Screenwriting : Screenwriting Contests by Vienna Avelares

Vienna, by losing, do you mean not placing at all? No, your name does not go on a "blacklist" if you don't place. The Nicholls, which is the biggest contest out there, requires that you submit your script WITHOUT a cover page so the reads are anonymous for their readers. I enter contests to gauge where I stand with other writers but there's a such wide spectrum of subjectivity in contests, and winning does not necessarily translate to future success for the winner. If you have entered several contests and have never come close to placing, it may be an indicator that you need further development as a screenwriter.

I agree with Monique. Contests can be fun, but can drain the wallet. I wouldnt get too caught up in them. I had a script place in the top 10% of the Nicholl. It was my first script and I really thought I knew what I was doing, but I didn't. It was pushed through because of the STORY not because I knwe how to write a screenplay. I got about a dozen read requests from Producers and Managers-- all passes. Make sure your writing is great.

Hey Vienna, try not to take screenwriting contests personally. It's all about the writing and the story, not about you. Contests are subjective -- you never know how someone will perceive your script. Personally, I have placed as a finalist, a semi-finalist and not at all in different competitions. Again, you never know. Contests do offer you a way to see how your writing stands up to others. Place as a quarter-finalist, you know you're on the right track. Place as a semi-finalist or finalist, you know your writing is reaching a professional level. Many contests also offer judges notes for an additional fee, which can be extremely helpful and usually costs much less than a script consultant. However, it sounds like you may have submitted your script too early. Perhaps working with a consultant would be helpful to you. It certainly helped me! The Happy Writers come highly recommended. After some polishing on your script, try again, and see how it goes! Stay with it and keep writing!

I don't have words, to thank all of you for your comments. I will keep writing, I just got a bit concerned that I will be hurting my reputation as a screenwriter by not winning. (You guys can tell I am a newbie). Thank you so much for the feedback.

Monique thanks for the grammar correction, appreciated.

Contests don't really mean anything and are not an indication of your writing prowess. 99% of them appear to be money making ventures and 99.9999% do not lead to a career in writing. Can anyone name a contest winner that has gone on to have success?

Evan Daugherty. He won Script Pipeline with Snow White and the Huntsman. The rest as they say, is history... a big bucks deal followed. Around the screenwriting blogs, there's a lot of chatter about Vince Gilligan winning a local screenwriting contest in Virginia that directly contributed to putting him in front of the right people... and ultimately there was some show. What was it? Breaking Bad? It's no guarantee a win or notable placement will be the needed catapult to "overnight screenwriting stardom." At the same time, competition successes, depend upon the reputation of the contest/festival, do increase receptivity to pitch queries, attention rendered at film fests, and more. I recall trying to pitch a development exec at AFM a few years ago. When I mentioned a recent win, he took me out in the hallway, amongst throngs of passers by, to hear my pitch. He read the script. While he passed on it, he left the door open for future submissions. Some are better than others. Do research. Follow comments on writers boards, overlooking the obvious ones where writers with no cyberspace profile sing the praises of a fest. As well, sort through the sour grapes commentaries. There are some good and useful contests. All contests are subjective and they all have their preferences for genre and style. A win in one fest may not even make the first cut in another. Happens all the time. And year to year, the interests change. The truth is, buzz follows good writing. Sizzle follows great writing.

If you define success as: did the winning writer get their winning script produced, then no, most winners aren't successful in that sense. I think contest finalists are more likely to get exposure and get repped which hopefully leads to writing assignments. Contests aren't designed to guarantee the writer success, only exposure, and there are really only a handful of contests which can do that.

I couldn't agree with you more Phillip and Monique. Contests are a great way to be read, to have some exposure, to gauge your writing! However, be very selective to which one you enter and be realistic to the outcome -- it's your money, time and sanity. Know what you hope to achieve. To enter a contest thinking you're going to win and then become a big star is preposterous. But, win or place, you can add that to your resume. It does validate you as a writer. An agent or manager may give you their attention because you have proven yourself to be a good writer.

And there is your .0001%. LOL!

Screenwriters have to be like Jim Carrey in "Dumb and Dumber." When he asks Lauren Holly what the odds are for someone like her and someone like him, she replies with a "one in a million" odds assessment. Carrey retorts something like, "so there's still a pretty good chance." That's how it is in this biz, especially for above the line positions. And success is more likely for those who pursue more avenues. Not saying fests and competitions are the ultimate answer, but it is a means for creating presence. Personal taste perhaps. But didn't I earn .0002 with my post? Huh? Wink goes here.

I'd say you earned a .0002 Philip! Maybe even a .0003!!

Aw shucks. Thanks, Beth.

BTW, the .0001% was for Evan... LOL!

As he deserves!

Thank you Dan your comment is extremely assertive, this is a tournament career, and I will continue to write. I am working on it, to be the best at what I love to do.

