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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

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Saturday: 21 October 2006|1858|Under Uncategorized

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12 Responses to “I get it but I don’t get it…”

  1. MaryAn on Sunday: 22 October 2006|0946

    QUESTION ONE: Maybe both, maybe neither. Maybe you got an inexperienced reader in your genre or a reader who was so far behind he skimmed your and didn’t finish. Who knows. That’s the peculiar part about screenwriting contests — if you don’t place, it doesn’t mean you suck. If you do place, it means you certainly don’t.

    QUESTION TWO: No. But I don’t enter anything I’m not ready for somebody to read, fall in love with and decide to film.

    QUESTION THREE: I don’t have a crystal ball but I would guess that it would hurt like hell and I’d pout about it for quite some time.

    QUESTION FOUR: Anyone can ride a bike. It’s simple. Just pick up a bike and race in the Tour de’ France. That’s how a lot of writers see screenwriting — buy a software program and start clacking away. It’s that simple. Well, that’s crap. There are a few cyclists and a few screenwriters who have a natural gift and might pull that off but for the most part, cyclists and screenwriters start slowly, train their minds and bodies for years, enter other races, fail, succeed, and fail again before they tackle the bigger races. Is it a hobby? Define hobby. It’s not like collecting shot glasses or gardening in big hats. It’s not something I do to entertain or relax myself or bring fleeting joy to an otherwise bland life. But if by hobby you mean, “something I’ve obsessively wanted since I was old enough to hold a crayon but couldn’t do because life happened and forced me to earn a living writing another way but couldn’t kill the desire to write the way I want so I learn the craft as best I can with the mental and creative tools God saw fit to give me and chase a dream while being cautious not to delude myself or jeapordize a sure thing for a long shot”, then yeah, it’s a hobby.

  2. Laura Reyna on Sunday: 22 October 2006|1353

    I agree w/ you on this one Unk. I find this newbie obsession w/ contests strange & somewhat counterproductive.

    *FOR ME* the whole point of screenwriting has always been to sell scripts & make a living as a professional. Scripts are meant to be FILMED after all. Anything else is just not worth it for me.

    And I don’t think contests are really for the professional. They seem to be geared for the artistically minded amateur. That’s fine if you’re one of those.

    But i’ve come to the conclusion that writers w/ a truly *professional* mindset are better off staying away from most contests (excluding Nicholls, Austin & a couple of others.). They should spend that time and energy writing marketable scripts & finding representation thru other means.

  3. Miriam Paschal on Monday: 23 October 2006|0610

    I don’t have time to enter contests. I’m too busy with projects that other people are trying to make into movies.

    I somehow fell into this. First one person asked, then another and another. These are people who want to make movies and enjoy hustling for funding, but they have asked me (and others) to supply the raw materials for those movies: screenplays.

    So I find myself writing within teams and with partners, trying to come up with something that’s low budget and marketable.

    So no time for contests.

  4. greg on Monday: 23 October 2006|0942

    Sigh.

    Everyone watches movies and thinks they can do better. And there is so much blank space on a page in a script - it can’t be that hard, right?

    And if you don’t have any contacts in Hollywood - all you gotta do is win a contest - and then you get an agent - and then the money rains down from heaven.

    Agents won’t read anything - and what do they know anyways - those money grubbing bastards. MY type of film just isn’t being made - and my genius needs to be recognized.

    Bleah.

    Movies are made to communicate. And there is only one Charlie Kauffman. The rest of us are fighting for Die Hard 8.

    I submitted my script to one festival. Not even a good one. I was rejected - and the comments didn’t address anything past the first page.

    Shortly later - I raised a million bucks and ended up getting two big names attached, an agent at one of the big six and a manager.

    Write what you love -but do it so that people will watch. If a contest helps you - great. If you don’t care what people want - great.

    But that begs the question - why?

    If you just want validation - write a novel. Write a short story. Write a blog.

    Movies cost millions. Scripts are there to start the process. Unless you’re an indy film maker - what’s the point?

    To chase the dream - you need to find an audience. Otherwise - its just masturbation - and expensive masturbation at that.

  5. m on Monday: 23 October 2006|1236

    I think no matter what your motivation for writing, a contest is going to hurt much. I’ve done come competitions (though for TV specs, so its a very different animal from features (since we don’t have to get past the ten dollar hurdle for one thing)) and because working agents and producers are sometimes readers for the contests, I’ve gotten some attention I otherwise would not have gotten. I’ve also learned from working writers that a place or win in the better known contests mean something to agents (not all, but enough) when you’re just cold-sending query letters.
    It’s just another means of separating the the wheat from the…other thing.

