A hearty thanks and big Congrats to everyone who took part in Round 1.
All scripts are worthy of being produced imho.

And, it's far from over, folks.
Round 2 scripts are coming up!


3.5 Shuteye by Michael J Kospiah (spesh2k) writing as Nubbins Sawyer - Noisy neighbors in the apartment above keep a man from getting a good night's sleep. If only he knew what was going on up there... - Short, Horror

3.36 The Shadows by Matthew Taylor (Matthew Taylor) writing as Severus Nettleship - A scared woman takes to the City's shadowy alleyways to escape her pursuer. - Short, Thriller

3.29166666666667 Who Killed The Cat by Paul Knauer (PKCardinal) writing as I Don't Know - When the cat dies, somebody has to pay. - Short, Horror

3.26923076923077 Mind the Gap by John Staats (JEStaats) writing as The Smell of Ozone, Grit, and Broken Dreams - An early morning encounter on a subway platform ends in a flash. - Short, Thriller

3.26923076923077 Star Light, Star Bright by Warren Duncan (Warren) writing as Anon - A young girl's wish to see her mother again inadvertently comes true with horrific consequences. - Short, Sci Fi

3.20833333333333 Just a Little Nudge? by Frank MacCrory (FrankM) writing as The Impatient One - In the near future, a real estate developer plots how to remove an endangered species from some very expensive land. - Short, Sci Fi

3 Mr. Lamb by Rob Herzog (Rob) writing as Bo Peep - A businessman searches for spirits in his Zoom meeting. - Short, Horror

2.95454545454545 The Sparkly Red Blouse by Ariel Yang (Bort) writing as B Simmons - A young girl plays with her new dolls. - Short, Horror

2.8695652173913 Final Run by Marnie Mitchell (mmmarnie) writing as Written by - A quiet day in the park turns into a run for your life. - Short, Horror, Thriller

2.81818181818182 Swiped Away by David C Lambertson (eldave1) writing as No Name - A man digitally haunted for past sins. - Short, Horror

2.78260869565217 Midnight Mangler by Rene Claveau (ReneC) writing as David Berkowitz - In a city gripped by fear, the Midnight Mangler stalks his next victim. - Short, Horror

2.68181818181818 First Born by Owen Herity (Geezis) writing as Caustic Sauce - A man races to hospital to be at the birth of his first baby. - Short, Thriller

2.64 What Goes Around by Joe Garza (SPQR) writing as Ka-Bar - A killer's past catches up to him. - Short, Horror

2.6 The Sensitive One by Steve Miles (stevemiles) writing as Fuzzy Dunlop - Driven to distraction, a man sets out to uncover the source of a mysterious sound only to find some noises are best ignored. - Short, Horror

2.5 Smiler by Mark Renshaw (markrenshaw) writing as Smiley Emoji - A man with a freakish frozen smile on his face follows a woman down a deserted side street, determined to carry out his duty.  - Short, Horror

2.5 Through a Child's eyes by Mark Moore (Irisheyes) writing as Blank - An innocent Mother/Daughter conversation leads to more than the Mother bargained for. - Short, Thriller

2.45833333333333 Nothing To Fear by James Barron (MarkItZero) writing as Also written by - A mother proves to her son the monster under his bed isn't real. - Short, Horror

2.45833333333333 ARC by Anthony Cawood (AnthonyCawood) writing as Not Telling - The night shift at Heathrow's animal centre get some new guests. - Short, Thriller

2.4 Feeling Guilty by Zack Akers (Zack) writing as Richard Gecko - An exhausted man feels guilty about taking a break from a large-scale search. - Short, Horror

2.30769230769231 The Guileless by Yuvraj Rajwanshi (Yuvraj) writing as #123 - A woman sees a little boy on an empty street in the middle of the night. - Short, Horror

2.30434782608696 Monster by Gary Howell (Gary Howell) writing as XOXO - A teenage girl is pursued by a shadowy figure after an embarrassing incident. - Short, Thriller

2.29166666666667 The Enigma Complex by R5e (Gum) writing as Riddle Burrito - Two young urban apartment hunters are introduced to the latest style of inner city living.  - Short, Sci Fi

2.27272727272727 The Intruder by Christopher Brown (Cacutshaw) writing as Anonymous - A man is surprised to find an intruder in his house. But that isn't the end of the evening's surprises. - Short, Horror

2.24 Undercurrent by Max Ruddock (Max Ruddock) writing as Teresa Green - Things aren't quite as they seem when a family man learns of a tragic accident. - Short, Thriller

2.22727272727273 Hitori by Claudio Saez (Claudio) writing as 16644000 - It was only Hitori. - Short, Sci Fi, Horror

2.1304347826087 Kidnapped by Mark Dykshoorn (MarkD) writing as Billy Bob - A man finds himself blindfolded and tied up for reasons unknown. - Short, Thriller

1.90909090909091 Inside Out by Steven Clark (SteveClark) writing as Also, no name - Sometimes you must obey the voice, no matter whose it is. - Short, Horror

That was a well-spent 15 minutes writing that one, Michael  ;D - Congrats, round 1, top of the table

And well done to all, some great scripts -there is a lot of talent in this challenge

Kudos to all!

I love how many decimal places you have to go to!

