Quoted from Felipe Anyone else think the words "Good Effort," while having the best intentions, will always sound like a bad thing? =D

Not if it comes from Jeff.  

Sandra

Quoted from Sandra Elstree. Not if it comes from Jeff.

I honestly don't know what you people want or expect.  I have gone out of my way to be as positive and nice as humanly possible here and it still doesn't seem to work.

I give up.

I don't actually mind being told "good effort." I just think it's funny every time I see it.

Pretty sure Sandra was kidding.

Quoted from Dreamscale I honestly don't know what you people want or expect.  I have gone out of my way to be as positive and nice as humanly possible here and it still doesn't seem to work. I give up.

I've actually been really impressed by your comments, Jeff. They're quite good, even if you clearly weren't a fan of the script. Huge kudos

Quoted from JC Cleveland I honestly don't know what you people want or expect.  I have gone out of my way to be as positive and nice as humanly possible here and it still doesn't seem to work. I give up

Good effort Jeff  

Mark

Quoted from irish eyes Good effort Jeff

Well played.  I tried.  That's all I can do.

Maybe people would rather hear their writing and scripts are great, and leave it at that.  I personally don't see how that is ever going to help a writer that is making mistakes or just doesn't know or get it.

Quoted from Dreamscale Maybe people would rather hear their writing and scripts are great, and leave it at that.  I personally don't see how that is ever going to help a writer that is making mistakes or just doesn't know or get it.

Well, we all know where this came from don't we?

And the problem is when it becomes a call to dishonesty.

You MUST say something positive, or have an overall positive vibe, or not be negative about a script, so you end up saying 'congrats on entering'. Yes we can read between the lines, so I've generally put it in all of them.

Criticism is a trick (tricky) and should (in its original form) be a balance of good and bad. But sometimes there's very little good to go on, so it's bound to end up 'forced' or somewhat disingenuous.

But I'm not entirely convinced it's a completely bad thing, as has been proved here, the lines inbetween can be exposed for what they are...

Quoted from Dreamscale I honestly don't know what you people want or expect.  I have gone out of my way to be as positive and nice as humanly possible here and it still doesn't seem to work. I give up.

Hey jeff (now known as Mr Cuddles), i thought you got it spot on. You probably know that in previous ones you went too far, but not here. Look if anybody gets wound up by "good effort" or something similar then thats a bit over sensitive. Ok it may jar, but damn it, it could have been worse.

As more OWC's take place reviewers, especially the new ones, will probably find their own way of saying it wasn't for me.

What is really helpful is when someone dips back in with further thoughts or reflection, it shows they tried.

Now to the choices.

Two things to think about [1] which do i prefer and [2] who wrote what etc

In reverse order, i have names in mind (to be revealed when appropriate - does another thread begin for this? should the writers be revealed first without naming scripts?) for;

(in the order i read them)

Three
Blood Root
Sinister Plans
Pagan Man
The Secret war

Real counterfeit witches is a given

a few others may arise when given further thought.

Last time i guessed Eoin for one script and he hadn't even submitted one - woops.

Now to my favourites, which again will follow at a suitable time.

First things first. This was primarily a feature script challenge. There were some decent shorts, but i will have to consider them separately. So the first ten pages will end suddenly and leave many things unexplained, or should do IMO. The questions i want to ask are;

1] can i see this as a feature and then would i want to see it. The second part is less important as i may not be the target audience, but still, could it appeal in the real world?

2] Do i know the protag, what they have to over come etc?

3] can i see the journey and a hint of subplots and themes

4] Well written and paced are obviously important as well but, as i will forgive myself for typos and the odd awkward phrase, i will forgive others bearing in mind the six days given to put everything together.

5] was there an inciting incident to trigger this story? Now if you believe the guru that it is STC (don't shout at me, i'm just saying) this should appear on page 12 - damn two too late. So it will be interesting to hear whether anybody's script had the II to appear later.

Many others, but at its heart, does this feel like the first ten of a feature?

As a final note, you wouldn't want to do this all the time, but i think this has been a great test and a worthy variation.

When I write congrats on finishing the OWC, I'm not trying to be mean.  
I'm happy that the writer had written a script and entered it in the challenge for me to read.

Cindy

Quoted from CindyLKeller When I write congrats on finishing the OWC, I'm not trying to be mean.

I know Cindy. It was not aimed at you either. I meant that when a review starts with Congratulations for finishing and then it turns out that was the only positive thing that person had to say about the script, then it does feel...condescending maybe.

Quoted from Reef Dreamer Real counterfeit witches is a given

Am I the only one who doesn't know who did this? I haven't been on SS long enough I guess.

So I've got my list of favourites ready.

But I've also got another little list of people who I might need to apologise to...

Must be par for the course???

And I'm lost on Real Counterfeit's author as well. I'm just sticking to male/female as far as guessing identity goes. I know. Set the bar low.

Quoted from CoopBazinga Am I the only one who doesn't know who did this? I haven't been on SS long enough I guess.

Quoted from SiColl0007 And I'm lost on Real Counterfeit's author as well. I'm just sticking to male/female as far as guessing identity goes. I know. Set the bar low.

Are you guys frickin' serious?  The writer of this script has a long history of writing such scripts, especially in OWC's.  If you go back to any and every OWC that he or she was a part of, you'll see immediately what I mean.

And I will give you 2 hints - I didn't write it and Stevie didn't write it.  Hope that helps, as I'm sure the two of us were at the top of your list of possible writers.