Monthly Archives: November 2009

Screenwriters … Be Thankful!

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving!   There are many things that we, as screenwriters, can be grateful for.  On this Thanksgiving, take a moment and ponder…

Freedom of Speech  and how you can write whatever YOU want. 

How computers have made rewriting easier.  Can you imagine having to retype every page that you need to rewrite!   OR, putting a screenplay on paper using nothing but a pencil?

Research is faster with help from the internet.   But don’t forget the beauty of your local library and be thankful for that, too.

Readers, the people who read what we write … our family, our internet buddies, friends in our writer’s groups.

And our lives.   All our experiences that we draw from as we write.  Our imaginations, wild and crazy as they are.   Our loves and our fears.  Our challenges and our gifts.

Screenwriters be thankful.  And after you eat some turkey, get back to work and finish that feature!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aichmophobia, Unknown Caller, & The Seven Rays

I participated in the NYCMM contest this week-end. And then I wrote a short screenplay for Robbie Comeau titled “Aichmophobia”.

Robbie is a filmmaker who I met through DVXuser and MoviePoet. He’s looking for a screenplay which incorporates a dream-sequence that he has already written. In case you’re curious, aichmophobia is a “fear of knives”. If Robbie accepts my script, it will be made into a short film. When appropriate, I will upload the SP.

So now, after writing two short screenplays, I’m back to my feature “Unknown Caller” (previously titled “Stalked”). The rewrite is going well.  I’m on page 42.

Yesterday, I found out about the Seven Rays Script-a-Scene Adaptation Competition sponsored by Final Draft.    Jessica Bendinger wrote a book titled “The Seven Rays”. As soon as I can read the book, I’ll decide if I want to write a scene and enter the contest. If I decide to enter, I’ve got until February, 2010, to get that finished!   $20.00 entry fee.

I Survived the (Contest) Week-end

This week-end was reserved for competing in the NYCMM screenplay contest.  I’m happy to announce that I survived the week-end and the assignment.

My five-pager ended up being titled ”Daddy Help Her”.  The assigned genre was horror, the location had to be a farm, and the required object was a remote control.   I’ll post “Daddy Help Her” today if you wish to read it.  Someday it might be rewritten!

I’ll be happy to proceed to the finals but, if I don’t, I got what I needed to out of this competition.  The thing I learned from this competition is how important “time” is when you write.

If you agree  that “writing is rewriting”, then time is needed to do the rewrites.  It is even better if you have a break (more time) in between the rewrites. 

It is possible to produce a polished SP in a week-end but it is a very intense process.   I am so very grateful that my family supports my SP endeavors.