I get it but I don’t get it…
I just posted pretty much the same thing in the forum just now and when I was finished, I realized this could also be a post here…
Over the last few weeks, I’ve gotten a lot of email from people that enter contests all the time… The overwhelming factor that I keep hearing and reading over and over again is:
While I do understand one’s “need” for validation, I’ve gone ahead and talked to several friends of mine who have yet to break into the business but continue to enter screenwriting contests…
Again, I got the same VALIDATION comment from them but also know that I have read screenplays from all these people and I have no problem telling them this (I already have)… They just don’t get it.
Their stories just aren’t the kind of stories anyone’s willing to plop down $10 for a theater seat… Yet, each one of these screenwriters totally believes that their stories will one day break them into the business. When I say “break into the business” — I’m talking about writing for a studio or production company and making the big bucks only their stories just don’t have concepts that support their motivation.
Questioning these individuals recently has actually given me a slightly better insight as to the WHY?
It seems that once I dug DEEP, none of these people care enough about breaking into the business to write what PROBABLY SELLS. Rather, they stay true to their belief that writing what they LOVE definitely covers all the bases and, in the end… If it doesn’t? No big deal.
In other words, if they make it into the business, GREAT. If they don’t, at least they had fun learning how to write screenplays.
Okay… I get it but I don’t get it.
I’m guessing that these people approach screenwriting more like a hobbyist. Like someone who makes crafts and puts them out for their friends and family to enjoy…
So why the contests?
Because eventually, these same individuals apparently need the validation that what they ARE writing is good stuff. Each person I spoke to already knew that the stories they were writing AREN’T the kinds of stories that put asses into the theater seats. They are okay with that but at the same time, they want to know if their writing is anywhere near the professional level.
That’s where the screenwriting contests come in.
I get it but I don’t get it.
Maybe it’s just me but it’s kind of like taking the safe, long way around to your destination so you don’t have any real obstacles to overcome. Sure, you might get a little feedback here and there but apparently a lot of contestants don’t seem to take this criticism too well.
I get it but I don’t get it.
It’s not like screenwriting is like writing a novel… With a novel, you can still send the thing out to publishers or publish yourself. Most people I know writing screenplays and entering contests with said screenplays have absolutely NO intention of trying to turn their screenplay into a film.
I’m not hear to judge… I’m simply an observer. If you fall into this category, MORE POWER TO YOU!
It’s just that until recently, I basically figured that the majority of people writing screenplays were doing so because they wanted to write screenplays for eventual films. Kind of like going to law school… You normally attend law school with the intention of becoming a lawyer. Same goes for being a doctor albeit screenwriting IS A LOT CHEAPER so maybe these aren’t good comparisons.
At least that’s what I thought… I keep finding out that for some… Writing screenplays is little more than a hobby.
I find this both interesting and fascinating and it’s probably a real good thing to know.
So my questions are this…
1) If you enter a screenwriting contest and do not win or become any kind of a finalist, does that mean you’re a failure or does that just mean you have more to learn?
2) Do you enter screenwriting contests “just in case?” Meaning, just in case your writing IS GOOD ENOUGH and you end up winning or someone recommends your script…
3) What happens if your script does win or becomes a finalist but never gets made into a film? Is that okay with you because you really just wrote the screenplay for the experience?
4) Is screenwriting just a hobby for you? If so, why?
*NOTE: I definitely understand entering the Nicholl competition… Even though a lot of these screenplays never sell or get made into a movie… I’m just wondering about all the competitions out there.
What’s your take? If you’ve got a lot to say about this, I invite you to add it to the above forum thread. I love reading why people do this and I’m reasonably sure others would too.
Unk
Tags: screenwriting contests screenwriting validation
Another 90 minutes I’ll never get back…
Kay… Got back from the coffee shop, had some Chicken & Roasted Garlic ravioli with some homemade pesto…
Sat down in the bedroom, flipped on the television and scrolled through the movie channels and ended up on the SUNDANCE CHANNEL watching a little film called LONG DISTANCE.
So I’m chomping on ravioli and not really watching the film but kinda listening to it here and there and eventually, it got my attention. The dialogue wasn’t bad and to be honest, I love serial killer movies… So much so that I will watch ANY serial killer movie no matter how terrible it is and believe me… There’s HUNDREDS of them.
I like serial killer movies so much that I think it should be its own genre… Ya follow?
So there I am watching and eating and I’m wondering why I’ve never even heard of this film before… I missed the beginning few minutes but wow… I was impressed.
SPOILERS FOLLOW…
So there’s this chick named Nicole. Not bad looking. Apparently, she’s a grad student studying psychology. She calls her Mom up one night but by mistake dials the wrong number and this guy answers the phone…
Average Joe.
Average Joe just happens to be a serial killer inside a house of his soon to be victim. He talks to Nicole for a while and they hang up.
Next day, detective Halsey knocks on her door… During their discussion in her apartment, the detective mentions that the building Nicole lives in used to be a middle school that he attended. A nice little PLANT that Average Joe ends up paying off a little later but I digress…
The detective questions Nicole about the call she had the night before… Apparently, a woman was killed in the house where Average Joe was having a telephone conversation with Nicole.
So now this movie has my full attention… I’m sitting here thinking, “Wow… Pretty cool plot. Wish I’d thought of it.”
I finish the ravioli, toss the plate down on the foot of the bed and continue watching…
Now let me just say that the acting in this film was definitely NOT up to par. Some of it was underacted and a lot of it seemed overacted. The music felt like it came right off some terrible royalty free CD but I was watching because of the STORY.
The next night, Average Joe now calls Nicole. He explains (exposition) how he did a little investigation and it turns out that Nicole’s building used to be a middle school… Now Nicole’s freaked out and understandably so. LOL.
So they talk a little longer and hang up… Nicole sits there thinkin’… Uh oh.
She frantically star69s her phone and a woman answers… Nicole screams for her to get the hell out of the house! Then, to make matters worse, we hear a kid tell the Mom, “Mom, there’s a man in the hallway.”
Then of course bad things happen and now I am completely HOOKED into this movie.
NOW FOR THE REAL SPOILER…
So we play some more cat and mouse with Average Joe and Nicole… He manages to get to Nicole’s building with the FBI hot on his tail…
That’s when I knew we were going into a tailspin…
FUCK.
Down and down we go… The plot I was so enamored with falls completely apart and yeah, it turns out that Nicole is a fuckin’ psycho and imagined all this crap and killed both her boyfriend AND detective Halsey.
Double FUCK.
I’ll admit that it worked for me in FIGHT CLUB but this little twist just pissed me off. I sat there and it sucked me in… It got a little slow at times but I was already invested so I went the distance… LONG DISTANCE.
My reward?
Great ravioli — fucked up movie.
Let that be a lesson… There’s gotta be more to a movie than a nice plate of ravioli.
Unk
P.S. Voting is still going on below… Have a great Flukey Friday!
Take the poll…
Really curious what everybody’s writing… I see a lot of you out there writing television specs… Something I know absolutely NOTHING about.
Just curious.
Unk
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