Quoted from oJOHNNYoNUTSo I know I own your vote, since mine was one of your bravest favorites. Pretty sure I blew your skis off Jeff. It ain't easy, but I finally got you to read one of my scripts to Fade Out.

Sweet!!!

Quoted from Reef Dreamer Hey Don, You gonna say which one is... 5. There is one script that did and didn't meet the requirements, but it was a so out of the box interpretation of the theme that I had to include it. ...in due course. Would be interesting to see which one you considered this for.

I wonder what that could be...

Quoted from Dreamscale Sweet!!!

Sike!!!

Quoted from oJOHNNYoNUTSo Sike!!!

ARGH!!  Uhhh...run to the hills...help me...I can't get up...

Quoted from Reef Dreamer To me, the OWC has a usual pattern; 1) we all panic about the challenge, perhaps a little less so this time 2) we knock our scripts in advance, which may be right as last minute changes can have a material affect. I know this as my wife probably saved the day for me this time and it changed from a WTF script to a WTF lite script. 3) we all accept in advance we should be mindful of the time limitation we all have faced. As I have repeated, most don't get seven days, and even then it's only short periods of time in which to do anything But then... 4) we review like these are meant to be polished masterpieces , even though we often say well done for a week. In short we review as normal So... 5) scripts get beaten up too much, with some repetition of previous comments, although there is a positive outcome in that as you get gritty feedback But then it all changes... 6) as the writers are revealed we all become human and understanding again, as it should be. If you can write a script that you think can be worked on to be something better, that is a decent outcome for one week, IMO. In the meantime, you would have had an intense episode of reading, reviewing, considering other feedback etc. all good stuff. OWC - a wonderful event, you just got take a few on the chin.

Wise words there from the Reef man.

I’ve been involved in about 4 of these now and the lessons learned are invaluable every time.

I, and I suspect others, just completely forget these are vomit drafts. We have a week but most don’t get to spend the full week working on it, due to that annoying interfering scallywag called life.

But an idea is spawned that I like, the words go on the page. I get it in a state I think A – Gets the story across clearly and B – Kinda looks OK. So I enter the challenge, eagerly await the unanimous praise from my peers as well as demands from the elite of Hollywood to turn it into a multi-million dollar franchise. I’m joking but also not joking. My ego is colossal but my self-esteem is bedfellows with the titanic; that paradox sometimes cripples me.

Then the first few reviews come in…’terrible, badly written, nonsense, boring, I don’t get it’ etc. etc. and my heart sinks. The ego is deflated and I start questioning everything, why am I bothering? Am I deluding myself? But then some more come in, then  some more. Some get it, some really get it just as I imagined, others like it but have some reservations; most have useful suggestions. At the end once the storm has subsided I am left with a much clearer idea of what works, what doesn’t and many ideas for the next draft.

That stuff is priceless.

Also bear in mind everyone reviewing doesn’t want to like your work, it’s a competition and everyone wants their script to shine brighter than others. So people may be especially harsh and especially if they’ve had some harsh comments themselves. But this in itself is also brilliant because you’ll face just such intense scrutiny if you submit your scripts to studios and festivals.

It’s all good, it’s is just quite intense.

Quoted from MarkRenshaw Wise words there from the Reef man. I’ve been involved in about 4 of these now and the lessons learned are invaluable every time. I, and I suspect others, just completely forget these are vomit drafts. We have a week but most don’t get to spend the full week working on it, due to that annoying interfering scallywag called life. But an idea is spawned that I like, the words go on the page. I get it in a state I think A – Gets the story across clearly and B – Kinda looks OK. So I enter the challenge, eagerly await the unanimous praise from my peers as well as demands from the elite of Hollywood to turn it into a multi-million dollar franchise. I’m joking but also not joking. My ego is colossal but my self-esteem is bedfellows with the titanic; that paradox sometimes cripples me. Then the first few reviews come in…’terrible, badly written, nonsense, boring, I don’t get it’ etc. etc. and my heart sinks. The ego is deflated and I start questioning everything, why am I bothering? Am I deluding myself? But then some more come in, then  some more. Some get it, some really get it just as I imagined, others like it but have some reservations; most have useful suggestions. At the end once the storm has subsided I am left with a much clearer idea of what works, what doesn’t and many ideas for the next draft. That stuff is priceless. Also bear in mind everyone reviewing doesn’t want to like you work, it’s a competition and everyone wants their script to shine brighter than others. So people may be especially harsh and especially if they’ve had some harsh comments themselves. But this in itself is also brilliant because you’ll face just such intense scrutiny if you submit your scripts to studios and festivals. It’s all good, it’s is just quite intense.

