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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  The Quickie Challenge  /  The Quickie Challenge LOCATION/OBJECT Picks!!!
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 17th, 2017, 5:52pm
The Quickie Challenge Location/Object Picks

Remember, you may choose either set. You CANNOT mix and match between them. Just pick one group or the other:


Location: A Retirement Home
Object: A Jump Rope


---------------------------------

Location: A Church
Object: A Pair of Dice



You have until August 20th at 11:59pm EST to write a screenplay up to 3 pages in length incorporating the chosen location/object. Screenplays are to be properly formatted and submitted in a PDF file. Please submit your script to simplyscripts.com/owc.

Review the full rules HERE.

Good luck and have fun!!!
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 17th, 2017, 6:38pm; Reply: 1
No questions? I was ready for an avalanche of questions and pitchfork attacks.
Posted by: Sandra Elstree., August 17th, 2017, 6:46pm; Reply: 2
Oh my God I have something.

But I have absolutely no idea how this might come off in three pages.

I am totally in waters too deep.

Sandra
Posted by: JEStaats, August 17th, 2017, 7:05pm; Reply: 3
Damn the luck. I've a dice game in a retirement home all set to go. Back to the keyboard.
Posted by: SAC, August 17th, 2017, 7:57pm; Reply: 4
Done. Submitted. Next!
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 17th, 2017, 8:04pm; Reply: 5

Quoted from SAC
Done. Submitted. Next!


Impossible!
Posted by: SAC, August 17th, 2017, 8:17pm; Reply: 6
;D
Posted by: stevie, August 17th, 2017, 8:21pm; Reply: 7
Lol just read this now. And a script just about wrote itself in my head.

And Khamanna? It doesn't matter where u are on the globe you still have 3 days!

In Oz it is currently 1125am on Friday the 18th. I have till Monday the 21st my time to submit!  I think... Lol
Posted by: khamanna, August 18th, 2017, 12:52am; Reply: 8
Heres a clever question for you - what do you mean by a pair of dice? Is it two dice or can it be just one? I always get confused by that. And if it's a pair can I show two and use just one in an action? More questions are coming - I have three days, don't I.
Posted by: DanC, August 18th, 2017, 12:56am; Reply: 9
I posted my question elsewhere, however, since Khamanna posted a similar question here, can we have a bit More info on the die\dice??

Can it be any kind of dice?  Can you have more than two??

Will probably think of more later.

Thanks
Dan
Posted by: Warren, August 18th, 2017, 1:07am; Reply: 10
Done, thanks James.

Enjoyable little challenge.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 18th, 2017, 2:32am; Reply: 11

Quoted from khamanna
Heres a clever question for you - what do you mean by a pair of dice? Is it two dice or can it be just one? I always get confused by that. And if it's a pair can I show two and use just one in an action? More questions are coming - I have three days, don't I.


Originally the singular of dice was die. Here though, I believe a pair of dice would be two.
Posted by: MarkRenshaw, August 18th, 2017, 3:01am; Reply: 12
Damn, I had the most amazing jump rope competition in a church story ever! Back to the drawing board!

Seriously though, drawing a blank at the moment but I always do at first. Gonna have a think at the gym later!
Posted by: khamanna, August 18th, 2017, 5:07am; Reply: 13
Sometimes they say "roll the dice" and roll just one - that's why I'm asking. Actually, not imperative to my idea. I can show two, not a problem at all.
The other thing I wanted to ask was about the mass.
If a priest talks in the background do we have to establish what he says in a dialog?

I thought I had less than three days, now I see I have much less as I need to wait for James' beauty sleep to end.
Posted by: Grandma Bear, August 18th, 2017, 5:54am; Reply: 14
Fuzzy dice?  ;D

As far as the countdown clock goes, I think Don is on vacation.

I got an idea. Should be easy.  ;)
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 18th, 2017, 9:12am; Reply: 15
Sorry for the late response, folks.

