Silver Screenwriting

Posts Tagged ‘competitions’

We’re into the last two weeks, and scripts continue to flow in from around the globe. We’ve seen some great concepts and wonderful writing already. We’re hoping for many more as we have production companies hungry to read. In fact, we’ve had so many requests, across such a broad range of genres and styles, that we’re looking to pitch both the winning scripts, and those which make the grade and meet production criteria.

A major trend this year has been multiple submissions. Many writers are sending two or more of their scripts. Each entry is a small, valuable investment in each project, and a great, low cost way of moving a script forwards towards that sale at the end of the rainbow.

We’re delighted with the range of scripts. The mixture of settings, styles, genres and approaches to the craft is fantastic, and it shows that it isn’t the dull, middle of the road studio fare which is inspiring you, it is eclectic global cinema and quirky Hollywood artists.

So, please keep ‘em coming. We can’t wait to read more…

You know you do it. You compulsively tweak your script. A little here a little there, you can’t leave it alone. You go back through the pages and change dialogue. And change it back. And fix an action line. And fix it back. But then the real trouble begins. You tweak something on page thirty-two which necessitates changing something on page seventeen. And page forty-nine. Now you’re done. Time to send that script off to a competition, consultant, friend – whoever. But wait – one more tweak r-i-g-h-t here…

When does a writer know when to leave well enough alone? Make sure that every time you open your script you have an actual goal in mind. Maybe you are in the midst of adding new scenes, aka actually completing your script. Maybe you just got some notes and you’re addressing the pertinent sequences. Maybe you’re just rereading it one last time and OH LOOK there’s something to tweak.

The problem with tweaking ad infinitum is that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Yes, tweaking can improve your pages, but if you do it compulsively, sort of like chewing a fingernail, you can actually damage your script and/or just be wasting your valuable time. Because your time is very valuable, as a screenwriter. Anyone can go back through and rearrange punctuation, but what actually improved and shifted in your last session with your script?

So before you open your script for the day, ask yourself: what is the goal of this writing session? Am I tweaking here and there but ultimately getting the work done? Or am I stalled out in tweak-mode? In many ways, tweaking is the way screenwriters justify to themselves that they are working on the script so lay off! But – it’s a little lie they tell themselves because they aren’t actually being productive at all.