Script Frenzy - Your ticket to creative adventure

Writing a novel in November?

jenniferarzt — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:48:33 -0700

Your NaNoWriMo username and password get you into Script Frenzy, too.

We’ve had six months since April to travel about in the land of re-writes. How has it been going?

The revision process for me has been filled with moments of euphoria followed by heartbreak and tears. I’ve settled somewhere in the middle if you average it all together with some sort of writerly happiness barometer.

How are all your revisions coming along? Drop me a line!

See you all in NaNoLand in just a few days!

Averaged,
Jennifer

Golden Tickets 2008

jenniferarzt — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:52:29 -0700

I'm looking at my calendar and can't believe that June 1 is Sunday!

On June 1 we switch over from wrap-up of the 2008 Frenzy to prep for the 2009 Frenzy, and donations made from Sunday onward will count towards the 2009 Frenzy's totals. Donate now and you'll receive your golden ticket for this year’s event and your super-cool 2008 donor goodies.

Also coming to a close June 1: The $10 sale on Script Frenzy World Premiere 2007 tees. Get yours now, and while you're there also pick up a Script Frenzy plot machine tee, stainless steel mug, or hat.

Survey results coming soon.

Stay frenzied,
Jennifer

Revision Frenzy

jenniferarzt — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:12:03 -0700

Script Frenzy brought out the funny, the dramatic, and the not-so-polished in many of our scripts. And now it's time to make the leap from Draft 1 to Draft 2. There are no hard and fast rules on how to approach a rewrite, but here are a few ideas to help get you started.

Sleep. This is #1. You deserve it. Plus, a bit of separation between you and your script is healthy. After a few weeks, you might even forget every word that you wrote, and that is a good thing. It’s important to look at your script with fresh eyes, as a new reader would.

Re-read all in one sitting. Don’t take notes. Really. Put the pen down. Trust us—you don’t want to waste time correcting punctuation in a scene that may end up being cut. Re-read without editing, and just take in your script as a whole.

Create or revisit your outline. Revising is hard, plain and simple. There is no getting around it. You can make the whole process a lot less painful, though, by investing time early on in making your outline shine before you get into actual rewriting. Postponing editing until you have your story's exact course figured out may feel like procrastination, but knowing how each scene will unfold before you begin moving, cutting, and adding beats will save you days (if not weeks) of effort. Bonus: Revising from an outline almost feels like having a legal cheat sheet.

If you don’t have one already, create an outline. If you need help getting started, check out the resources below. The Beat Sheet is a fantastic tool that’s made with feature length screenplays in mind, but there's helpful stuff in it for all kinds of scripts.

Or:

Revisit your existing outline. After you’ve had a chance to read over your beautifully flawed masterpiece, think critically about the beats and pace of your story. Did you cover everything you planned to in your outline? Are you seeing areas that are thin? Get into the outline and cut, add, and rearrange your scenes, characters, and plot all the way to a solid Draft 2 outline. If you find that you are changing more than you are keeping, start a new outline.

A word of warning: Some difficult decisions will need to be made as you rework your outline. The scene that may have launched your entire idea weeks and weeks ago might need to be cut. One scene, conversation, or image, no matter how brilliant it is, isn’t the boss of your script. It was probably a great launching point for ideas, characters, conflict, and dialogue. It will be remembered fondly. Your job now is to create the strongest story possible and nothing should stand between you and it–even your favorite scene.

Outline Resources: Blake Synder’s Beat Sheet
Or try filling out a workbook from Script Frenzy’s own Young Writers Program for high school students. You won’t be the only adult there! Many participants have used the workbook during the Frenzy.

Big-Picture Editing. Save a copy of your script and name it something original and unexpected–like “Draft 2.” This version is about to be Frankensteined. Cut and paste, delete, and add notes about new scenes based on your latest and greatest outline.

Be sure to keep your hands off the small changes. It’s still too soon to be tidying your sentences and perfecting dialogue. You want to be looking at the big picture here. You can, however, flag dialogue that needs fixing, action that is falling flat or running too long, and any flaws in logic that might pop up during all the shuffling.

As you go through it, keep an eye out for typos. Spell check–though regarded by many to be the greatest invention since the wheel–won’t catch that your character Al Wright has mysteriously started going by All Right. Your readers, on the other hand, will be very quick to notice.

