Writers are revealed.

The Writer's Choice Voting results will be posted on Monday, October 31st along with the iScript of the selected script.

Don



Condemned Sanctuary by Malcom Bowman (scoob) - Short, Gothic Horror - A mother's candlelight vigil on the fifth anniversary of her son's death is interrupted by an unexpected guest. 11 pages, 5 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

My Love by Harley Wolfe Jr. (Hugh Hoyland) - Short, Gothic Horror -  A grief stricken lover makes a deal with the devil in hopes of being reunited with his lost love. 9 pages, 4 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Traceless by Brynmor Leyshon (bleyshon) - Short, Gothic Horror - Detective Croft is on the hunt for a serial killer... who doesn't leave a trace. 6 pages, 5 characters, Hard R rating. - pdf, format 8)

Revenant Stand by Ray (ray w) - Short, Gothic Horror - Two men are caught up in a haunting life-ending drama within an ages old forest clearing. 12 pages, 4 major and a dozen minor characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Abracadabra by Darren J Seeley (DarrenJamesSeeley) - Short, Gothic Horror - An eccentric 19th century magician hired to expose a paranormal fraud gets more than he expected. 12 pages, 5 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)


All That Remains by Breanne Mattson - Short, Gothic Horror -  A woman hires a team of ghost hunters to contact her sister’s spirit and solve her murder. 12 pages, 5 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

The Open Casket by Darren Tomalin (darrenjames) - Short, Gothic Horror - Artist, Charles Drayton, has been commissioned to paint the viscount Corwin Redwinter's portrait at his remote castle in the mountains. Redwinter's intentions towards Drayton's fiancee, Melinda Hartwell, may be less than honorable and the stuff of nightmares. 11 pages, 5 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

Satanas by Jordan Wiebe (theboywhocouldfly) - Short, Gothic Horror - On a dark and stormy night, the Devil will come out to play, or at least try to. 12 pages, Hard R Rating - pdf, format 8)

Sweep by Catherine Hall (cmhall) - Short, Gothic Horror - What wreckage is formed in the crossed paths of human lives... how can we ever know? 12 pages, 6 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

The Last Stop by Rene Claveau (renec) - Short, Gothic Horror - When William gets separated from his new bride at a traveling circus, he finds all is not as it seems while trying to find her. 12 pages, 5 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

The Haunted Tale of James O'Neil by Michel J. Duthin (michel) - Short, Gothic Horror - How open would you be to fulfilling a request by a stranger with no idea what you will encounter and might risk?  An 18 century military officer, James O'Neil, explores this offer as he unravels an unearthly tale to help someone he never met. Fate sometimes works in mysterious ways.   8 pages, 4 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

Falling Angels by Bill Sarre (reef dreamer) - Short, Gothic Horror - A young girl has to cope with the death of her family during a dark night. War brings out the best and the worst. 10 pages, 4 characters, unrated (thus far) - pdf, format 8)

Payer Fedris - A Gothic Dream Tax by Sandra El. Watson (sandra elstree) - Short, Gothic Horror - When a poor boy replaces his dreams with forbidden knowledge, he dreams the most expensive dream of all. 12 pages, 17 characters, Hard R Rating - pdf, format 8)

Allured by T. Henrik Anttonen (henrik) - Short, Gothic Horror -  An eerie castle, dribbling candles, a lost officer and a bunch of ghosts. You know, the usual stuff. 7 pages, 7 characters, G rating - pdf, format 8)

Castle Trouble by Fred Kracke - Short, Gothic Horror - The trouble stops when you die.  8 pages, 4 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

Veil of Blood by Ryan Lee (ryan 1) - Short, Gothic Horror - A young woman ventures to her uncle's crumbling plantation in 1874 Louisiana. 12 pages, 6 characters, unrated thus far - pdf, format 8)

Reaparations by Will Ball (albinopenguin) - Short, Gothic Horror -  Six months after the Civil War's conclusion, Colonel Henry Gibbs gets a visitor he never expected. 10 pages, 5 characters, Hard R Rating - pdf, format 8)

