RESULTS - Just write it! 3-page writing challenge (January, 2022)

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • RESULTS - Just write it! 3-page writing challenge (January, 2022)

    It's a wrap! The votes are in, and the results of our 3-page challenge are shown below.

    No./Title Author 1st 2nd 3rd Total
    1. UNTITLED ZAZluvr 0 0 1 1
    2. F*CK THE MUSICAL Beverly Wain 3 2 2 7
    3. FRESHMAN 45 Bono 15 4 2 21
    4. GHOST EATER Centos 0 6 1 7
    5. JACK'S BACK jonpiper 3 0 0 3
    6. THE SURVIVAL-LIST - FEATURING JON ZEN Southern_Land 0 2 2 4
    7. THE SPECIAL ONES: PROJECT UN-DISABLE Cyfress 12 0 1 13
    8. VIRGINS AGAIN Comic_Bent 0 0 0 0
    9. ZURI GOES HOME bioprofessor 3 8 2 13
    10. 925 Haskell 3 2 1 6
    11. UNTITLED Clint Hill 6 0 2 8
    12. CAMP PONDER Mark Somers 0 2 2 4
    13. DEAD ON ARRIVAL lostfootage 3 6 1 10
    14. DOWN MEXICO WAY dpaterso 6 6 3 15
    15. EL RUSHBO Satriales 6 2 0 8


    Congratulations to Bono for grabbing 1st Place with his entry, Freshman 45.

    2nd Place: dpaterso (Down Mexico Way)
    3rd Place (tie): Cyfress (The Special Ones - Project Un-disable); bioprofessor (Zuri Goes Home)

    Congratulations and thank you to all the writers who participated!

    Thank you to everyone who voted. We had a record 20 members vote for their favorites. It was a real horse race between 1st, 2nd and 3rd place right up until the final day of voting.

    Special thanks to dpaterso and Comic_Bent who provided expert technical assistance in getting the pages to post properly!

    Please feel free to post your thoughts about the pages and the contest in general.
    Last edited by bioprofessor; 01-31-2022, 10:26 PM.

  • #2
    I voted for 7, 13 and 14. Keep working on those!

    I think I did better than I should have because I had a logline which gave me an advantage over some others that might be harder to figure out in 3 pages w/o one, so next time when we do this contest, I'd recommend everyone does that. It helps set the scene.

    Comment


    • #3
      My votes ... 1st, 925. 2nd, Zuri Goes Home (liked Brooklyn) and 3rd, Down Mexico Way. 4th (if there had been a 4th) would have gone to the 1. Untitled (at the time I think the only Untitled).

      Congratulations to the winners.
      STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

      Comment


      • #4
        Yeah, congrats to all the winners. The only one of the three that I had in the top three was Derek with Down Mexico Way, which I voted as #2.

        I gave #1 to Clint Hill (script #11, Untitled) for his UFO story. Hey, Clint ... a title next time, please!

        I gave #3 to ZAZluvr (script # 1, Untitled) for the El Salvador story. Again, title next time, please!
        And, wow, I seem to have set a new record in scoring with my own entry. Across the board: 0 0 0, total = 0.

        But it was fun, and we will do this, or something like it, again.

        "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

        Comment


        • #5
          By the way, I liked Centos's Ghost Eater entry. It almost made it into my top three.

          "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

          Comment


          • #6
            Congrats to Bono and well done all for taking part, even if you didn't quite get as many votes as you'd hoped for, you've had practice writing to deadline which is what these contests are all about. Also, low numbers doesn't mean your script sucked, a different group of readers could easily have produced an entirely different set of results.

            For what it's worth, my votes went like,

            1st - 7. THE SPECIAL ONES: PROJECT UN-DISABLE
            2nd - 4. GHOST EATER
            3rd - 6. THE SURVIVAL-LIST - FEATURING JON ZEN

            Comic, big ouch for your zeroes, you made me look at my notes,

            8. VIRGINS AGAIN

            Easy read, big speeches slowed me but an amusing appearance at the end made me smile, just missed out on a vote, others squeezed in front, so sorry.

            So you almost got points! Hug that thought tight.

            The rest of my scribbled notes went like,

            1. UNTITLED

            Ow, brutal gore opening! Content was interesting enough but I gotta admit it's not quite forming for me yet. Politics, politicians, no thanks. A title and a logline could really have helped this one.


            2. F*CK THE MUSICAL

            Easy read, I found the writing amusing, and the logline too, but I have to say it felt like a couple of comedy skits stuck together, rather than something I might take seriously. Obviously I might feel differently if there had been more to read and get into.


            3. FRESHMAN 45

            Entertaining read but the idea isn't calling to me and the logline hardly says enough. How does his going back to college affect the family financially for example? Is it a world-shattering upheaval? Just a thought, the new hire being a dick as soon as Doug leaves isn't as funny or as disheartening as Doug hearing Johnny, returning to witness the mess and realize he's been left to clean it up.


            4. GHOST EATER

            I kinda liked this, gets a vote. Reading the logline, I wondered what challenges, what success? The words don't tell me enough or help paint the picture.


            5. JACK'S BACK

            They had it comin'! Jack is a man with problems. This one tickled my interest but other entries slid in front.