Reread this very rough version of your script. If the overall logic, plot, and pacing feels right, then you're ready to move on! If it needs more work, keep going through the draft–bouncing back and forth to your outline–until you feel like your characters and story are firmly planted on solid ground. As you do your big-picture revision, use File-->Save As to create a new version of the draft frequently (title them Draft 2b, Draft 2c, etc. to help keep them all straight). That way, you'll keep a record of all the genius ideas you came up with along the way, even if they don't make it into the final draft.

The Rewrite. Now it is time to actually start the rewriting. Take a deep breath and grab a cup of coffee. These items will be done in multiple passes. (This section could also be called Cutting, Writing, and Post-its. Be prepared for all three.)

Characters. When you started writing in April, you were going on blind dates with your characters. You only know a few things about them. Then, you spent the month of April in a whirlwind romance (or something like it), and now you are have a deeper understanding of who they are, and what you're going to do together.

With a sharp eye, comb through every inch of dialogue and action. Dialogue and action are the two ways your characters will be transformed from words on the page to real people. As your characters say and do things to move the plot forward, be sure that all their actions and conversations are in line with their personalities. Be sure they aren’t doing anything out of, well, character.

A sticky note: Make sure your character’s quirks and idiosyncrasies remain with them throughout the entire story. Have too many quirks to remember? Post-it notes! Cover your desk with them.

A dialogue tip: What sounds right on the page doesn’t always sound right when said out loud. Be the crazy person in the back corner of a coffee shop–or shut yourself away in your bedroom–and read it out loud.

Character Resources: “Reach for the Evocative Word” advice from Lisa Drostova

Progress. Does each scene move the story forward? If it doesn’t, cut it. You don’t need it. If you have a great moment or a stellar piece of dialogue in a scene about to be cut, pick it up and try moving it to another scene. It will be happier in a new home.

If there is a scene that bores you when you read it, it will bore the audience. If the scene is moving the story forward or supporting character development but it still falls flat, inject conflict. Are there minor characters standing around waiting for a piece of the limelight? Could the scene work better at night? What about in a different location?

Subplot. Minor characters. B-story. Whatever you want to call the filling between your heroes, allow it to enhance your newly well-defined main characters. Allow these minor characters and B-stories to support the rest of your script. They can have a similar storyline as your main character. Or you might find that the best way to explain your main character is to have somebody who is the exact opposite. Just be sure that they are well rounded enough to be worthy of screen/stage time.

Minor Character Resource: "Grandma's Got a Gun or, Who Are You Calling a Minor Character, Anyway?" by Daniel Heath

Plot holes. Yes, these were supposed to have taken care of this during the outline step, but you’ve been shuffling scenes and refining characters. If you’ve fallen into a plot hole and are having a hard time climbing out, try chatting with someone you trust about your story. Give them the gist of the stuck scene or plot point and let them offer ideas. You don’t have to take all their suggestions, but the process will inevitably help give you some new approaches to filling those plot holes.

Reread. After you have polished, played, and perfected your way to Draft 2, reread your script! Loop through all the steps above as many times as needed. Then, when you feel ready to share your masterpiece, head on down to the next step.

Perform it. This is a great way to hear how the entire script will actually sound off the page. You can do this with friends or actors at something called a table read. At a table read, you make copies of your script for each reader, and assign roles for everyone, including a narrator who will voice all the action. You, dear author, don’t get a reading role. Nope. You will have your own script copy–and a pen. During the reading, your job is to take frantic notes. Listen for lines that fall flat, pacing that is off, or missed opportunities for humor. Set aside time for a huge writing day following the reading. After hearing your story out loud, many things will become clear, and you don’t want to let much time pass between the reading and applying the lessons you learned from it.

Script swap. Now dear writer, it is time to get feedback from other scriptwriters. Your masterpiece is ready to be released out into the world. In the Script Frenzy forums there is a whole group dedicated to script swapping. Swing by and check it out!

Script Swap Resource: Script Frenzy forum.

Deadline. You made it through the Frenzy, so we know you’re are good with deadlines. Pull out your calendar right now.

We’ll wait.

Got it?

Great, now circle a date four to six weeks in the future. Write that date on a Post-it. You just set your deadline for Draft 2. To help make that deadline stick (and not accidentally make its way to the trash while another Post-it quietly takes its place), we invite you to post your deadline in our newest forum, Revision Frenzy. It is so much easier working toward a deadline when others can hold you accountable.

Use the forum to post your progress and commiserate with others working through the same mounds of changes to get to Draft 2.

Deadline Resource: Revision Deadline forum

To everyone who is planning a visit to the strange, exciting, and sometimes infuriating world of rewrites, we applaud you. Your script is on its way to a better, stronger, more exciting version of itself.