Our Lady of Eternal Suffering by Rick Kinsella (scartissuefilms) - Short, Gothic Horror - When an amateur Theologian goes in search of an ancient archaelogical site, little does he know he will stumbling onto a dangerous secret that spans Space and Time… 12 pages, unrated thus far - pdf, format 8)

Forever Thine by Sydney Cuthbert - Short, Gothic Horror - A sickly young woman is haunted by a ghost in an old victorian mansion. What does the grim spectre portend for her and her husband? 6 pages, 4 characters, unrated - pdf, format 8)

A Price To Pay by John Carlon (JCShadow) - Short, Gothic Horror - A woman struggles to overcome the loss of her fiance while being tormented by a homicidal ghost. 11 pages, 3 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Mischief At Morley House by Pete B. Lane (pete) - Short, Gothic Horror - A secret lurks ‘bout Morley House. A secret that won’t be ignored. But she don’t mean no harm - if you don’t do no harm.  12 pages, 9 characters, Hard R Rating - pdf, format 8)

House Proud by Richard Buckley (cathead) - Short, Gothic Horror - Moving in can be scary… 10 pages, 6 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Together Again… Someday by Phil Clarke Jr. (dogglebe) - Short, Gothic Horror - You can't mourn the dead when you're one of them. 6 pages, 3 characters, PG Rating - pdf, format 8)

Open House With An Empty Heart by Baltis Sinclair Schuller - Short, Gothic Horror - When you buy a house you buy the stories within its walls... Good or Bad. 12 pages, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

The Truth by Zane Steves (zanej) - Short, Gothic Horror - A young girl moves to a new town. A house haunted by it's past brings up old news that was buried. 10 pages, 5 characters, PG-13 rating - pdf, format 8)

The Woods by Matthew Layden (TheUsualSuspect) - Short, Gothic Horror - Emily goes to visit her mother in the countryside. While there she sees a young boy, who terrorizes her to go into the woods. 11 pages, 3 characters, PG rating - pdf, format 8)

The Stone Within by Jordan Littleton (nomad) - Short, Gothic Horror - [no logline] 10 pages, 4 pages, no rating - pdf, format 8)

The Madness of Time by Steve McDonell (stevie) - Short, Gothic Horror - While fulfulling his late father's wishes, a man must face the nightmare of his father's past. 9 pages, 5 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

The Lonley Tenant by James Williams (jwent6688)
- Short, Gothic Horror - A woman rents the first renovated apartment in an old building, but she soon finds she's not the only one there. 12 pages, 4 characters, Hard R Rating - pdf, format 8)

Innocence Condemned by Dena Mckinnon - Short, Gothic Horror - During the dark times of Christianity, a young woman finds herself accused of witch craft, haunted by a disfigured spirit, and destined for persecution. During her trials and torment, she discovers that death may not be the only punishment that lies ahead. 10 pages, 9 characters, Hard R Rating - pdf, format 8)

A Dance in the Dark by Greg Baldwin (greg) - Short, Gothic Horror - A nifty new smart phone app allows a feuding couple to communicate with the dead.   12 pages, 5 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Asylum by Janet Clarke (wonkavite) - Short, Gothic Horror - Insane Asylums make for strange bedfellows…  7 pages,  9 characters, PG-13 rating - pdf, format 8)

The Executioner by Kevin Lenihan (leitskev) - Short, Gothic Horror - A young woman on the run from something terrible, guided by a friendly spirit, learns the nature of her dark heritage. 12 pages, 7 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Annabel by Shawn Davis (ledbetter) - Short, Gothic Horror - Annabel was a good wife, when she was around. 6 pages, 6 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Betrayal by Quitterie Hervouet (Quiou) - Short, Gothic Horror - Louis is coming back home after 10 years in prison, but everything has changed from Marie, to his father, to his brother Jean and to his home. 12 pages - pdf, format 8)

Mr. Daniels by Alexander Toplake (Laika) - Short, Gothic Horror - An old hitman gets a visit from from his past. 7 pages, 2 characters, PG-13 Rating - pdf, format 8)

Darren,

Good writing on open casket. Well done.

All the best.

Great job Darren, congrats. Was my fave of what I've read. Now, to return reads I may have missed...
James

Now my instinct is to say it's a shame that some have entered and not reviewed but anybody with the name bobby42loversb (out of the dark) has my vote.

