Final Draft’s Big Break International Screenwriting Contest for 2010 is now open for submissions. Good luck!
Archive | Screenwriting Competitions
CineStory Screenwriting Awards Submission Deadline 1/31/2010
Okay, so I know I’m guilty of the hard sell as regards CineStory and their mentorship programs, but it really is an amazing opportunity to get involved with a fantastic group of industry professionals as well as an amazing network of peer writers. You still have another week to submit those scripts, so get to […]
On the Horizon: The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
Just a head’s up that the Nicholl, sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is rolling up in April. The deadline for 2010 is May 1. External goals are great, and this should give you enough time to get something in. Good luck!
BlueCat Screenplay Competition
The BlueCat Screenplay Competition is rolling up with a submission deadline of March 1st, 2010. Excerpt from the BlueCat Newsletter: Since 1998, we have built a large community of writers passionately committed to writing original, unforgettable work. This starts with our exchange of feedback to each writer who enters BlueCat. Every screenplay submitted to BlueCat […]
CineStory: Screenwriting Mentorship at Its Best
CineStory is a non-profit that provides mentorship opportunities for screenwriters. This means they have a collection of working industry professionals (agents, producers, writers) and they offer non-professional screenwriters the opportunity to workshop their screenplays and ask questions in a personalized environment. Pam Pierce is the heart and soul behind CineStory. She started it, I believe, […]
Q&A: All Screenwriting Competitions Are Not Created Equal
Jamie asks: So, I’m just starting to get familiar with the world of screenwriting competitions, and I’m assuming they’re not all created equal. Are there any drawbacks to entering more than one (several even) with the same script? It seems like some contests might require that you don’t submit your script to any other contests? […]
12th Annual Scriptapalooza International Screenplay Competition OPENS
12th Annual Scriptapalooza International Screenplay Competition OPENS early deadline is January 5th www.scriptapalooza.com Why should you submit your script to Scriptapalooza? -Grand Prize: $10,000 -All the reading is done by 90 production companies -Entertainment Weekly Magazine calls us ‘One of the Best’ -We promote the winners, runners-up, finalists and semifinalists for a full year -We […]
2009 CineStory Screenwriting Awards: Enter Now!
The 2009 CineStory Screenwriting Awards are now accepting submissions. CineStory is a very unique non-profit that mentors writers to help them improve their craft and workshop their writing with industry professionals. This is a fantastic organization and worth entering the competition. Competition winners are invited to a special retreat in Idyllwild where they will work […]
2009 PAGE Awards Semifinalists Announced
The 2009 PAGE Awards semifinalists have been announced. For a list of semifinalists, click here.
2009 Final Draft “Big Break” Competition Semifinalists Announced
The 2009 Final Draft “Big Break” Competition semifinalists have been announced. 2009 SEMIFINALISTS (listed in alphabetical order) * Joseph Balczo, Valencia, CA & David Bricker, Henderson, NV — Abducting Christmas * Nathan Blackwell, Phoenix, AZ — Transgalactic Zoo * Karen Briner, Los Angeles, CA — Amanzi * Mary Casavant, New York, NY — Judgey * […]
CineStory Screenwriting Awards ’09 Winners Announced!
The results are in! Congratulations to our 2009 CineStory Awards prize winners: UPGRADE by Louis Rosenberg – Grand Prize Winner SHROUDED IN DARKNESS by James Walker – First Place Winner BEADED ROAD by Wenonah Wilms – Second Place Winner In addition to prizes from our kind sponsors, Inktip and Script P.I.M.P., each writer is invited […]
If It Doesn’t Buy You Something, Take It Out
By Monica on July 29, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
The more I write and the more I read, I find I return to this mantra again and again: If it doesn’t buy you something, take it out. Screenplay beats to me are a commodity. You have to buy the beats in the beginning of your story to cash them in later on in the […]
Screenplay Openings: Most Beginnings Are Overwritten
By Monica on July 28, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Formatting, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
This article follows up on Screenplay: The Importance of the First Five Pages. In the last batch of scripts I read for one of the screenwriting competitions, I would say about 30% of the screenplays had beginnings that were overwritten. It’s not uncommon. In several cases, the real story didn’t start to pick up until […]
Clarity Above All
By Monica on July 23, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Formatting, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
There is no shame in being absolutely clear with your beats. In fact, I am that reader who is likely to not get something if it isn’t on the page. You should assume that if it’s not clear on the page, your reader is not going to get it. If you hint at something but […]
2009 Screenwriting Expo: Early Registration Ends July 31
Click here to register early for the Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles. October 16-18, 2009 WILSHIRE GRAND HOTEL By signing up now, you can save $30 off a Gold Pass and $10 off a Basic Pass. I’ve attended this Expo before and found several of the sessions to be very informative. If you haven’t been […]