A love story, but one of the seven deadly sins has to be the theme. Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy or Pride

Be sure to not confuse LUST and LOVE if you decide to use LUST as your theme.

Genre: Open

Write a 10 or less page properly formatted script on the theme of Love and a Sin of your choice.

Submit scripts to SimplyScripts.com/owc by Friday, February 18th at midnight (est).

THE USUAL:

This isn't a contest. It's a challenge. There are no official prizes.

You can revise your script as many times as you wish up until the deadline.

Do not put your real name(s) on your script; this is an anonymous challenge. However, please use your real name(s) when submitting your script.

After the challenge closes you can either have your script removed or resubmit your script with your name on it.

Participants must read and comment/review in the discussion board at least 10 other scripts submitted or your work will be removed (no harm, no foul. I understand that life gets in the way.

Please put �2022 on your title page.

Any questions about the challenge, post them here.

There will be a review page emailed to you for you to score the scripts you read. Please only give scores to scripts that you have read.

Please do not rate scripts in your review.

Nice. I'll probably wade through each of the seven through the process:
- I'll love my idea
- I'll dream of another mug in my clutches
- I'll hate my writing
- I'll eat too many snacks
- I'll not write until the last moment
- I'll be proud of my short when I hit send; and then
- I'll envy (enter your name here) when I don't win, place or show.

I think I'll go eat some pie....

Awesome challenge as usual, Don.

Now, let's see if I can't rattle a few cages...

Quoted from JEStaats Nice. I'll probably wade through each of the seven through the process: - I'll love my idea - I'll dream of another mug in my clutches - I'll hate my writing - I'll eat too many snacks - I'll not write until the last moment - I'll be proud of my short when I hit send; and then - I'll envy (enter your name here) when I don't win, place or show. I think I'll go eat some pie....

Funny shit, Dude!  

Can we use the love for pizza or cheese cake? Or Love needs to be for beings with a soul? And also are we talking about the seven sins or any sin whatsoever?

Just been asked to work on a feature by a Producer in Italy, some initial work for a 24th Feb deadline...

But I WANT TO PLAY IN THE OWC...

Oh and daughter's 18th this weekend...

I don't need sleep, right?

Quoted from realxwriter Can we use the love for pizza or cheese cake? Or Love needs to be for beings with a soul? And also are we talking about the seven sins or any sin whatsoever?

No the love does not have to be with something with a soul.

However, must include one of the seven deadly sins outlined in the theme.

Don

Just a reminder, the love story is between humans!!! Also, if you decide to use LUST as your sin, be sure you understand the difference between lust and LOVE.  

Quoted from Grandma Bear Just a reminder, the love story is between humans!!! Also, if you decide to use LUST as your sin, be sure you understand the difference between lust and LOVE.

You sure, Pia? Don's comment above seems to imply that the love doesn't necessarily have to be between two humans. Personally, I hope it doesn't have to be love between two humans.  

Quoted from Zack Personally, I hope it doesn't have to be love between two humans.

Likewise. Otherwise, I need to toss out my first idea. Dammit, I may have just outed myself.

I did not see Don's comment. Oh well, I guess it can be between a teapot and a broom, but you still have to know the difference between lust and love, dammit!

Quoted from Grandma Bear I did not see Don's comment. Oh well, I guess it can be between a teapot and a broom, but you still have to know the difference between lust and love, dammit!

I love tea. I LUST for a broom.  

Quoted from JEStaats Likewise. Otherwise, I need to toss out my first idea. Dammit, I may have just outed myself.

I think you're in the clear, Dude.

Quoted from Zack I love tea. I LUST for a broom.

How bout a power washer?

Quoted from Grandma Bear ...but you still have to know the difference between lust and love, dammit!

I had to look that up.

I might crawl out from under my rock for this...

That's a wife open theme for this OWC, which means I'll struggle as I always seem to get more idea when the parameters are tighter, but I'll have a think!