In terms of number of dice... it can be a single die. It can be any number of dice. I originally wrote "a die" then "dice" but they both looked weird to me. So I went with a pair of dice. The number is not an issue though. You can have a hundred dice. Some goes for the other challenge set, you can have any number of jump ropes.

In terms of the look of the dice... it's hard to cover every possibility... they can be fuzzy dice, they can have more than six sides... I'd say you may run into trouble if the sides don't represent numbers.

Think of it this way, if you saw a pair lying on the ground would you say "it's dice", or would you say "what the **** is this?" If it's a 20-sided icosahedron with alien symbols on each side that's probably gonna go into the latter category. The more ridiculous you get with it, the more you risk having a reader say that's not dice.
Posted by: CameronD, August 18th, 2017, 9:31am; Reply: 16
Must it be set entirely in the location or can we just visit it?
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 18th, 2017, 9:43am; Reply: 17

Quoted from Khamanna
If a priest talks in the background do we have to establish what he says in a dialog?


Not sure what you mean. There's no requirement that there be any dialogue at all in the script. Or priests for that matter. It just has to be in a church and have dice in it.

You could write the scene you're describing as something like:

The priests remain huddled in the far corner, talking in hushed whispers.
Posted by: irish eyes, August 18th, 2017, 9:44am; Reply: 18
Must it be set entirely in the location or can we just visit it?



LOCATION/OBJECT REQUIREMENTS FURTHER EXPLAINED:

Neither has to appear in the entirety of the screenplay.

Just make it clear we are in the location at some point AND that the object is in at least one scene at some point.
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 18th, 2017, 9:47am; Reply: 19

Quoted from CameronD
Must it be set entirely in the location or can we just visit it?


Does not have to be entirely set in location. We just have to be in the location at some point.

Remember, the full rules are HERE.

I'll reproduce the stuff about object/location below...


LOCATION/OBJECT REQUIREMENTS FURTHER EXPLAINED:

Neither has to appear in the entirety of the screenplay.

Just make it clear we are in the location at some point AND that the object is in at least one scene at some point.

For the location, you can just put it in a master scene heading, you can use a mini-slug, you can do anything as long as it's clear we are in that location at some point. If the reader cannot tell for sure, you run the risk of getting DQ'ed.

For the object, have it be visible at some point in the screenplay. It cannot be a character describing the object. It cannot be a painting of the object. It cannot be a hologram. It has to be the actual object we can see on screen.

Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 18th, 2017, 11:20am; Reply: 20

Quoted from MarkItZero
Sorry for the late response, folks.

In terms of number of dice... it can be a single die. It can be any number of dice. I originally wrote "a die" then "dice" but they both looked weird to me. So I went with a pair of dice. The number is not an issue though. You can have a hundred dice. Some goes for the other challenge set, you can have any number of jump ropes.

In terms of the look of the dice... it's hard to cover every possibility... they can be fuzzy dice, they can have more than six sides... I'd say you may run into trouble if the sides don't represent numbers.

Think of it this way, if you saw a pair lying on the ground would you say "it's dice", or would you say "what the **** is this?" If it's a 20-sided icosahedron with alien symbols on each side that's probably gonna go into the latter category. The more ridiculous you get with it, the more you risk having a reader say that's not dice.


20-sided dice were used over 2000 years ago and today they are used in wargames, like Warhammer, etc. They're easy to buy.

But... I like that you're not going to be too strict. So long as they're dice.
Posted by: Cooper, August 18th, 2017, 12:26pm; Reply: 21
Andrew Dice Clay?
I was totally going to open with, "Hickory Dickory Dock, Ay!!!!"
Posted by: MarkRenshaw, August 18th, 2017, 2:27pm; Reply: 22
I've got an idea I really like, just depends if I can pull it off in 3-pages. I'll only get chance to write it on Sunday but that should be plenty of time.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 18th, 2017, 2:49pm; Reply: 23

Quoted from MarkRenshaw
I've got an idea I really like, just depends if I can pull it off in 3-pages. I'll only get chance to write it on Sunday but that should be plenty of time.


