Hey there!

Post all the lessons you learned during Script Frenzy 2008 in here.

I learned:

1. 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.

2.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.

3. That if and when we submit our script to contests, agents, and Michel Gondry, we should rethink the formatting on an entire page filled with the words "black screen."

1. Accents may mysteriously appear two or three lines of dialouge into a charrie's speech, because it may take you a bit in your sleep-deprived state to figure out that what you're writing is strangely Irish. Therefore, it may be prudent to be mindful of strangely placed accent-marking parentheticals.

2. As time-saving as INSERT HERE lines are, you must eventually replace that "INSERT APPROPRIATE SNIDE COMMENT HERE," or "Mr. INSERTLASTNAMEHERE" with something, even if it's not up to the original ideal.

3. Sleep is for people who don't have a deadline.

4. Cover pages and dramatis personae are beautiful things, which help you keep your files (and characters) straight. (The added pagecount is even better.)

5. It is really, really, really nice to make 100 pages. Even nicer to finish the plot. Not as nice to edit and re-write scenes and try to match them up.

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YWP NaNo 07: Evalyn (Win, WIP)
Screnzy 08: To Be Determined (0/100 pgs)

1. Outlines are good. Very good. I didn't have one. My script is a mess.

2. If you run out of inspiration, it's very handy to have friends who will suggest stuff you can do to fill up an entire twenty-six pages.

3. It's helpful if you look back on your script once or twice, because if you don't, your inconsistencies might turn out as gaping plot holes (*cough*).

4. Author-Character interactions are really interesting. What would you do if you met your poorly written characters?

- Back up your work. And often.

- Just put something down, particularly when it comes to speech. That god-awfully-cringeworthy line can be tweaked later.

- Try not to fill up half a page with descriptions; but if you do, make up for it with a page full of dialogue afterwards.

- When you know you're writing rubbish, put a note down to revise it later. I'm dreading revising my scripts ^^;

- Concentrate on reaching the end before worrying about revision - but if you know something could be improved, and you have an idea how to do that, go ahead and adjust the script.

Yay.

-IGNORE THE GAMES AND PROCRASTINATION SECTION!
-Even when you really really really don't feel like doing your script, do it anyway, because it pays off.

1. Outlines are pretty much required. At least for me. That's why my script turned out so much better than my novels. Editing begins by redoing the outlines.

2. I'm a much more natural scriptwriter than I am a novelist. I'm not a natural prose storyteller. It's because I'm primarily a visual storyteller. I work best with scripts and storyboards/layouts.

3. In the, uh, frenzy of writing 100 pages or more, some of the important details can be lost. Like, say, characters' distinguishing features, though that wasn't a problem for me. My problem had to do with backstory: I forgot too much of it. And I left out a number of very important characters and their scenes. So I'm focusing on world building in my blog. Then once I've got my world back in mind, I'll edit my script.

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Script Frenzy 2008: Spanner -- WINNER!
Project Blog: Spanner's World

Lessons learned:

1. Always write the script while in a class where work is due. It's amazing how productive I can be when I have 2 deadlines to worry about.

2. Know how high you can count. I apparently can only count to five. I started with three characters, ended up with eight . . . though I lost some, I think.

3. Enjoy what you write. Who cares if your spies happen to forget what they are looking for and end up finding a recipe for macaroni and cheese?

4. Input from friends is good. They have the best ideas but are usually too afraid to use them for themselves. :3

5. Make a list of character names. First and Last. It got to a point where my one character wasn't allowed to have a proper name.

And that is what I learned. :D

I learned:

1. Like others, I really should stick to an outline as my memory really sucks and half the time I forget character's names and even the places they were in, in each scene

2. to be proud of how far I got when writing my script as I don't believe I've ever came so close to completing a piece of writing.

3. that I am 100% wanting to pursue a career in writing and that it would be great if I can pursue a career in scriptwriting.

Nano 05 - I forget what I wrote but I know I failed it lol
Nano 06 - If Only - Mission Failed
Screnzy 07 - Chytelle - Mission failed
Nano 07 - The Mission - Mission completed
Screnzy 08 - Untitled - Mission almost completed but failed

Sincerely Mindy

I learned:

- It is possible to write a script near the end of the semester, just the same as a novel.

- Insanity always is better.

- Really long names for random people are still fun.

- It is possible to write a script while being slightly sick, but you can't write a research paper that way.

- It is possible to write more than half of your script in less than two weeks, if you're determined.

- Frenzyisms are fun.

- I torture my character in this one. Poor Nathan. Sunset is pretty happy, though.
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NaNoWriMo 06: Dragons in the Bathtub; 07: Sidhe PD - Won!
Screnzy 07: The State of Orange - Won!

Screnzy 08: The State of Green. Nathan Green has just woken up from his coma, but is being awake any better?

1. It's a lot easier to just write something stupid every day (even if you take it out the next). Because, after a two-day break because of storms and such, you don't want to write anymore.

2. It IS possible to finish up 50 pages in the last three days.

3. If you absolutely cannot stand characters that keep popping up every time you write a script, even though you've already written them before (and then lost the story). Then all you have to do to get rid of them is kill them. It's not as sad as I thought it'd be.

4. "Write what you know" is a good piece of advice. Writing a script around things you never did is NOT a good idea.

5. Outlining sucks. But it keeps people like me from screwing up their story because it wasn't dramatic or action-packed enough. And, no, random torture scenes are NOT okay. (Especially not every couple pages *cough*)

6. Never EVER write a script with no clue where you could go. If you don't have any ideas about what to do after page 2 (yes, that's including the title page) - don't write it. If you say, "hey, after my assassin character kills the presidential candidate, she oughta go eat mac and cheese back at her house," then you're okay.

7. Occasionally, you need to relearn things. Like, how to plot out an effective story. Or, how to write action better. Or, better yet, how to create good heroes, place them in a good action plot with well-written action. Good, no?

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I tried to be perfect, it just wasn't worth it.
I don't know how it got so bad.
It's hard to believe me, it never gets easy.
I guess I knew it all along.

The good, the bad, and the H.A.C.K