I always enjoyed these contests,  I will try to get back into them with this entry.

Quoted from JEStaats I had to look that up.

I think we just don't want to end up with 100% Fatal Attraction type scripts. If I were to guess, that is.  

Quoted from Don No the love does not have to be with something with a soul. Don

This based on my relationship with [redacted] who clearly did not have a soul, hence my decision to widen the love angle.  

Also, Galatea.

- Don

Freudian slip Mr Renshaw?

Quoted from JEStaats I had to look that up.

That was a joke. I know that there is no difference.  

Quoted from AnthonyCawood Freudian slip Mr Renshaw?

Haha!!!

Love the hearts, Don!

Although I'm sensing some dark entries.  

Quoted from MarkRenshaw That's a wife open theme ...

This is the most sublime typo. Ever.

Quoted from LC Love the hearts, Don! Although I'm sensing some dark entries.

It is to be hoped.

- Don

Quoted from AnthonyCawood Freudian slip Mr Renshaw?

Lol, brilliant. Don't tell my Mrs!

I haven't written anything in a long time.
Maybe I can come up with something.

Quoted from CindyLKeller I haven't written anything in a long time. Maybe I can come up with something.

Great to see you, Cindy!  

Hi,  Libby. 🙂
I'm looking forward to reading the entries, but it would be nice to be able to write something, too.
I've missed being here.  

Quoted from CindyLKeller I haven't written anything in a long time. Maybe I can come up with something.

Cindy,

You can not imagine the delight in seeing you on the prow of that Viking ship.  I hope you and yours are well.  

- Don

Word to the wise,

This is an OWC rant to help the lost souls on this forum who wants to do better this time around. Long time ago, we wrote for moviepoet monthly contests. My sin that stopped me from ever placing was that I always crammed too much story in those 5 pages. Add to that the language barrier, the fact that I'm a total novice. My scripts were a hot mess. Till I decided to stick to the old wisdom "Keep it simple, stupid." And voila, Quality Control got third place and it was featured on simplyscript. It even got produced twice at least which gave me my first credit ever.

What's the moral of the story? You want to do better this time around? Make it simpler. The skeleton of your ten pages script needs to be pretty straightforward. After that, you can go wild with the meat you put on it. Creative locations, snappy dialogue, memorable characters. Go nuts with those. But the spine needs to be simple, strong, and small enough to allow three acts structure to fit in those ten.

Moreover, don't be too hard on your first concepts that you come up with. Give them a chance, stories has the ability to grow like plants. They seem small at first but they can flourish if you give them enough care. And please, for the love of God, don't take 6 days to brainstorm an ideas and one day to write a rushed, shitty draft, like I always do.

Remember, not winning won't get you killed. Getting that mug won't have Netflix stalking you. It's a fun little contest where the greatest prize for everyone is one extra, polished short script to put in his or her portfolio. So aim for that. The bar is really high here. Some people here would write a pisser that comes out better than my entry. And I'm not new to this craft.

So chill, enjoy it will it lasts, and don't overthink the hell out of it. Be done with your outline today if you can, and spend the rest of the week writing it and getting feedback from friends if you can. And rewrite it some more.

This rant is mainly to myself. It's a reminder: "Keep it simple, stupid" works!

Wise words indeed!

Quoted from realxwriter The skeleton of your ten pages script needs to be pretty straightforward.

Just a reminder though, the script does not have to be ten pages. If you can write one in 1 page, that's great, more power to you.  

Quoted from realxwriter It's a fun little contest where the greatest prize for everyone is one extra, polished short script to put in his or her portfolio.

Well said.  I could not agree more.  Chris Messineo once told me he didn't give out prizes before he worried it would become about the prize and not about telling a story.

Also, every challenge usually has this front and center - "This isn't a contest. It's a challenge. There are no official prizes."

- Don

Quoted from CindyLKeller I've missed being here.

