Plume's Camp NovMo: Playing With Fire
(also known as Plume tries to write a play part 2 (emphasis on the word tries))
Background
This is me trying again to write another play. I feel like I can't really say "another" because I didn't finish the first one (oops) but it's fine. The reason I abandoned the other play (last year's camp novmo) was because it was existing in a weird place; the whole reason I wanted to write it was to perform it (well no duh it's a play) but the thing about doing it in college theater is that people don't really like it when your show has, like, four characters, and one of them is an infant. Every time I tried to turn it into an ensemble piece, it just felt like I was altering it too much. Any side plot I introduced felt contrived. So even though I loved the plot, I decided it probably wasn't destined to be done (at least, not while I'm in school).
BUT! I still want to write a show that hopefully gets performed (because that's so freakin' cool!!) So I got this other idea and that is this Camp NovMo's project! Yahoo!!
Premise
Cora LeBlanc is a Grade A Failure. So when she meets a man who promises the success she's always craved, she goes through the motions of every good quarter-life crisis -- quits her job (not that she liked it anyways), switches up her look, and even leaves her wife, Emmeline, all to pursue the dream she's claimed to always have: being a famous chef. What she doesn't expect, however, is Emmeline to fight back. Before long, Emmeline has opened up a restaurant right down the block from hers and starts cooking to her heart's content. And what's worse, she's good at it.
Playing With Fire is a comedy about frustration and passions, successes and failures, and most importantly: finding the recipe to a good life.
Basically, this is a new take on the trope of people leaving their spouses to pursue their dreams; I was thinking one day how frustrating and funny it would be if that happened and then the spouse who was left decides to pursue their spouse's dream and it turns out they're better than them at it. Plus it's a fun dynamic of lovers to rivals (and maybe back to lovers??!?) Point is, lots of opportunity for comedy and shenanigans and queer stories that aren't necessarily about being queer. I'm also very excited to write women being complex and petty and angry!! I am a big believer in women being allowed to make bad choices and mistakes in fiction (also in real life! no one is perfect!)
To sum it up: I'm very excited since it is full of my favorite things. Angry women. Queer women. Silly stuff. Food. That sort of passion that comes when you're mad at someone so much that you maybe just need to kiss about it. Women again <3
(I realize I mentioned women SO much and the reason is because recently I was in a student-written show by two women and for some reason all their female characters sucked? (as in poorly written; I would have loved if they had a female character who sucked as a person but was well written). Anyways it got me thinking that I want to do the opposite of what they did, hence the big focus on women. As a woman who is occasionally quite cringefail I just want more characters like that <3)
Goals
Now onto the most important part: my goals!! I think I'm going to try and set a super super feasible goal because I have never successfully stuck to my camp NovMo goals in the three years I've done it and this year that will change (I'm hoping). So! I'm making it my goal to write a scene a week. Which I get isn't super specific, but it's more suited to my writing style, I think. I picture each scene being about five pages plus, so it feels doable without being too easy. I'm really hoping the excitement for this project will carry me through to the end ^-^