I was going out tomorrow, but we're doing Sunday instead. Either way though, I'm pushed for time on this one too.
Posted by: JEStaats, August 18th, 2017, 3:08pm; Reply: 24
Holy crap. I never thought it would be so difficult to limit myself to three pages. First draft is done. Now to stew on it a while.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 18th, 2017, 4:51pm; Reply: 25
Done the initial draft. Got some time tomorrow to rewrite but I'm also rewriting the first ten of a feature by Monday too, so the time for this will probably be a couple of hours before bed. The feature has to take priority.
Posted by: Pale Yellow, August 18th, 2017, 10:21pm; Reply: 26
I"m in :) It'll be Sunday writing for me. No idea yet but I'm leaning towards the church... :)
Posted by: Sandra Elstree., August 18th, 2017, 10:38pm; Reply: 27
My Lord, Dear MarkItZero,

You have a bunch of mischievous little pranksters to deal with in this thread I see.

But it's fun! And yes, they're good questions! And make ya think!

Good job for running this challenge.

I've been scraping something together. Don't know how it's going to work out, but I'm really glad and thankful for something to keep me going.

Sandra :)
Posted by: khamanna, August 19th, 2017, 4:12am; Reply: 28
I have one more question - so it's fine if there's dice somewhere else as long as the church is present in the script as well? I mean what if my character plays dice at home then goes to church?

And if not would it be okay if I have dice played at the retirement home then switch to church and have a jump rope in the church - all in the same script?
Posted by: Warren, August 19th, 2017, 4:44am; Reply: 29
"Just make it clear we are in the location at some point AND that the object is in at least one scene at some point."

It just says one scene not the SAME scene, seems pretty clear.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 19th, 2017, 5:02am; Reply: 30
The priest in my story has dice tattooed on his testicles, but he can still use them as physical dice, so I'm pretty sure it counts.
Posted by: khamanna, August 19th, 2017, 5:11am; Reply: 31
Thanks, Warren, that answers my question. It's so hard to catch James these days with his regularly scheduled beauty sleeps.

I wanted to double check. You know - you think you got a stranger in a strange land and then the stranger is not strange enough and stuff. And you can't even reply to them when they start with that.
Posted by: Warren, August 19th, 2017, 6:23am; Reply: 32
:) Not a problem.

He may still come back with another answer but to me it seems clear. I would have specifically stated that they needed to be in the same scene if that was the case and that doesn't seem to be what he has said.

Definitely know what you mean, I had that problem with the "in a taxi" challenge a few challenges back.
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 19th, 2017, 6:39am; Reply: 33

Quoted from Sandra Elstree.
My Lord, Dear MarkItZero,

You have a bunch of mischievous little pranksters to deal with in this thread I see.

But it's fun! And yes, they're good questions! And make ya think!

Good job for running this challenge.

I've been scraping something together. Don't know how it's going to work out, but I'm really glad and thankful for something to keep me going.

Sandra :)


Thanks, glad you're enjoying the challenge! Keep an eye on those sneaky pranksters for me.
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 19th, 2017, 6:43am; Reply: 34

Quoted from khamanna
I have one more question - so it's fine if there's dice somewhere else as long as the church is present in the script as well? I mean what if my character plays dice at home then goes to church?

And if not would it be okay if I have dice played at the retirement home then switch to church and have a jump rope in the church - all in the same script?


Yeah, the object doesn't necessarily have to appear in the location. So long as it's in the script somewhere.

If you pull off a dice/retirement home/church/jump rope script you will be a God among mortals.
Posted by: Grandma Bear, August 19th, 2017, 7:41am; Reply: 35

Quoted from MarkItZero
The Quickie Challenge Location/Object Picks
Remember, you may choose either set. You CANNOT mix and match between them. Just pick one group or the other:
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 19th, 2017, 9:20am; Reply: 36
Yes, you cannot swap the requirements.

If you pick the first group, you must have a retirement home and a jump rope.