Wow Mark,
    that is exactly how I felt and feel.  Except my ego and super ego and id and self-esteem are all near titanic levels and then I do this and bam, sink below the bottom.  I know Max has those sorts of issues.

And it's funny b/c Mark, Max and others, I think you are all good writers.  Sure, you have work to do to get better, but, some of the stuff that I read is actually pretty good, better then some of that schlock out today in movies and TV.  

And here we are, on the outside with the odds stacked against us.  

I know I am not doing it for money.  I want to touch people with my ideas.  I had that happen once and it's beyond awesome.  Almost better then sex.  Almost.  And I can say it's better then winning a big tournament or poker game (having done both).  To touch a person's life is priceless.

And I have a feeling that if each of us does that, the cash will come.  

I've said a zillion times, I'd rather get a harsh review on here where I can fix it, then get a bunch of nice comments from people who don't know jack or Jill, or bob etc and then have the script tossed for the exact reasons stated here by a reviewer.  It hurts.

A lot sometimes.  I actually thought my story was good and front page worthy when I entered it.  Then reality set in.  And I can see why it failed.

And that lesson, not in humility, but, in spotting why, is priceless.  

I think anything each of us writes, no matter how bad, we each will lose our humility for a second and think it front page worthy.

Then a story like the Elevator Most Belonging to Alice comes along and ruins our grade on a curve (damn that A student always blowing the curve).  And then people point out how bad we did this, that, and the other thing, and BAM! humility is back.

And anger for that damn amazing Alice story.  Damn the A student!!  

Then admiration sets in for those amazing stories.     

And then we want to get better to match that story.

And the cycle starts anew.  But, with (hopefully) more polished writers.

But, Mark, what is this thing, I have not heard of it, called a lafe?  No, Laffe?  No, oh, that was it, what is this LIFE thing u speak of?  

Dan

I won't have time to read anymore today so I voted this morning.

Overall, I can say with certainty that the quality of the OWC scripts have gone up over the years. I'm also amazed there were so many entries when this was supposed to be a smaller more intimate OWC.

As mentioned before, I wrote mine with the idea of maybe filming it myself. Style over substance. A fun thing to do. Not festival material. Then when I started thinking about the logistics, I came to realize that filming in an elevator might not be as easy as first thought.

Anyway, when writers are revealed, I will read the remaining scripts if I missed someone's who commented on mine or is an active board member who read his or her fair share of the OWC scripts. Pm me if you want a read.  

Great job everyone!  

Quoted from Grandma Bear Pm me if you want a read.

What she said.  I did not have time to read and feel bad about it.

Not really bad.  I didn't play.  But a little bad, just the same.

I will probably go back and read some of these over again, just to see if I missed something in my short reviews.  I usually like to give detailed feedback, but I also felt a little overwhelmed by all the entries and wanted to comment on as many as I could.  Between working a lot and traveling, I wanted to give the best I could but think I should give a little more to some of these.

I can't wait for the reveal because I do want to explain some things in my entry as well.  I had a great time with my first entry in an OWC!  Won't get the mug, but had some good feedback.

Thanks Don, this was fun!

If Bill earns the triple crown, I wanna see photo complete with SS mug, thong, and hopefully some other fantastic accessory Don sends his way. Don't wuss out, it's your duty.

It's your destiny.

I'd much rather see Pia wearing that thong or any thong...  

Luckily for me, Jeff, I won't win anything this time.

Quoted from Dreamscale I'd much rather see Pia wearing that thong or any thong...

Come on Jeff, they're just buttcheeks!

Quoted from bert What she said.  I did not have time to read and feel bad about it. Not really bad.  I didn't play.  But a little bad, just the same.

No need to feel bad, Bert. I have a vow that if an OWC doesn't inspire me because of the theme and I don't enter that particular one, then I don't read any or discuss at all.

I'm still saying "The Elevator Most Belonging to Alice" for OWC.

Some creative shit right there.

The one which caught me the most tho was that Placebo Elevator business, that just stuck with me for some reason.