We've missed you here!   Happy to see you back on the boards. Hope you are able to get something in.  

Hi Don and Zack,
I'm glad to be back.😀
Yes, I think I have something for this.
Cindy

Quoted from realxwriter It's a fun little contest where the greatest prize for everyone is one extra, polished short script to put in his or her portfolio.

Well said, but I think you set the bar too high with expectations of having a polished script at the end of this.  

Quoted from ReneC Well said, but I think you set the bar too high with expectations of having a polished script at the end of this.

I wasn't clear enough but I meant that writing a worthy entry will give you something you can polish later and add to your arsenal. But you wouldn't get most of the job done if it wasn't for this contest. Getting a polished draft does take longer than a week usually. You are right.

I'm just kidding. Often entries end up being rushed to get in before the deadline and are far from polished, but the feedback we get and being able to write outside of the boundaries of the challenges have turned a few OWCs of mine into polished quality shorts. One even got me a QF in the Killer Shorts competition (the only one I submitted anywhere, to be honest.)

I've been posting original screenplays on Simply Scripts off and on for about 17 years now, but this is the first challenge I'm participating in.

How do we not put our real name on the screenplay, but use our real name when we submit it?

I can put a psydonym on the screen play, but won't my real name come up in the list of screenplays, if I submit it under my real name?

For instance, won't the listing read

TITLE OF SCRIPT by (REAL) AUTHOR NAME in the list of submitted screenplays on the unproduced page, whenever the challenge scripts are posted?

Or am I missing something?

Quoted from srusteve09 I've been posting original screenplays on Simply Scripts off and on for about 17 years now, but this is the first challenge I'm participating in. How do we not put our real name on the screenplay, but use our real name when we submit it? I can put a psydonym on the screen play, but won't my real name come up in the list of screenplays, if I submit it under my real name? For instance, won't the listing read TITLE OF SCRIPT by (REAL) AUTHOR NAME in the list of submitted screenplays on the unproduced page, whenever the challenge scripts are posted? Or am I missing something?

On the submission form at simplyscripts.com/owc use your real name and real email address.  On the title page of your script use a pseudonym or leave Writer blank.  For the week of the challenge, your pseudonym will be seen.  After the challenge, I'll update the listings to use your real names.

So it will be:
TITLE OF SCRIPT by Pseudonym.
after the challenge is over it will be
TITLE OF SCRIPT by Real Name (writing as Pseudonym)

Don

Understood, thank you!

Intriguing theme, but I've been a little too involved in the Olympics. Plus, today is Super Bowl Sunday. Good luck to everybody.

Quoted from srusteve09 I've been posting original screenplays on Simply Scripts off and on for about 17 years now, but this is the first challenge I'm participating in. ...

This is great to hear, Steve! I'm going to assume your name is Steve.  

You probably know how it works, but just in case not:
Reading and critiquing other's work (auto-correct just corrected me, but I really don't think my mother is entering)  . -  is mandatory:

Participants must read and comment/review in the discussion board at least 10 other scripts submitted or your work will be removed (no harm, no foul. I understand that life gets in the way.

Do your best to meet that requirement, but it's a lot of fun to get involved, especially as it's anon for a week.

Oh, and don't be put off if you don't agree with comments on your own entry, and don't be tempted to 'out' yourself until allowed.

Most are fair with their comments and we all get a chance for revenge afterwards.  

Great to see people coming out of the woodwork for this one!

I thought I knew what I was writing, but after 7 pages I'm not so sure any more. My planned ending feels wrong. I mean, it could still work fine, but what I have so far deserves something more.

I need to think about this ending.

Quoted from ReneC I thought I knew what I was writing, but after 7 pages I'm not so sure any more. My planned ending feels wrong. I mean, it could still work fine, but what I have so far deserves something more. I need to think about this ending.

Hopefully inspiration will strike.
Plenty of time.