If you pick the second group, you must have a church and dice.

Assuming you have those required elements for that group, you can have any other locations and objects in the world in addition to those.

Does that make sense or did people's heads just explode?
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 19th, 2017, 9:28am; Reply: 37
Makes sense to me. So you can have all four if you'd like to, or even three... so long as two of them are from one group. Which is handy, as the priest in my story needs to tie his dice-tattooed testicles back on with something after using them, so why not make it a skipping rope?
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 19th, 2017, 9:34am; Reply: 38

Quoted from DustinBowcot
Makes sense to me. So you can have all four if you'd like to, or even three... so long as two of them are from one group. Which is handy, as the priest in my story needs to tie his dice-tattooed testicles back on with something after using them, so why not make it a skipping rope?


Hilarious and correct.
Posted by: JEStaats, August 19th, 2017, 1:58pm; Reply: 39
At first I hated this three page limit. Now I love it as it made me really look at my action lines and trim the fat. I think this TDC has made me a better writer. All I have to do now is the logline and post it!
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 19th, 2017, 2:32pm; Reply: 40
I'm looking forward to reading all of the fat-trimmed scripts. I've kinda given mine away now. Soon as people see the testicles, they're going to know it's mine.
Posted by: JEStaats, August 19th, 2017, 4:59pm; Reply: 41
Signed, sealed and delivered. Done and done.

It's hard to tell how many are participating this time. Good luck everyone and can't wait to see what gets posted.
Posted by: khamanna, August 19th, 2017, 6:11pm; Reply: 42
I wrote something. I can't promise it's going to be submitted, depending on my mood tomorrow. Yeah, it's not great. But it's within three pages. and I included the object/location requirement. That should count for something. Well, let's see.
Posted by: JEStaats, August 19th, 2017, 6:26pm; Reply: 43
You never know. I didn't like my Red on Yellow in the last OWC and it was well received. I think we need participants for this one so you just gotta post!
Posted by: Gary in Houston, August 19th, 2017, 7:31pm; Reply: 44
I wrote and submitted a steaming load of ****.  But it's three pages and includes the required location/object, so I give it a D+.
Posted by: Talldave, August 19th, 2017, 7:39pm; Reply: 45
Hey man, I feel pretty good about this script. Like...it's not bad or something. I don't know if it's good, but it certainly doesn't seem bad.
Posted by: eldave1, August 19th, 2017, 8:02pm; Reply: 46

Quoted from DustinBowcot
I'm looking forward to reading all of the fat-trimmed scripts. I've kinda given mine away now. Soon as people see the testicles, they're going to know it's mine.


I might have guessed without the clue :). Will the title be The New Testiclement or The Old Testiclement?

I am going to miss this one - wrapped up in finishing a feature - good luck to all.
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 19th, 2017, 8:54pm; Reply: 47
Still more than 24 hours to go.

I'm interested to find out if the scripts are fairly evenly divided between the two choices. I'm sensing more went for church/dice. But it might just be more people had questions about that one.
Posted by: Grandma Bear, August 19th, 2017, 9:26pm; Reply: 48
Mine is in the church with a jump rope, so hopefully mine will be different...  ;D

I have my story totally figured. Just need to find an hour or two tomorrow to write it. I have to prepare a BD party, so it will be tight, but, I'm hustling.  :)
Posted by: eldave1, August 19th, 2017, 9:27pm; Reply: 49
I would guess far more church dice -
Posted by: khamanna, August 20th, 2017, 2:05am; Reply: 50
I would guess 30+ entries
Posted by: DanC, August 20th, 2017, 2:08am; Reply: 51

Quoted from MarkItZero
Still more than 24 hours to go.

I'm interested to find out if the scripts are fairly evenly divided between the two choices. I'm sensing more went for church/dice. But it might just be more people had questions about that one.


Funny that you said that.  My initial idea was to have a demonic jump rope in a retirement home.  However, I didn't want to be spotted again for my work.  So, I went with the demonic forces in a bunch of dice brought to a church for an exorcism...