The adventure continues!

Good luck!

A Frenzied Survey

jenniferarzt — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:33:53 -0700

There is no way to get over the post-Frenzy blues than by reminiscing about the scripty times. Please swing by our lovely, orange-sherbet survey! We are excited to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Have any suggestions, memories, or musings you want to share with me directly? Frenzymail me, baby!

Is it really May?

Missing April,
Jennifer

PS: Keep an eye out for our revising recipe coming out next week!

Chronicles of an Apocalyptic-Indie-Romance Part Three

jenniferarzt — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:20:35 -0700

So we did it. Sarah and I wrote and finished a script in April, and we learned a lot in the 101 pages of sometimes not-so-bad, sometimes ridiculously bad, many times funny-to-probably-only-us scenes.

I learned:

That it’s really easy to forget all your character’s distinguishing features, such as accents, quirky wardrobes, or entire personalities by page twenty, never to introduce them back into your script again.
That it’s really hard to write a script about the apocalypse and keep your characters from totally freaking out. Would you develop as a character, or fall in love, if the world were really coming to an end? I mean, really.

That if and when we submit our script to contests, agents, and Michel Gondry, we should rethink the formatting on this page.

Sarah also learned some things:

You really can write a screenplay on your lunch break. I am beginning to suspect you can accomplish anything with enough sandwiches.
Structure is magic. Believe it or not, all those beats on the beat sheet really do add up to a real-live story. And having a daily goal, no matter how tiny or trite, makes writing anything possible. Just add sandwiches.
There is nothing better than making your best friend (and yourself) laugh.

As you can tell, Sarah and I learned a lot about what to do (eat more sandwiches), and what not to do (this), as we move on to revise our Script Frenzy script this May.

I am sure all of you who participated in the Frenzy learned plenty of “to dos” and “not to dos” that you can take into the revision process. And we want to know about them! Post the lessons you learned, so we can all learn from each other’s mistakes and triumphs!

Hope your enjoying your post-Frenzy bliss!
Tavia

The Martini, Baby!

jenniferarzt — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:50:10 -0700

On film sets, the last shot of the day–that is to say the shot that stands between you and your bed–is called the martini shot. And that, my scriptwriting colleague, is where we are right now.

There are precious few moments left in Script Frenzy 2008. (I am already starting to miss it.)

We have winners popping up all over the site! As I write this there are 459 victorious scribes enjoying the limelight.

To get your share of the celebration, get your scrambled, PDF verified by our robots before 11:59:59 on April 30. If it is before midnight local time and you can’t see the validate button, check your time zone! You’ll want to make sure it is set properly.

Today our extraordinary Executive Director, Chris Baty, mentioned the current state of our Cash-o-Meter. If you have loved this crazy adventure even an iota as much as I did, please make a tax-deductible donation! You keep us up and running! And up and running is where we like to be!

We’re almost there!

Good luck!

Jennifer

A word from your script

jenniferarzt — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:55:06 -0700

Dearest Script Frenzy participant,

Hi. It's Chris Baty again—Script Frenzy's Executive Director and head cheerleader.

I've spent the past weekend fasting and meditating to achieve a state of Universal Writing Consciousness. I do this at the end of every April to commune directly with Script Frenzy scripts worldwide, and get a solid read on how things are going out there.

During my vision quest, I chatted briefly with your script, and it asked me to pass along the following two messages:

1) Your script loves you very much, even if things between you have been a little difficult lately. It promises that if you give it just two hours per night until the end of the Frenzy, it will behave. No more nagging. Just the two of you, in love again, building a beautiful page-count together.

2) Your script really wants you to donate to Script Frenzy today.

We're in complete agreement with your script on this one.

As you can see from the Cash-o-Meter on the front page of ScriptFrenzy.org, only 4.2% of Script Frenzy participants have chipped in so far to help pay for the event. This has left us $85,000 below our break-even point for the year.

As a nonprofit, numbers like $85,000 put a little fear in the hearts of our board of directors. So here's my challenge: Think about what Script Frenzy has been worth to you this month. The motivation. The fun. The new ideas. The terrifying, empowering deadline, and the push to finally do something you've been wanting to do for a long time.

Then head to our Donation Station and make a tax-deductible contribution in that amount. Donating ensures that the Frenzy will be back next April to inspire and encourage you—along with 8,000 other adults, teens, and kids—all over again.

More frenzied love,

Chris Baty
The Office of Letters and Light

PS: Look for a final, wrap-up email from Jennifer Arzt immediately after the event ends, along with the appearance of the celebrated "I Wrote a Script, Now What?" page, and the first-ever Script Frenzy participant survey! Many big things ahead!

