Early May 2026: 8 Goals Accomplished

It was a script idea that I had a while back. It was the opening to a script I had typed out so I wouldn’t forget it. And then, I had left it there with plans to get back to it… at some point. I put it on my list of writing goals for the year of 2026 and finally got back to it. I finished creating the characters, I outlined, I dove into the themes I wanted to include and to weave throughout… and then I wrote.

And then as you can see near the top, I finished the 1st draft of my script (Floss), accomplishing my 8th writing goal of 2026!

Let me backtrack a little ways first, because it was a pretty crazy end of April and transitioning into the beginning of May. But let me backtrack even further than that. I had started on the development and first draft of this particular script a little while back, so I wasn’t certain when I’d be finishing it. But as I was going through April, I was realizing I was likely going to be finishing it soon. And then, as it often happens, that small period of time had A LOT going on.

The second to last week of April I got mildly sick, and it was also my birthday. The sickness didn’t last too long and I was able to keep putting in time on my script. The last week of April I had to get a wisdom tooth extracted. Just 6 days after my birthday… my 39th birthday. Fun treat, right? Also, don’t people usually get these things taken out way earlier in life? At least it was after my birthday. Anyway, I was prepared for the worst… prepared to recover in pain and…

… it wasn’t all that bad. At this moment, I am still eating soft foods and chewing only on one side of my mouth, but the recovery hasn’t been too bad at all. And I was able to keep working on my script and make a lot of progress.

I even submitted to a few publications here and there. I was feeling accomplished. And then, to round the week out, I finished the 1st draft of my script! Funny how so many things can hit your life all at once, like you’re a magnet for events. My codename for the script is “Floss” because magical floss is a large aspect of the idea. Another aspect… monsters. It’s all intertwined, trust me.

It’s a comedy, many times the comedy being dark, and it has fantastical elements. Obviously, I already mentioned magical floss and monsters. But when I had come up with the initial idea for the script, it also dawned on me that there was short story potential. And since this script has two main points, the floss and the monsters, I came up with a short story for each. One is called “The Floss Counter” and I’ve been sending that around. The other is “Press Zero for Monster Service” and I’ve been sending that around as well. These stories take place before the true beginning of the script and dive into the two different aspects of the weird world, focusing on different characters in the script.

My other idea was, hey, what if I could get one of these stories published? And if so, could I then have a script “based on a short story” and not only that, but a short story that I wrote and will have the rights to? Regardless of all that, I knew I wanted to write them all. So, I did. The script is finally finished, the 1st draft, that is. I’ll have to come back to it at a later date and do a 2nd draft. I liked both short story titles, but they didn't both encompass the feel of the script, so I came up with a different title for the script, "Creature Relief." I think I like it. We'll see if I change my mind when I get to the 2nd draft.

But in the meantime, I’m feeling accomplished after having hit another writing goal, I’m feeling another year older, and I’m feeling recovered from both a sickness and a wisdom tooth extraction.

**************

If you enjoyed this piece and want to read more of my work, then please come check out my website where I post all my latest work, plus you can even subscribe for updates!