Updates on Competition Entries (revised as of September 30, 2013)

Here it is another September, and I'm pleased to announce that I am once again a finalist. My feature spec A Good Soul has made the top 20 finalist list of this year's Shriekfest. This will be the third time the script has been honored as a finalist, once in the California Independent Film Festival, and later in the Long Beach Queen Mary Paranoia Festival.

Speaking of Shriekfest, my short script PWNED had been a finalist there in 2011. This year, the script made the top 100 list of the Table Read My Screenplay Competitions. Where am I leading? I guess I'm trying to say that if different competitions share the same opinions about your script, you might be onto something. I hope so. Either way, I'm proud that both of these scripts have been recognized by these wonderful organizations. (Note: as of September 30, PWNED progressed to the Top 30 Finalists across all categories.)

Needless to say, if you've entered a competition and your script didn't make it to anybody's list, please don't get discouraged! There are so many people attempting to write screenplays that it's easy to fall victim to the notion that you're just not good enough. As a script reader I can honestly attest to reading so much material that is good. The problem is that there is only ten percent of the good that actually gets recognized. And yes, at that point, personal opinion does come into play.

As a finalist, I'm fortunate enough to have something to back up my ability as a writer, but as a reader I'm also painfully aware that  luck is also a factor. Last year I was fortunate enough to score finalist status in The Austin Film Festival and in Scriptapalooza with a Supernatural TV series spec, but I didn't make the cut when I entered the WB Writer's Workshop this year with two that were arguably better based on the opinions of other writer friends. Oh yeah, and one of them, subtitled I Got You Babe, is a quarterfinalist in Final Draft's Big Break competition (had to edit that in since I found out after this original posting - YAY!).

Bottom line, it's a tough business. Persevere by keeping an open mind to criticism, recognizing personal opinion and continuing to write.

Obsessing

As a writer I'm finding that my natural state of mind seems to be obsessing about... well, the quality of my writing. I don't believe that I am the best writer in the world. I don't even believe myself to be very prolific. But I still obsess. Does anyone care? Will I succeed in entertaining someone? Will my work be recognized on any level?

In July I was obsessing over the completion of some Supernatural TV specs. I once vowed to never tackle TV, and it was precisely because of what a writing friend of mine recently asked when I spread the news my spec Supernatural - Intervention made the top 10% list at the Austin Film Fest and at Scriptapalooza.

Kevin asked me this - "I just wanted to ask, out of curiosity, when you wrote a script for Supernatural, at what point in the storyline did you write it from? Or was it like a stand alone, "monster of the week" type script? Because I'm only thinking is it not kinda hard to write a script for lets say, where the overall storyline is now, because by the time you have it written out and finished the storyline couldve moved on?"

Spot on, Kev. Yes, the very reason I took so long to tackle ANY TV spec is because of the outdating that a series timeline represents. I obsessed about why I shouldn't do it instead of just doing it... I'm glad I decided to do it.

So, as mentioned, Supernatural - Intervention has made it to the top 10% list of two very relevant screenwriting competitions. It's a relief to be recognized (OMG, someone believes I have talent!). Do I continue to obsess? Absolutely. Can I continue to pull it off? What should I be writing next? Etc. etc. And the beat goes on.

I thank my writing friends and family for keeping me writing. They are an inspiration, and I hope that I'm as much of an inspiration to them to keep doing what it is they are passionate about. For some, it's writing. For others it's... other stuff. Keep doing what you do! Keep obsessing about it - in a good way.

And keep writing. :]