Below are the names of the writers as well as the top three and top nine "Writer's Choices"


Top Three
Magick In The Machine by Janet Clarke (wonkavite)
Blind Casting by Rene Claveau (renec)
Caesarean Fiction by Kevin Lenihan & Dena McKinnon


Top Nine
Hex by Pia Cook
Immersion by Eric Wall (EWall433)
The Grieving Spell by Bill Sarre (Reef Dreamer)
Samhain, Romanian Style by Jeff Bush (dreamscale)
One Evil Man by Steven Clark
Where The Wild Thyme Blows by Steve Miles


The Rest (listed alphabetically)
Act IV, Scene 1 by Lew Sherwood (Big Lew)
The Addicts of Eastwick by Charlie Roberts (SebArcher)
Aleister Crowley vs Heinrich Himmler by Joe Lewis
And He Spoke A Darkened Heart by Richard Rivera
Be Careful What You Wish For by Javier Torregrosa (jayrex)
A Bill To Pay by R.E. McManus (rendevous)
Blackwood by Mark M.
The Clearing by Marnie Mitchell Lister
Descent of the Maiden by Dan Viau
The Doorway To Hell by Renee Joynson (bflywings)

Evocation by Ieuan Hale
Familiar by James McClung
Forward Then Backward by Adonye Tolofari
Good Girl by Lew Sherwood (Big Lew)
The Good Neighbor by Mike Guerrini (Nunzio)
Guilty of Blood by David Kaneen
Harm None Do As Ye Will by Poe Peppertree
Heart Attacks by Elaine (Feeble1)
Heed The Slighted by Lsyla O'Shea (RadioShea)
History Lesson by Steve McDonell (stevie)
Mountain Hexer by Al Lintin
The Neighbor by Bernard Mersier
New Salem by Chris Paulino
The P.R. Meeting by Ed Beach (CrusaderVoice)
Red Hook by Jordan Littleton (nomad)
The Rift by Dena McKinnon & Kevin Lenihan
Small Town Lies by Niki Austin
The Tent by Artell Cowell
Test Trial by Kevin Revie
The Time I Don't Exist by Alex Brauck
Times Are Changing by Dale Trett
The Trial by Reid (reiki)
What Comes Around by Lizz (lizzayn)
Where The Lost Souls Thrive by Mohammad Nawaz (nawazm11)
Wicca by Simon (SiColl007)
Willow's Bewitchment by Ray
Witches Can't Fly by Joe Garza (SPQR)
The Withered by Darren J Seeley

Magick in the Machine - top of the list.  Go, wonkavite.  Great script.  

Congrats to everyone who entered. A job well done!!!

I owe some reads I see. Nice work, everyone.

Well done wonkavite.

Well done Janet, Rene, Dena and Kevin

Thanks don - good OWC

Good work, eveyone and congrats to the Top 3!

Congratulations to the three winners! And, to everyone else who entered.

As for mine, Hex, I had some problems writing the second half on that Friday. I kept seeing Carrie adds all day long no matter which way I turned. So that's where the ending came from.

This was a big OWC for me though. It got me out of my three month funk. Thanks Don, as always!  

Congrats to the top three, top nine, and everyone who participated. A couple of regulars I don't think I've ever read scripts from before now. I'll have to keep my eye out for some of you in the future.

Personally, I really enjoyed participating and reading all the entries even though I was wiped out by the end and there was some heated exchanges going on in a few of the threads. It was cool to get back into the swing of things after something of a break and check out some new talent that I wasn't aware of previously.

Congrats again to all involved.

Way to go Janet and Kevin/Dena! My two favourites, glad to see others appreciated them as much as I did, and happy that both are also tied for top spot in the Reader's poll.

Thanks for what I can only assume was a multitude of "considers". Blind Casting doesn't deserve the win, it was a last minute first draft and really needed a polish. I appreciate the recognition for the writing though, and the love for the beetles. Creeped myself out with that scene.

Good job guys!

Anyone whose script I didn't read, feel free to pm me and I'll look at it.

Well done Janet, Rene, Kev, Dena (I didn't know Kev was still around) - Rene's always up there - congrats to everyone else who entered. Wild Thyme was top for me, but lots of really good entries in there.

I'm gonna out myself now as the writer of Mountain Hexer.  Wanted to see if I could smoke one past Don.  I wrote it on Word, all typos deliberate to throw anyone else off the trail.  Just tried to give readers a break from the hardcore witchery, so I mercifully kept it at 6 pages.  Got some funny posts on my thread, lol.

Congrats, Janet. Magick was my fav, but a few made my recommend list.

