Script Frenzy: The Aftermath

You may remember, in the dim and distant past, that I mentioned I was participating in Script Frenzy in April (in addition to the A to Z Challenge, my undergrad research project, and the other four classes I was supposed to be working on). 

Here's the short version: I didn't win. 

The idea in Script Frenzy is to write a 100-page script or series of scripts. I've won NaNoWriMo twice in a row now, finishing with well over 100 single-spaced pages each time, with none of the white space that scripts have. One hundred pages should be easy, right? Yeah, in hindsight that was a dumb thought.

In real life, scriptwriting is harder than novel writing, at least for me. In order to write about my subject properly (a ballerina in her first principal role), I would have needed to do a ton of research, which I did not have time for. So I tried to wing it, and managed to get 26 pages written. I don't know what I'll do with them.

Will I do it again? Yes, I think so. If I hadn't taken quite so long to settle on a firm thesis for my undergrad research, I think I would have had more time for the script. However, that project was also more difficult than anticipated. (Will I ever learn? Probably not.)

Did you do Script Frenzy? Will you do it next year? What should my next script be about?

A is for April

It's the day we've all been waiting for-- the A to Z Challenge has begun! No, this is not an April Fools' Day joke, although doing A to Z in the same month as Script Frenzy and while trying to finish my final semester at the University of Texas may be an awful prank I've pulled on myself. Yes, I'm dumb. The posts may get less coherent as time goes on.

I thought this was a good April-
ish photo. Source.

So, my theme (mostly) for A to Z will be names. I'm in the midst of writing a school story, and a few weeks ago I decided it was time to make a list of students & staff for the school. Most of them will never appear in the story, of course; it's just one of those things that I need to know but my readers don't. So, having done that, I was struck with inspiration to research some names for the Challenge. Here goes.

April
From the Latin aperire, meaning 'to open'. A common given name for girls since the 1940s. Reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, when it was the 34th most popular name for girls.

Famous Aprils: After an intense 3 1/2 minute Google search, I hadn't run across any Aprils that I recognised. You'll have to tell me who some famous Aprils are.

Fictional Aprils: I knew three from the list I looked at on Baby Name Wizard. Dr. April Kepner on Grey's Anatomy, April Nardini on Gilmore Girls, and April O'Neil on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Yes, I do know how ridiculous that is.)

My Aprils: I have no characters named April right now. I do know a handful of real-life Aprils; one of them is a couple of years younger than me and is one of a trio of ladies who are the same age that I grew up with at church. When my dad taught them in Sunday school, he called them "April, May, and June." (Not May & June's real names.) Rather than be offended, they found this endearing, which just goes to show what nice people I grew up among.

Do you know any Aprils? What are some other good 'A' names?

Sources:
Behind the Name
Baby Name Wizard