            6. THE SURVIVAL-LIST - FEATURING JON ZEN

            Reads well, though I wonder if I'm supposed to hope Zen gets wrecked, or if I'm supposed to be rooting for him. Tough call! He's so damn pompous. I'd read on to find out. Gets a vote!


            7. THE SPECIAL ONES: PROJECT UN-DISABLE

            Two entirely different scenes but both interesting in their own way, here's hoping the kid with braids has a surprise for her foster parents. Gets a vote!


            8. VIRGINS AGAIN

            Easy read, big speeches slowed me but an amusing appearance at the end made me smile, just missed out on a vote, others squeezed in front, so sorry.


            9. ZURI GOES HOME

            This had a familiarity about it, maybe because animations have featured zoo animals doing their thing, I saw one recently, it looked clever but the talking animals couldn't hold my attention. I wouldn't hesitate to keep reminding the reader of their species when they speak, e.g. BROOKLYN THE MEERCAT and ZURI THE GORILLA because even with only 3 pages I couldn't remember who was what.


            10. 925

            Dare I say I've written kinda similar stories, I experienced a déjà vu "Huh!" moment while reading it. This was among my top 3 picks but it just got squeezed out.


            11. UNTITLED

            An enjoyable read, it was always in the top group, alas other entries slipped in front and denied it glory.


            12. CAMP PONDER

            I like the humor, it seemed to deflate just a little at the end when things became almost a normal-ish conversation, but it's a fun read.


            13. DEAD ON ARRIVAL

            Casey sure has problems, I'm not sure if I'm aboard yet though, it reads well enough but I'd need more before I could get into it.


            14. DOWN MEXICO WAY

            Mine, I apologize.


            15. EL RUSHBO

            I could see the humor, but American politics and players don't resonate with me (being a Brit).






            Last edited by dpaterso; 04-03-2022, 05:27 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              My votes were 11, 14, 3 in that order. Good job everyone.

              Comment


              • #8
                Not having a logline hurt some entries, I think. It’s harder to discern tone and settle into the story if you don’t have an inkling of what the premise is.

                I voted for Dead on Arrival— it felt the most complete, with fully developed characters that I felt I knew, even in 3 pages.

                I also voted for Freshman 45 — understated humor that gives actors room to act, easy to visualize, and high concept.

                Also voted for Zuri Goes Home— loved every single thing about this. Zuri is a great name, lovely tone, easily understood goal in the logline, and the way it unfolded made me confident that this writer knows what he’s doing.

                Congrats everyone!

                Comment


                • #9
                  I voted based on quality of idea (not necessarily commercial viability but how much I would want to read) and if it was executed at a professional level.

                  frosh 45 - very good idea, clean writing.
                  f*ck the musical - Visually I thought this flowed really well. It was edited as it would play on screen.
                  John Zen - this didn’t have a logline and I wish it did. But I thought this did the best job of conveying character. I got it right away. Very funny and weird. I’d like to watch a sendup of this kind of thing.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Well deserved victory, Bono! Congrats!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Congratulations, Bono. I really enjoyed reading your entry.

                      If I had never seen Rodney Dangerfield in "Back to School," I would have voted for "Freshman 45."

                      Originally posted by Bono View Post
                      Wait, wait, wait... Macbeth was a play first? Mind blown!
                      It was definitely in my Top 4.

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=farC0cWkpvc

                      LINK: This is how I see Doug at college.
                      Last edited by VoltarReturns; 02-01-2022, 06:21 AM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Lets do part 2. The second three pages!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by VoltarReturns View Post
                          Congratulations, Bono. I really enjoyed reading your entry.

                          If I had never seen Rodney Dangerfield in "Back to School," I would have voted for "Freshman 45."


                          This was the real prize. I got voltar to make sense! Also 100% my version of that movie which is all
                          time favorite of mine.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It was a solid group of entries: Congrats to everyone.

                            There was quite a variety: animated, kids, comedy, adventure, horror, satire.

                            I could visualize most of them...drawing a lot on the long list of films I've seen. There is nothing wrong with previously used story lines, they are familiar tales with new details. I think I saw Death Wish, Back to School, Harry and the Hendersons and maybe a kind of "First Nudie Musical" which starred Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley) and a dancing dildo a long time ago, maybe a Crocodile Hunter meets Life Aquatic. New bottles and labels for fine old wines.

                            Voting was difficult with the variety of genres along with whatever focus a voter chose to focus on: commercial viability, originality, execution, use of language and dialogue, character development, getting drawn into the story, etc.

                            As mentioned above, Title and Logline can be important to how someone approaches your first few pages for a cold, first read.



                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Great work all and congrats to Bono for first place.

                              I found it challenging to winnow it down to three. There were quite a few I went back and forth on for second and third choice.

                              My first choice was Rushbo (15). The idea of Rush Limbaugh reincarnated as a feminist intrigued me. The exchange with Ronald Reagan was well done in terms of subtext re the current political climate -- which also appealed to me as a politics junkie. The other strength was deftly getting into the story without anything extraneous. By page 3 we're off to the races and that takes skill.

                              Second choice: Zuri Goes Home (9). I could easily visualize the animated characters which were charming and established immediately. And then the mystery arrival on page 3 had me wanting to read on to see who/what it is. That's a win: getting the reader to keep reading.

                              Third choice: Camp Ponder. I thought the concept was fresh and the kids were written realistically, age wise. And I liked the way Big Foot was depicted.

                              Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X