Congrats to all who entered, and thanks for the love for One Evil Man. I enjoyed writing that one!

Steve

Hey,

Thanks to everyone...both for the reads on Magick, and for giving me some fine reads, myself!    So many entries - and so many different takes on the witchie theme...  But admittedly, my personal faves were The Grieving Spell, Wild Thyme, Caesarian Fiction...and bits of Elixir, The Rift and Hex.  (In no particular order.)

Great work, everyone...  and thanks to Don for another successful OWC!

Cheers,

Janet (W)

A word about the 'crappy' mug.  I've sent a crappy mug over to Janet.  However since the other top placers (Dena, Kevin and Rene) have already received a crappy mug, I've elected to send only Janet a mug.  I mean, how many crappy mugs does a body need?

Don

Holla!  

There's always room for a crappy mug here...  (At least, that's what I reassure Phil all the time.)  

Thanks, Don!!!  

Better watch what Phil puts in your mug! Nice job Janet. Thanks Don.

Are we to assume that although there are no winners and losers, as everyone who participated is a winner, that Janet's script received the highest score?  And that those that followed, including those that fell outside the top 3, but inside the top 10, were in order of "points"?

How were points awarded?  2 for a "recommend" and 1 for a "consider"?  Assuming many peeps who voted only read a handful or less of the entries, were "passes" taken into consideration, vs. "didn't read", or not?

Just wondering...

Again, my personal congrats to the top 3 and also the next 6.  Great work.

From the score I saw, there were three scrores of 5 each

Then several scores below that...

Then the rest that had zero.

Shawn.....><

Great work everyone. Congrats to the top three.
Still have some to get to, and those who read me who I haven't read will get a higher priority. But I will request that anyone who hasn't read my entry yet not to bother because it is now outdated as I'm rewriting/reworking.

Quoted from Don A word about the 'crappy' mug.  I've sent a crappy mug over to Janet.  However since the other top placers (Dena, Kevin and Rene) have already received a crappy mug, I've elected to send only Janet a mug.  I mean, how many crappy mugs does a body need? Don

Dude. It's ALL about the mug.

How many Oscars does one really need? Or Golden Globes? Emmys? You put one on the shelf, that's enough, right?

And here I had aspirations for a cupboard full of them. Every day when I get my morning coffee I'd look up at all the pretty SS mugs and smile, and the rest of my day would be rosy and full of rainbows and kittens.

Might as well just check out now.

Don has to pay for those mugs and the shipping. He has no stakes in the OWC. He doesn't make any money off of it. It costs him money and takes up a LOT of his time.

Btw, since this website is free for all of us to use, I feel like reminding everyone that there's a donation button on the home page. It's easily done via Amazon.  

I agree with the Angry Bear and almost commented earlier when peeps were talking about "crappy mugs".

They're not crappy and they should mean something to all who have one.

The Don rocks and has to put up with all sorts of ridiculous shit, and many times that ridiculous shit is coming from yours truly.

My hat is always off to Don and all he does for every single one of us who has found a home here at Simply Scripts.  The knowledge and friendships that have come of SS is truly "priceless", and I mean that with every ounce of my fiber.

Thanks Don, and sorry for all the BS I tend to spew out.

Thanks for the donation reminder. It's easy to miss the button on the left side of the Home page. I've hit it before, just hit it again. I love the OWC's here and ALWAYS walk away learning something...like don't enter a "pisser" unless you know for sure there is a pisser section.   

What I learned from the OWC:

1. My writing can get rusty fast. I hadn't really crafted anything since May and even that was polishing a re-write. Since late July, I've written nearly 500 pages of media and broadcast copy so I didn't think I'd drop off too dramatically. I was wrong. It was like shooting baskets alone in a gym for fourth months, then suddenly playing a full-court five-on-five game. Right away, the process felt foreign and led to a mistake in the opening slug that I didn't catch.

I'm glad I forced myself to try and enter something. I think I needed the kick-start.

I even made the time to write another short script just to shake this one off. I found myself making the same mistakes I made in this OWC script so I'm glad I'm now more aware of potential problems and bad habits there.

2. Some of you really hate pop culture references. It's not THE reason why anyone disliked what I wrote (unfortuately I seemed to have provided many others). But I was surprised at the reaction to that in particular from a few people.

Now I'm glad I didn't go with my other idea: Miley Cyrus as a witch in a script titled "Twerk or Treat."

Although in retrospect, it would have been worth it to read Jeff/Dreamscale's reaction to that. That review would have been so good that I regret not doing it for that reason alone.