I hope I can finish mine in time. I love these OWC even when I get told my script didn't fit the challenge. LOL

I'm not going to be in this one. Way too busy at work and I've a short story that has a deadline I need to beat. Best of luck to those who manage to submit!

Quoted from MarkRenshaw I'm not going to be in this one. Way too busy at work and I've a short story that has a deadline I need to beat. Best of luck to those who manage to submit!

Quoted from MarkRenshaw I've said it before but I'll say it again, the OWC's help me produce my best work.

Quoted from CindyLKeller I hope I can finish mine in time. I love these OWC even when I get told my script didn't fit the challenge. LOL

Just ignore that.  
Good luck!

Quoted from CindyLKeller I love these OWC even when I get told my script didn't fit the challenge. LOL

Strangely, everyone gets down during the reading period because pretty much everyone is told their script sucks. Like Libby said, just ignore.  

Quoted from CindyLKeller I hope I can finish mine in time. I love these OWC even when I get told my script didn't fit the challenge. LOL

I super stoked to see what you bring to the table, Cindy.

So I have 6 animated short scripts to do a final polish on for a Producer in Saudi Arabia and a treatment for a feature for a Director in Italy that has a deadline of 10 days away and not locked the story yet...

But the lure of the OWC is too strong!

Script written in 3 hours, gonna give it a quick pass and then submit it... apologies in advance for

a) Somehow misreading the requirements and missing a key/important.
b) The typos and/or spelling mistakes.
c) The orphans (I actually don't give a shit)
d) The wonky plot logic or timing issue I will not spot until the readers point it out to me.

Good luck to all who enter... I will fit the reading in somehow!

Not much going on then, eh, Ants?
How you consistently come up with the goods (3 hours?)'is beyond me. I think I've managed that twice in all the OWCs I've done. Must be your secret data base.  

I love that you say you missed a crucial bit.

...

Zack, you in?

And I think I'm in, but what's really fun is getting to read all of the different short scripts.

Quoted from LC Zack, you in?

Maybe...    

Libby - yep, I do have an 'Ideas' database, c350 ideas, snippets and thoughts some more fully formed than others... so I always start there and see if there's anything that fits the parameters or can be molded to fit.

I'm glad I did it last night though, a Canadian producer messaged overnight with a request for a novel adaptation, of course also with a deadline that clashes with the others...

I'm not sleeping until May!

Do we include a minimum of 1 sin, or can it only be 1?

I seem to be accidentally including quite a few of them lol

Quoted from Matthew Taylor Do we include a minimum of 1 sin, or can it only be 1? I seem to be accidentally including quite a few of them lol

You may use more than one, but make sure at least one plays a dominant role. For example, if one character eats five burgers and then nothing else happens about indulging or overdoing, doesn't mean you managed to make gluttony your theme. At least one sin needs to play a role in the story. If that makes sense.  

Quoted from Matthew Taylor Do we include a minimum of 1 sin, or can it only be 1? I seem to be accidentally including quite a few of them lol

Please, oh, please let it be multiple....

Quoted from JEStaats Please, oh, please let it be multiple....

See my post above.  

Quoted from Grandma Bear You may use more than one, but make sure at least one plays a dominant role. For example, if one character eats five burgers and then nothing else happens about indulging or overdoing, doesn't mean you managed to make gluttony your theme. At least one sin needs to play a role in the story. If that makes sense.

Awesome, thanks for the clarification.

Now if we can make having a shit story the 8th deadly sin, I am all set  

Oh my god, ten pages got eaten up so fast. This is not fair. I hate dialogue. My old demon who wants to cram too much story in small space is back with vengeance. Is it too late to write a different concept?  

Quoted from realxwriter Oh my god, ten pages got eaten up so fast. This is not fair. I hate dialogue. My old demon who wants to cram too much story in small space is back with vengeance. Is it too late to write a different concept?

Wrath sets in....

I'm stuck in sloth-mode...and gluttony.

