up, the second will be about getting things done.