Just what does this mean?

Quoted from Reef Dreamer Now my instinct is to say it's a shame that some have entered and not reviewed

Happens every time, no matter what.  A few scrubs show up to get reviews and you never hear from them again.

I guessed some of these correctly.  Others I was way off.  Well done by Reef and Darren James in what I think was their first owc(not sure of that).  

This was a particularly tough OWC, given the genre and the ghost reveal.  Very hard to nail the Gothic atmosphere while incorporating the "misunderstood" ghostly element.  Look forward to the results of the Writer's choice.

Congrats to those that entered, it's interesting to see writers faced with strict challenges come up with some great, original stuff.

Nice job Darren! And it's really cool to see talented new people here. Enjoyed the story, Rene.

Now I have to post in my thread to explain my crazy tale!

Congrats to Daz!  Awesome, AWESOME effort!  You nailed it, bro, and deserve the voctory, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, want to throw out some kudos to Reaf Dreamer on a great effort.  Clean up your script, fix up a few things that don't really make sense, and you've got a nice script on your hands.

To all the lowlife scumbags who entered a script and didn't read or provide any feedback to the otehr entrants, I say FUCK YOU!  Don't waste our time, next time.

Quoted from Dreamscale To all the lowlife scumbags who entered a script and didn't read or provide any feedback to the otehr entrants, I say FUCK YOU!  Don't waste our time, next time.

This was an open comp - no requirement for someone to belong to the board.   They didn't break any rules by not reading and might not even know they could.    In fact, they probably aren't reading that comment.  

Granted, it's proper etiquette for people who enter OWCs to read scripts - especially when it's a closed challenges like last months - but it's not a rule.  

And well done Darren!

Quoted from Ryan1 Happens every time, no matter what.  A few scrubs show up to get reviews and you never hear from them again.

This is exactly why I wait until after the names are revealed.  So I know which ones to avoid.

Ghostie

Quoted from Dreamscale Congrats to Daz!  Awesome, AWESOME effort!  You nailed it, bro, and deserve the voctory, as far as I'm concerned. Also, want to throw out some kudos to Reaf Dreamer on a great effort.  Clean up your script, fix up a few things that don't really make sense, and you've got a nice script on your hands. To all the lowlife scumbags who entered a script and didn't read or provide any feedback to the otehr entrants, I say FUCK YOU!  Don't waste our time, next time.

I couldn't get passed your second line because of the miss-spelling.

Good job commenting on the OWC...

James

lol!

Is there a full moon tonight.

Shawn.....><

Darren, Ryan and Henrik - Kudos!  Really enjoyed yours the most!  :)  

I'd tip my hat to Sydney, too - but it looks like he isn't a member....

Quoted from jwent6688 I couldn't get passed your second line because of the miss-spelling.

And I couldn't get past yours.

Zing!


Phil

Quoted from jwent6688 I couldn't get passed your second line because of the miss-spelling. Good job commenting on the OWC... James

You're hilarious, James!  ;D I needed that. It's been a rough week.

Sandra

Quoted from dogglebe And I couldn't get past yours. Zing! Phil

Fuck you Phil, for trashing the best thing I've written in the past several weeks...

James

Ryan 1 wrote my favorite of the bunch, but I'm very impressed with the other Darren's work! Great job everyone for giving the OWC a go.

Interesting reveals.

The anonymous thing usually drives me crazy, but I have to say this time I think it served its purpose well.

Some reliable favorites such as Phil, Brea, and Balt failed to lead the pack -- when they might have otherwise steamrolled the less familiar entrants on name recognition alone -- had the names been there.

And some well-deserved props were handed out to some of the new guys who otherwise might have received little attention -- and they also participated in the proceedings with solid reading contributions -- so a big cheers to Darren and Rene.  Way to go guys.

As for the total non-reader entrants -- while Jeff's post may be too harsh, Cornetto's is too forgiving -- and I am certainly closer to Jeff on that spectrum.

If I "accidentally" read a script from such an author during the anonymous phase, I go back and delete my feedback, and encourage others to do the same.  If the author is watching the boards at all, a dramatically shrunken thread at least sends a message.  At the very least, it helps drop them down to the cellar.