Well done to all who entered and congratulation to the current leader(s). Now, please drop out!

A few tied spots in there too.

John & Warren.
MarkM & MarkR
James & Ant.

I don't think I'm cross-eyed. :)

I called it! Except John snuck into 4th, well done sir.

See, Matthew? You do belong in the company of those writers. Congrats to you all, great entries.

How do we rate the scripts?

Had a little look for a thread on that but somehow missed it.

Quoted from Andrew How do we rate the scripts? Had a little look for a thread on that but somehow missed it.

It all boils down to personal taste and choice. In theory, you are supposed to base it on the criteria of the challenge but folks like the scripts that speak to them and vote with their hearts.

For me, the originality of the story (or spin on something familiar) and the characters which usually grab my attention.

Quoted from Andrew How do we rate the scripts? Had a little look for a thread on that but somehow missed it.

Ballot for participants.
Anyone can review though.

Congrats to the top 5.

5 out of the 7, 4/5's I scored.

Quoted from MarkRenshaw It all boils down to personal taste and choice. In theory, you are supposed to base it on the criteria of the challenge but folks like the scripts that speak to them and vote with their hearts. For me, the originality of the story (or spin on something familiar) and the characters which usually grab my attention.

Yeah, I’m with you on that. It was a tough challenge and total respect for all who entered. There’s good work throughout.

Just noticed from LC that points awarded via ballot and the writers.

Congrats, everyone! Especially to the top earners. :)

2.4, huh? Who's ready to watch my average fuckin' plummet? Lol

Quoted from Andrew Yeah, I’m with you on that. It was a tough challenge and total respect for all who entered. There’s good work throughout.Just noticed from LC that points awarded via ballot and the writers.

Sometimes Don sends a ballot to those who go out of their way to review a lot of entries (even if not an entrant) - not sure if it applies to this mini-tournament.

Congrats everyone! Nice turnout, and some really good scripts here!

Damn, all I needed was one vote higher and I could've beaten Anthony by approximately 0.00187222 points. Then laughed as I towered over him as the overwhelming superior.

Quoted from MarkItZero Damn, all I needed was one vote higher and I could've beaten Anthony by approximately 0.00187222 points. Then laughed as I towered over him as the overwhelming superior.

Lmao!  ;D

Well done everyone. Superb efforts all round.

Quoted from Matthew Taylor That was a well-spent 15 minutes writing that one, Michael  ;D - Congrats, round 1, top of the table And well done to all, some great scripts -there is a lot of talent in this challenge

Yeah, pure luck I guess. It came easy to me because my roommate always bangs on the ceiling with a broomstick every time the neighbors are loud -- they have like 8 kids living up there. And the neighbors below me always complain about noise when my roommate bangs on the ceiling lol.

My 2nd round script, I'm afraid, will not find the same kind of luck. I wasn't hammered when I wrote it, but I was very tired from my 2nd shot and very, very buzzed. I know, it sounds like I'm coming up with excuses... and I am. It's that bad. Not sure why I wrote what I did.

As for "The Shadows", I was sure that was gonna be the runaway winner. It was the only script I scored a 5 for. I think its end score was affected by the order in which the readers read the scripts -- a lot had the same twist. But yours, Matthew, did it the best. And I didn't let that twist affect my scoring with the other scripts. Just judged them as stand alone stories like they should've been judged.

Quoted from spesh2k Yeah, pure luck I guess. It came easy to me because my roommate always bangs on the ceiling with a broomstick every time the neighbors are loud -- they have like 8 kids living up there. And the neighbors below me always complain about noise when my roommate bangs on the ceiling lol. My 2nd round script, I'm afraid, will not find the same kind of luck. I wasn't hammered when I wrote it, but I was very tired from my 2nd shot and very, very buzzed. I know, it sounds like I'm coming up with excuses... and I am. It's that bad. Not sure why I wrote what I did. As for "The Shadows", I was sure that was gonna be the runaway winner. It was the only script I scored a 5 for. I think its end score was affected by the order in which the readers read the scripts -- a lot had the same twist. But yours, Matthew, did it the best. And I didn't let that twist affect my scoring with the other scripts. Just judged them as stand alone stories like they should've been judged.

I always wonder how the order of reads affects my own scoring. Like, am I more generous with a good script towards the end of reading than I am at the beginning? I try to be consistent. But, am I?

Yours was a great script Michael. Thoroughly enjoyed it. If you do any rewrites, please share.

Quoted from PKCardinal I always wonder how the order of reads affects my own scoring. Like, am I more generous with a good script towards the end of reading than I am at the beginning? I try to be consistent. But, am I? Yours was a great script Michael. Thoroughly enjoyed it. If you do any rewrites, please share.

Thanks, man. This is the 4-page version. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qFRdcfdlVbmNW0X1VXSecwwjh4cdbJbA/view?usp=sharing

Quoted from spesh2k Thanks, man. This is the 4-page version. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qFRdcfdlVbmNW0X1VXSecwwjh4cdbJbA/view?usp=sharing

That's excellent! Thanks for sharing.

Great batch of scripts, and happy that this is the highest I’ve been in the standings.

Don’t worry, this round’s script will ensure that doesn’t continue.

Congrats, all. I couldn't never have guessed it.