The Final Weekend

jenniferarzt — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:49:44 -0700

I can’t believe what I am about to write. No matter where you are in your page count, please sit down before reading on. What I have to say is a bit shocking…

This is the last weekend in Script Frenzy 2008!

I’m not sure how in the world the time flew by so fast, but it did. Almost a month ago you said goodbye to your friends and family, and hello to your story. Now your fans are gathering, chilling champagne, and unrolling the red carpet. When the warm applause welcomes you back in just a few days there will be one question on everyone asks: What was your page count? There is no getting around it. So, my advice is to have a page count that will knock ‘em dead. Simple, right?

There is only one way to get to such a powerful page count… write like crazy. I’ll be right there with you.

Good luck, fellow scriptwriters!

Happy weekend writing,
Jennifer

A Winning Time

jenniferarzt — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:30:41 -0700

At midnight local time on April 25th–if you’ve completed your master piece–you can start winning! To make sure our robots know that it is April 25th in your part of the world–set your time zone.

Here’s how you set your time zone:

1. Login.
2. Click the Edit tab.
3. Scroll down to Locale settings and use the drop down box to set your current local time.
4. Hit Submit at the bottom.

I can hardly believe we are close enough to the end that I am writing to tell you how to make sure you're all set to win!

Writing like mad,
Jennifer

Storms and Sunshine

jenniferarzt — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:48:47 -0700

Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.
~Pablo Picasso

If you're signed up to get Pep Talks emailed directly to you, this one will be delivered via owl post later today.

Dear Script Frenzy Participant,

We are in the home stretch my scriptwriting friends! You have made it through the hardest part of the Frenzy, and the great FADE OUT is around the corner.

If you've crossed into the latitudes beyond Page 70, your journey is nearly at an end. You're likely typing away leisurely from some shipboard hammock, enjoying the light breeze on your laptop.

Like most Frenzies, I'm many, many leagues away from that hammock. I'm four days behind schedule, still trying to right my page count from the storms that have blown me off-course these last few weeks.

But the way I see it, a little struggle is a good thing. It means we're getting in over our heads, tackling something larger than we are. Sure, our wrists are sore, our brains are tired, and the quest for 100 pages has brought a little chaos into our lives. But chaos is a sure sign that we're dreaming big dreams, and daring to get these oversized dreams down on paper. Chaos rarely befalls couch potatoes.

Which brings us to the key question: What happens when we reach 100 pages?

So much happens you won't even believe it! People will ask for your autograph on the street. Traffic will part and let you pass. Your kitchen will magically produce three gourmet meals for you everyday. (This is all true.) The grumpy memories of having forgone all those prime TV-watching hours will fade, replaced by a lifelong sense of pride.

Do whatever you need to do to reach 100 pages if you are within striking distance. If you are roughly a third of the way to your goal, the finish line is within your reach. It may mean less staring out the window daydreaming, less people-watching, and definitely many more cups of coffee. Tell everyone you died, or have been relocated to Middle Earth, but do not let the storm push you off course. I'll be watching.

If you are less than a third of the way along, you also have to keep going. Even if you're absolutely sure that there's no way you're going to hit 100 pages, every page you write now will do a couple great things for you in the long run.

First off, it will build up your idea bank. Each situation, plot twist, character tic, and witty line of dialogue you write in the next eight days can be filed away for future use. These are ideas you can draw from for the rest of your writing life.

Second, every page you write now will be a tremendous gift to your future self. There is a huge difference between needing to write the final 20 to 30 pages of a script and having to draft the second and third acts of a script. Because of the helpfully menacing deadline of Script Frenzy, it will be easier to write now than any other time of the year. Use and abuse this writing window. When April is over, there will be a sad 11 months until the next time we'll all get to write with thousands of others.

And now, a quick word about winning. Starting April 25 our official page-counting robots will go to work checking script lengths, handing out winner's certificates and web icons, and adding names to our Winner's Page. In order to be crowned a Script Frenzy winner and receive one of the amazing 2008 certificates, you'll need to upload a PDF version of your script to the robots for verification between April 25 and April 30.

You can practice uploading a PDF to our validator nowjust head to the Script Info tab of your Edit Profile page. Remember: Winning goes live April 25. You can read the ins and outs of scrambling and winning on our site.

Good luck to everyone this final week of the Frenzy!

Writing for sunnier skies,
Jennifer

PS. Back up right now!