There are a few entrants I want to look at now, for sure.

Great job Darren! Very well done indeed.

Harley

;D ;D ;D ;D

Funny, you A-Holes!  Little hammied here.  Sorry for the poor spelling.  I'm not on my computer and I don't have any spellchecking going on.

Bert, good idea.  I will go back and pull my posts on those writers who didn't provide any feedback.  Anyone know who they all are, to make it easier for all of us to do the same?

I'll also go back and reread those by contributing writers that I originally gave up on and give some solid feedback, that will hopefully help.  

Quoted from jwent6688 Fuck you Phil, for trashing the best thing I've written in the past several weeks...

In the passed several weeks...

I'm screwing with you now.  Your grammar was right this time, but your script blew goat balls... whichever one it was.


Phil

To James...  *I* thought your "F-you, Phil" retort was hysterical.  Hear hear!  Give the big guy a good bitch slap for me!  :)

Sincerely, "Mrs. Phil"....     ;D

Congrats to Darren, great job. I voted for ya.

I guess I have some explaining to do for mine. Glad a bunch of you liked it, I'm still quite pleased with the pages, with some tweaking I think it'll be a worthy addition to my portfolio.

This was fun, and I really like this site. I'll be seeing a lot of you guys.

I wish I could have gotten to more scripts, been super busy this month. Enjoyed most of what I read.

congrats everyone.

Thanks Dreamscale and Ryan, i appreciate the kind words.

Falling Angels was only my second short. I have LOTS to learn. I will post seperately on this.,

In the meantime i am aware that some of my reviews were rushed, so if anybody wants clarity or a second read let me know. I have re read a handful and they were all better second time!

I  note there has been a debate about whether to let new writters join the OWC. I can see both sides of the debate, especially when a poor effort is posted, but for me it has been very useful and a great education.

All the best

Hey, cool.  Congrats Darren on garnering all those votes!

My favorite is Allured, another Henrik script.  A lot of twist endings in this OWC, but I enjoyed that one the most.  

Greg

Well done Darren, congrats!

Congrats Darren enjoyed the read as well as several others.

This is why I love coming here!
Thanks ever so much for the congrats, and for the support, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and as a newbie it was a right shock to see the results!
I kept checking every few hours incase there was some terrible mistake.
Congrats to everyone who entered, I only commented about what I think I know about and I enjoyed ALL of the scripts on different levels.
Something can always be harvested from other peoples words no matter whether you understand them or not.

(p.s. did anyone find the secret message in the dialogue?)


I now go on to address some of the critique offered so you can stop reading this now if you like :)


I went into this not knowing a thing about gothic (other than what wikipedia had to say) and only my third short and fourth actual script after taking up writing only a few months ago. Took my cue from 60's Hammer films.
Its my second OWC, the first was last month's "Waiting" (the dentist/hells waiting room)
I took all the critique that was offered, and wrote a quick second draft including some of it.
Yes it was cliche but I beleived that "cliche" is just anotehr name for "trope" and what is a setting without its trademarks? Cliche by deffinition is familiar.
Melinda and Madeline were meant to have similiar names.
I hated the way Charles escaped from Poe too but couldnt think of anything better in time, stories are full of convenience IMO but the new draft is a bit more realistic(?)
I loved the suggestion about the eyes in the portrait at the end.
Melinda and Charles were meant to gush at each other at dinner, not Madeline and Charles oops.
When Poe looks down at the knife and says "Belinda, you betrayed me" Belinda was the name of the "pretty lady" charles used, hence, he felt betrayed. I changed the two lead girls names later on in writing and forgot to go back and change "Belinda" to something different. double oops.
Wanted to give more explanation as to why Madeline betrayed the VIscount at the end but was running out of space and didnt want the twist to be too obvious.
I felt that the "and forgiveness" line was enough foreshadowing.
Oh yes - the dialogue, I read a bit of Bronte, Williams, Fitzpatrick and Emlyn to get the feel so thought it was well researched. (and I am English lol)
Anyhow, thanks again, thats made my month!
Daz

this comes a bit late, but congrats darren! and i agree, i enjoyed many of the entries this month. can't wait for the next OWC

Oh yes, almost forgot - Loglines... a little advice? lol.