I'm with Evan. I was speaking with some lit agents recently, and they said so many people are now looking to online/self publish because of ELJames, but the truth is, this is one name out of millions of published authors. The success stories from a contest can be counted on one hand, and cf. that with the number of films produced. But us writers often have that desperate desire for affirmation, after so many hour writing alone, and placing in a contest can give you that! There are a few screenplays which place highly, or even win, several contests over several years-- I don't think the writer would re-enter the contests if it had actually been produced.

I've learned that contest readers or feedback providers tend to focus on what they're good at and don't give a complete picture of your screenplay. You can send it to 5 different people and all 5 will focus on something different. Don't waste your money. Write a good screenplay and then get an agent or manager who can get it into the hands of someone who is a good fit for it and can do something with it.

Vienna; If contests annoy you, don't do them. You don't need them anyway.

I had one of my first scripts do well in Nicholl's, but since it was an early script in my career, nothing came of it. Then I've had better scripts since, not place. So it makes me laugh that my earlier one did! I also know of a friend who read scripts for the Nicholl's for his huge producer friend who was supposed to read and that's when I went, "Oh, so that's why my earlier script did well and my better ones haven't!" You just don't know who's reading it or why they do well. I also know of a friend who placed first place in one of the bigger ones, and nothing ever came of it. So use it as a gauge, but it's not the end all be all. Figure out which ones the industry really cares about, like Nicholl's, Trackingb, maybe a few others, Austin, not sure what else. But other than that, just keep writing and getting your work read and better till someone notices.

I entered the PAGE awards contest, seeing it had a better track record of success than Fullsail University at the time, and paid the money for feedback. While I got some interesting advice back, making it past the first round, the feedback made it obvious that the script had only been partially read through, calling for various elements that were already included in the script. It can be very expensive to enter contest after contest, getting professional advice that, ultimately, may make 0 difference. The more I look at the contests/pitchfests/etc,, the more I see a well put together business model designed to harvest money from people in exchange for the slim hope of some kind of success. They wouldn't get put on if they weren't making a profit, especially when only a handful of winners and successes come out of all these events. I'm not saying they don't have worth, but I'd say only invest what you can afford to lose on these.

I am also of the same opinion . I believe the luck and the mood of the producer is the requirement.

If you study the contest winning scripts that were filmed; the only exception in success has been Snow White and Huntsman, ironically that being adaptation from a Brothers Grimm story. The other script (Killing Season) didn't make it that well despite the great actors. The point is that usually the scripts that win the contests don't work so well at screen. I have wondered if it's got something to do with putting so much emphasis on literary qualification, they tend to go on about "easy reading" and grammar

You know what I do instead of competitions? I pay a script coverage service called Script-Fix because that way I get the feedback from readers without quite that same sense of rejection - their feedback is sometimes very focused and doesn't hold back, but I know it's intended to improve the work so I don't take it as personally that way. Those are the people who need to prove yourself to and have them liking your work, because they are the people standing between you and a producer's desk. I wouldn't worry about competitions :)

Personally I approached friends to rewrite my scripts because I know I write prosy language . I also paid fees for one friend and others if I sell try to pay a percentage. I cannot afford the doctor because they are asking for 300 US dollars. I am not sure I will recover my money.

Hi Dan, Can you expand on how you were able to attach know directors to your scripts? Did you query them directly? Thanks in advance!

Yeah and as Dan says contact is important and thanks to stage 32 I do a lot of networking. I am looking out for more women directors, producers

Vienna: I agree with the comment about using contests to promote your work. I was a finalist at one and placed well at two others this year. I'm using that as part of my calling card. If you love writing, keep doing it. Read screenplays by other writers you like and have a good output of work. Best of luck and rejection sucks but don't let it stop you.

Thank you Phillip.

You bet! How many screenplays have you written this year?

So far, 7 spec scripts of a different genre. I just finished a children TV pilot, it was submitted to a contest. :-( My first script an action-drama script, which I realize after pitching it, around several screenwriting festivals, that it was no good, you know how it goes, remember Hemmingway? LOL. I am now working on a script that I am planing to submit to the "Kairos" contest it will be my initial spiritual script. Furthermore, I am finishing the 15 draft of a comedy script. Ja,ja, I love screenwriting. I have awesome ideas, but need to do a lot of working with my action scenes and of course dialogue. I have lots of work ahead of me.

Oh forgot, to mention my Horror Script. I pitched it in a festival about two months ago, and I was told by the two kids I pitched it to; that Zombies are in, Mass Murderers, no good, so have to go back and have my main character chop himself into pieces, come back and start killing everyone and turning them into zombies.... Jaja. I can do zombies. It is okay is a business, a money industry and I can respect that.

Vienna: Good job putting out the work. As far as what is in or out, just write well and forget about all the other BS. If I worried about everyone who disliked my work I'd never write anything. As far as Zombies, they've been in since Night of the Living Dead. I think Lincoln was President then.

Thank you Phillip, best wishes in your future writing endeavors.