Sorry everybody and nice job to those that entered and to those who created some good, entertaining material.

Nice job everyone! Kind of penned The Rift on Kevin, pretty much got every one of my other guesses wrong.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Don has to pay for those mugs and the shipping. He has no stakes in the OWC. He doesn't make any money off of it. It costs him money and takes up a LOT of his time. Btw, since this website is free for all of us to use, I feel like reminding everyone that there's a donation button on the home page. It's easily done via Amazon.

Great reminder, thanks.

I was kidding about the mug, you all know that, right?

Quoted from CrusaderVoice Now I'm glad I didn't go with my other idea: Miley Cyrus as a witch in a script titled "Twerk or Treat." Although in retrospect, it would have been worth it to read Jeff/Dreamscale's reaction to that. That review would have been so good that I regret not doing it for that reason alone.

  Funny...

I actually wrote a Halloween OWC a few years back about Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, when she was still cool peeps.  It's actually still a favorite of mine.

Based on where she is on Billboard's Top 100 chart, she's still cool peeps to some people (but maybe that comes from a deal she's made with some certain organizations in position to help).

Anyway, I would not have wanted you to wreck your computer in righteous anger. I don't want that on my conscience.

Congratulations everyone, and especially to the three top winners!

A toast to Don again for putting on the OWC. I love my mug I do not drink coffee but it is by my computer as my pen holder so I see it every time I sit down to write! It's INSPIRATIONAL! ...not crappy! lol

And thanks to Pia for reminder on the Donation button. I will try to hit it more often. It's been too long. This place rocks.

Congrats all. This was a great challenge. I enjoyed giving feedback too. I hope some of it came in handy. I agree with the top choices. MAGICK delivered on all fronts. Great work there. I can't wait for the next challenge!

I'd love to do some reviews for other scripts. If anyone wants a read contact me. And if someone gives my stuff a read I'll definitely return the favour.

My series FOX & DOG almost has 10000 views but no comments.  I'm really curious what any readers thought. I don't think it can be that bad. Someone must have made it through Episode 2 to get that many views. Haha.

I really  enjoyed researching and adapting a premise for this OWC. Mine was DESCENT OF THE MAIDEN. I got a lot of flack for over-writing. I definitely noticed it more after. Thanks for the notes on that. It's helped me trim some long features I have coming. Someone nailed it on the head: I regretfully joined shorter paragraphs to condense it all into 10 pages. I get it.  I know my action lines can get a little flowery. I am working on it. Thanks for all the good advice. A special thanks to those who took the time to finish. I appreciate it for sure.

For those that I haven't posted reviews yet: they're coming. Already written. Just squeezing in job and re-writes as well.

Congrats to Janet, Rene, Kevin and Dena -- and to everyone else who entered.  Feels like it’s been a quiet couple of months recently so it’s great to see things get lively round here...  

I know I didn’t get around to posting on every entry so if anyone I missed wants a read on theirs shoot me a PM.

Steve.

Quoted from Pale Yellow A toast to Don again for putting on the OWC. I love my mug I do not drink coffee but it is by my computer as my pen holder so I see it every time I sit down to write! It's INSPIRATIONAL! ...not crappy! lol And thanks to Pia for reminder on the Donation button. I will try to hit it more often. It's been too long. This place rocks.

I didn't know there was a mug to be won. I've definitely got to try and win the next one.

The four I gave recommends to were:

• The Time I Don't Exist - rewrite
  
• Mountain Hexer - rewrite
  
• Where The Wild Thyme Blows - rewrite
  
• Immersion - rewrite

Each would have required a heavy rewrite, but the fundamental principles in these I found most intriguing.

A lot of the traditional Jerry Bruckheimer-esque stories didn't do much for me, although that's CLEARLY the strongest market for content.
I'd be a d@mn fool not to pursue them.

I guess, like Jerry Bruckheimer-esque stories tend to be, they were just too overwhelmingly expensive in concept to shoot, (even with $10/day + cold pizza and bottled water indentured servant labor.)  

Thanks, Ray for the recommend and for all the awesome work you put into your reviews. I found myself reading all of them and definitely enjoyed the perspective you brought.

And congrats to the top three. Especially to Janet for the mug win. Trust me, it makes coffee (and vodka  ) taste that much sweeter.

congrates to all who entered! Good job everyone.

HGW

Recommend:

Blackwood
Red Hook
Hex

There was a mistake in my voting. Maybe I lost the overview .

I gave "Descent of the maiden" consider. With a bit distance it deserves more in my eyes. I see it definitely in "my personal" top row.

Great challenge! It was a lot of fun.