    So, send it in to a competition when you’re done with it (whatever it is) if you’re so inclined, the worst that can happen is you don’t win.

    Also, writing to sell is a tricky thing. Ultimately, I think it’s part of what makes bad, unchallenging movies. If writing to sell gets you what you want, great, but it’s not doing movie-lovers any favors. That’s why we’ve had a glut of craptacular horror movies in last ten years. You should write what you love to write and either you can get that made or you can’t.

    Also, those screnplays that aren’t $10-ass-in-seats stories might be TVM’s. Between Sci-Fi, Lifetime, USA, Spike, Comedy Central, there’s plenty of places where those stories can be told besides the multiplex. Direct to DVD also. Bill Cunningham’s all about how D2DVD is the 21st century pulp fiction.

    I guess I’m just saying that it isn’t as narrow as all that.

    The irony is when prodcos and agents are asked for advice to writers trying to break in, they’ll all tell you “don’t try to write what you think will sell,” but getting anything else of the ground is a damn struggle…it is however stuff that comes out of that pile that can really excite people’s imaginations and change things.

  6. Ann Wesley Hardin on Tuesday: 24 October 2006|0338

    Hey Unk!

    Alot of these same issues have bled over into the novel biz now. Books cost so much to promote, produce and distribute that no one wants anything less than high concept with huge sales potential. Contests are slightly more effective in publishing than in Hollywood, however. Agents and editors judge the final rounds and there are a billion of them. I only ever entered two but I know lots of people who are career contestants.

    What you’re saying is true. Most of the people who succeed in this biz have found a way to write to the market and still maintain their individual voice. Art doesn’t have to be compromised by writing to the market, but it might have to be twisted a little ;) I’m well-published with a medium press, but if I want to take that next step to NY, it’s nuthin’ but high concept, baybeee. Doesn’t mean I can’t write to my passions, but I do have to wrap them up into one tidy, neat little marketable sentence, and you know what? Having that high concept sentence looping in my head as I write the book is a good focusing mantra. There’s alot to be said for it.

    Great post!

  7. Stephanie on Tuesday: 24 October 2006|1031

    Hey Unk — Thanks for the blog. I read through your insights on the Expo and enjoyed a few of the instructors you recommended. Thanks! And you’re right when you say it’s absolutely worth it for the money. While there I entered the CS Open — another contest of sorts — and found myself repeatedly going back for another round to see if I had the chops to advance among 700+ writers. It’s a heady experience seeing your competition face to face! Anyway, I missed advancing by a few points — they had really high scores this year! — BUT the coverage guys wrote that my scenes were interesting, original and creative, even though I didn’t follow the prompt! LOL. My writing hasn’t been called original or creative in a while and that was worth much more than 5K to me! Cheers!

  8. jag on Tuesday: 24 October 2006|1647

    I’m with you. I don’t understand the contest mindset either. I don’t understand why anyone would go through the whole exercise of writing a script if its not a commercially viable idea.

    That’s not to say that I have never entered a contest. I did several years ago. When I never heard back from them, I realized that I had wasted $60 bucks.

    I made the decision to take screenwriting seriously and not just as a hobby, so I moved to LA and got a job in the business so that I could make contacts.

    It hasn’t been easy. But at least, now I am in the position to submit my scripts to development people and producers that I’ve met. Sure, they still turn me down. But its a lot cheaper then entering contests and since they know me they give me feedback. And if on the off-chance that they do say yes, it’s likely my script will get made into a film, which is why I wrote the dang thing in the first place.

  9. The Moviequilll on Tuesday: 24 October 2006|1853

    I recently talked to a development exec on the phone and he asked me if my work had been “out” anywhere. I mentioned I had submitted it in a few contest, but before I could speak further, he broke into laughter… I boiled an egg, waited for him to stop, and he says “forget them”

  10. Lisa S. on Wednesday: 25 October 2006|1202

    Unk,
    Please force Greg to reveal how he raised a million dollars and got two stars attached. And no Steve Martin funny business, either… “first, raise a million dollars!…”
    :)

  11. Unk on Wednesday: 25 October 2006|1744

    Force? LOL.

    Okay Greg…

    I’m FORCING you to reveal how you raised a million dollars and got two stars attached.

    Greg?

    Greg?

    LOL.

    Unk

  12. Lisa S. on Friday: 27 October 2006|0822

    Rats. I was hoping for a YouTube video complete with duct tape and cut Achilles tendons.

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