Great to see guys finishing their scripts.

I'm at page 47

But once I finish building a greenhouse, staining the wood, painting the house, fixing the plumbing, putting down a floor, cutting and nailing the molding in my FREE time, outside of own job(electrical).
In time for the in laws to come and torture my soul... then  I will write the rest of my script.

Mark

Quoted from dogglebe bate.

An excerpt from my script.

"Henry follows her gaze -- to see a few TEENAGE HOODLUMS leaning against a car, staring at her. One of them wolfwhistles, the other pretends to masturbate."

I got about twenty more of these, just my sneaky ways to increase the page length.

@Everyone still writing - You can do it, guys!

So I wanted to say something here and I hope you’ll indulge me for a little bit, and what follows is not meant to be maudlin in any way, shape or form, but rather a celebration of a discovery.

I entered this contest for a variety of reasons:  because I had not had a previous opportunity to enter one of the OWC’s, because I thought I had a story to tell, because I wanted to push myself as a writer, and mainly to find my strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

For the four weeks since I originally submitting my first ten pages, I have written, rewritten, rewritten, and rewritten some more.  I have agonized, sweated over, lost sleep over, and infuriated myself with this script.  I have beaten myself up to the point that I look like Rocky Balboa at the end of “Rocky” (or for that matter, pretty much any of the sequels).  

And after all the time that I have put in to this effort, I have made a great and wonderful discovery about myself:  I am not a writer.   Wait.  Let me backtrack slightly.  I am not a writer of features, or at least features that require a quick turnaround like this contest does.   That means I’ll almost assuredly never be a paid writer.   Maybe not even an unpaid one.  But here’s the deal.  I am 120 percent okay with that.  Even typing these words makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off me.  

I think I realized I could write shorts, primarily because they required less time to outline the story, and develop the characters.  Probably my biggest weakness is my inability to focus for a long enough period of time to do those very things.  It’s not that I’m lazy or that I lack creativity, it’s that I lack focus (I suffer from ADD and do not take medicine for it).  I get easily distracted from my writing unless I have a clear idea of where I want to take the story.  I am hella good at adaptations, and so I would be awesome at collaboration with someone else who develops the story but needs the script written out.  My daughter is an amazing writer, and I’ve given her my story idea, given her the parameters of what I want to happen, how it’s supposed to end, and she is going to provide me with a full-length storyline which I am going to ultimately adapt into the final screenplay.  Unfortunately, she is going to Italy shortly to study abroad for a couple of months, and doesn’t have the time to write this out before the contest deadline.  So I am officially a casualty, for now, but ultimately this script will get posted.

Do I regret entering the contest?  Not really, except to the extent I have utilized your valuable time to review my work and provide the insightful comments you did.   Like I said, I certainly learned some things about myself, and that is always a good thing.  I will not shirk my responsibility in reviewing everyone else’s work because I committed to that when I entered, and I will follow through on that. Thanks for understanding and I wish everyone the best of luck in finishing your work.

Gary

Hey Gary, sorry to hear that you won't be able to get yours finished in time and that you feel you'll never be a feature writer. I'm glad that you're okay with your epiphany, but the coolest thing you said is that you'll be able to get this feature finished with the help of your daughter. It also opens up the possibility of co-writing with her on any future feature ideas you have, and that's an amazing thing to be able to share with your daughter.

I managed to get mine finished today and it comes in at a whopping 76 pages! Luckily I've had an idea for something else that I can add in which will hopefully push it towards the 85 page mark.

Gary,

Sorry to hear you can't make the deadline. Great that you can finish it later with your daughter though.

That wieght being lifted off your shoulders is always a good sign that you know you're doing what's best for you. I love that feeling of realization - no more stress over something that your energy could be focused elsewhere on.

I know all about ADD - My son has it and he went undiagonsed for 8yrs - drove me nuts. When he's not on his meds he can't sit still for literally more than a minute. Can't focus at school. He's just all over the place. Smart boy though.

As for me - fade out at 85 pages. Still have to add a couple of scenes I missed, so once done it should be over 90. Woohoo! Finally!

Hope everyone else is close, if not already, feeling the relief too.

Sorry to hear you're out Gary. I started out writing shorts and I still struggle to get scripts to the 90 page mark. I just love shorts and that's where I feel most comfortable.

As far as page count goes, I just recently learned that 70 pages/minutes is the minimum for a feature film. Don't ask how I know this.  

Good to see some people finishing!!  

Hey Gary buddy

Don't beat yourself up. It's not an easy challenge and especially when you work a full time job and have a family.
The fact that you're gonna finish it and working with your daughter on it, is awesome.

I haven't wrote a feature in 4 years and that was my one and only. So I really did this to challenge myself. Still, I'm at page 60 and my daughters don't want help me, unless I throw a Lalaloopsy doll in there.

I look forward to your finished product... I liked your first 10

Good luck Gary

Mark

For those of you who follow Pale Yellow on FB.  I think she is nearly done with her script.  She already has a poster made.  

Don

I was just about to post a comment here!

Yeah, I was wondering how everyone's doing? It's been quiet here for awhile.

I'm out. Seems like trying to do these things is an open invitation for all kinds of crap to start pouring into your life. Looking forward to reading the entries and appreciate the opportunity to start thinking about screenwriting again. Thank you.

Shame you aren't going to get it finished Wolfe. Also, gratz Dena for finishing!

[I think] I have some good news! MOAFL has gotten a hit with somebody, it's probably nothing but a producer would like to read the treatment after seeing the first 10 pages on SS. And they mentioned they liked my 'Synopsis', which was actually my logline but who's complaining?

This is probably not going to go anywhere but it's still a good feeling.

Only one person has read the script so far, some good feedback.

AWESOME!!! Can I celebrate for you?  

Quoted from Grandma Bear AWESOME!!! Can I celebrate for you?

Yes.

Finally finished the script of A Written Descent at a little over 100 pages. Longest feature I've written (tough not saying a lot since it's only my second feature).

Funny enough, as I wrote it, the genre changed. I started writing with the mindset of a horror story with small amounts of psychological torture, but yet it evolved into a Thriller, Drama, Mystery with a small does of horror and a large amount of mind torture.

Hopefully the work can equal a good script.

Now begins the tedious task of checking for grammar and spelling!

Also, sorry to hear about Gary and Wolfe dropping out! Although I must admit Gary, that writing with your daughter is awesome! Good luck on your scripts guys!

Congratulations nawazm11! Can't wait to read the script