Oh, wait...

I will always wonder if I should have gone for the demonic jump rope that crippled others to give one wicked woman eternal youth...


Ps,  I am entering, but, I am not sure.  I've never written anything that short, save for that Impact story about the world coming to an end (max 2 pages), so, I don't think I have a complete story.  

I know this, I plan to reward complete stories as compared to skits.  

How will you guys decide?  

Dan
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), August 20th, 2017, 4:42am; Reply: 52
The New Testiclement has now been uploaded - god help you.
Posted by: MarkRenshaw, August 20th, 2017, 5:56am; Reply: 53
I've finished the first draft. Gonna go watch Dark Tower and ponder it for a while then do a final polish before submitting it tonight.

I'm kinda happy with it but I'm wondering if there's too much I'm trying to get across with 3 pages. I'm feeling the feedback will be 'neat idea but it is too rushed' type thing.

Oh and I haven't got a title yet, which is unheard of for me. I always have a title early on, this is the first time I've written with a working title.
Posted by: khamanna, August 20th, 2017, 6:14am; Reply: 54
I read mine and didn't change a word cause this time around I thought it's perfect. So, I submitted it.

Good luck to all.
Posted by: Tyler King, August 20th, 2017, 10:33am; Reply: 55
I submitted mine yesterday...can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with.
Posted by: Pale Yellow, August 20th, 2017, 1:42pm; Reply: 56
Still trying to come up with a story. :-/
Posted by: MarkRenshaw, August 20th, 2017, 2:10pm; Reply: 57
Just submitted mine. Now I can get excited and look forward to reading other entries.
Posted by: SAC, August 20th, 2017, 2:15pm; Reply: 58

Quoted from khamanna
I read mine and didn't change a word cause this time around I thought it's perfect.


Such humility. ;D
Posted by: DanC, August 20th, 2017, 2:23pm; Reply: 59
I submitted mine too.  Hopefully, you guys won't pick out which one is mine.

Good luck all, but secretly, don't we all mean, good luck, but if you beat my story that we hope that your soft parts get eaten by dogs??

But, seriously, good luck.

Dan
Posted by: Talldave, August 20th, 2017, 4:59pm; Reply: 60
I've done it!!! Script submitted, now time to go clean some toilets at work :)
Posted by: Grandma Bear, August 20th, 2017, 7:02pm; Reply: 61
Just got home from a BD party, so doesn't look like I'll make this one either. I'll try to read though. Shouldn't be too hard since they're all rather short.  ;D
Posted by: Dreamscale (Guest), August 20th, 2017, 7:33pm; Reply: 62
No chance to write this weekend.

We roasted another 7 pounds of "XTRA HOT" Hatch green chiles, made about 4 pounds of manicotti, and that has nothing to do with what we ate for dinners this weekend.

Oh yeah...we got SCHLAMMIED starting Friday afternoon and never let up. Salmon on the grill tonight.

I had an idea and was about to hammer it out, but got hammered instead.  Sorry, as I did want to play...but will rad and give my usual great feedback in a nice, professional way...

or...

Ah fuck it.  I'll be me.  Get ready!   ;D ;D ;D ;D

Posted by: JEStaats, August 20th, 2017, 7:43pm; Reply: 63
It wouldn't be the same without your feedback. Both barrels, Jeff!
Posted by: stevie, August 20th, 2017, 8:15pm; Reply: 64
Nearly done. It was very odd not having to cut heaps as normally I finish and have written way too much lol. i'm actually have the room to break up my action paragraphs into two lines if i so wish LOL

I was gonna not do a log line as it seemed silly with only 3 pages - and I have trouble with them anyway lol - but i was able to think of a decent one
Posted by: MarkItZero, August 20th, 2017, 9:04pm; Reply: 65
Two hours left! Looking forward to reading what you guys came up with. I'm gonna go watch game of thrones now so hopefully no one has any last minute questions.

Someone always asks this so the submission page is simplyscripts.com/owc.
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