Quoted from realxwriter Oh my god, ten pages got eaten up so fast. This is not fair. I hate dialogue. My old demon who wants to cram too much story in small space is back with vengeance. Is it too late to write a different concept?

You have 2 days and change. If you come up with something else, there's still time...

The love story element to this challenge is going to be very interesting.
I hope people can nail it.

So far I got nothing.
John might be stuck in sloth mode & gluttony, but so far I've got nothing but envy for those approaching the finishing line.  

My head injury has made me sluggish, but I finally had an idea yesterday. Got two pages down. Who knew a story about unicorns in love and wrath could ever make sense as a story.

Pia - I'm now going to disappointed if there isn't a Unicorn story!

Quoted from AnthonyCawood Pia - I'm now going to disappointed if there isn't a Unicorn story!

I wanted to use an extra "sin", so I made it a love triangle by adding a sloth.

Urgh - spoilt it now

Im not going to be in this one.
As it is, it looks like there's a nibble one one of my short scripts from the past, so I wouldn't be able to read much anyway, although I still might read one or two.  Hopefully this one will pan out. I never thought being asked to a revision would be a good sign...but i suppose it is.

best of luck to the peps who enter the owc

This one was fun. Really interested in seeing everyone else’s entries!

What’s the one sin you want to see in a script? For me, it would be gluttony. I can see that going so many different ways.

Sean

It's not looking good, folks. Multiple ideas that I just couldn't get to work the way I wanted.

Why aren't self-pity and woe sins?!

LOL
I can't wait to read the entries.

Congrats to all who entered! Get a feeling there’ll be a nice turnout and will try to read a few. My entry stalled at the gate. Actually, never made it to the gate. Good luck all!!

Had a blast with this one!  

I'm curious to see how some people tackled Wrath. Gluttony should deliver some good entries as well. So exciting!  

Sean... Your fuckin' avatar, Dude. It's got me over here crying. LMAO

Nice to see you've moved your FB pic over here Sean, love it!

Sadly the 'love story' kept getting in the way.

If I was a genius I'd figure that out and get an entry down in 7 hours.
Sadly again, I'm not.

Will be reading and commenting to see what you geniuses came up with.

I got an entry in somehow.

I needed a break from work.

I'm only halfway done. Adding the sloth to the mix slowed things down significantly.

Quoted from Grandma Bear I'm only halfway done. Adding the sloth to the mix slowed things down significantly.

Haha! Good one, Pia!  

lol

Submitted. Less than 10 pages, but, I ended up giving the sloth a one page monologue, so that is equivalent to an extra three pages...  

Wasn't going to enter - but looking forward to some reads so I managed to blow something out after golf this morning...

Quoted from Grandma Bear Submitted. Less than 10 pages, but, I ended up giving the sloth a one page monologue, so that is equivalent to an extra three pages...

I hope it's a comedy.

Quoted from eldave1 Wasn't going to enter - but looking forward to some reads so I managed to blow something out after golf this morning...

Yep, that's the way it's done. Quick round of golf, and then whip something up for the OWC.
Excellent news!

Typical OWC for me. Can't think up anything till about the middle of the week, then it's a race to get a half-decent story down, written, and submitted before the counter runs out.

I got it done though.

Not sure if it was the new laptop or I was just blind but found a " read aloud" option. Very good way to find mistakes that have been missed.

Quoted from LC Sadly the 'love story' kept getting in the way. If I was a genius I'd figure that out and get an entry down in 7 hours. Sadly again, I'm not. Will be reading and commenting to see what you geniuses came up with.

LC,

It's all good.

You gave it your best.

And sometimes...

even your best

Isn't good enough.

Except when it comes to screen writing...

When you come back and revise.

and revise

and

revise.

So, in essence, [insert something brilliant here].

[uplifting stuff here]

And Bob's your Uncle

[some awesome result here]

[something encouraging and ending'ie here]

Don