Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

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  • #16
    Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

    As ever, if you don't wish to enter, but would like to VOTE, you're welcome to join in as voters are always important to these competitions.

    If you just want to hang out and post comments, that's okay too. If you're a prior entrant, stuck for time for either, then don't worry about showing up. However, entries are the lifeblood of these things, so let's have quite a few of those too.
    Forthcoming: The Annual, "I JUST GOT DUMPED" Valentine's Short Screenplay Writing Competition. Keep an eye on Writing Exercises.

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    • #17
      Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

      First time looking at joining in. I looked at forum rules and the other thread re official announcement, but I still need to ask...

      You say 8 pages - I assume you therefore want a short script? Or are there other options?

      Thanks for organising and good luck to everyone entering.

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      • #18
        Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

        Yep, short scripts, 8 pages max. Can be shorter if you want.

        ____________________________

        Nostalgia Corner - previous Noir-themed contests from a few years back, for those who don't remember the "Old Days"

        The Touch of Noir contest from 2008.

        The Devil's Deadline contest from 2007.

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        • #19
          Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

          Yesac, and any other writers who are entering or thinking about entering, and not too familiar with noir

          --and to add to Dpats post, as I was thinking of posting the following anyway:

          To those less familair with Noir who would like to have a go, but are teetering on brink of entering: you don't have to immitate the familiar conventions; femme fatales, crooks, pimps, detectives, unreliable narrators, lost highways, and light falling through blinds into dim rooms -- but if you want to you can bring all of this noir furniture into your short script and many will, ala American Gigolo, or The Grifters, or older noirs like Double Indemnity. However, or equally, it can be something that is uneasy, dark, has a noir feel to it and is set in the here and now. Something that reflects the tensions in the culture now, which shouldn't be hard given the financial crisis and other contempoarary events.

          Forthcoming: The Annual, "I JUST GOT DUMPED" Valentine's Short Screenplay Writing Competition. Keep an eye on Writing Exercises.

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          • #20
            Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

            Perfect timing... just finished the first draft of a feature, so it can sit in the drawer for a couple of weeks and think about what it's done, while I work on this...

            I'm in. Trouble is my business.

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            • #21
              Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

              Thanks for the clarification. Not sure if I can pull together an entry before deadline, but will try.

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              • #22
                Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                18 days remaining... heck, that's less than half a page per day.

                That's one of the positives about these writing exercises, you're writing to theme and deadline. Good practice for the real world!

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                • #23
                  Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                  So as to the actual rules as such what are we aiming at?

                  Upon the starters orders I have commenced without a hell of a lot of planning other than the fact that its a story that's been stuck in my brain for ten years as a possible TV series.

                  So instead of a complete story as such I'm more aiming towards the first scene (maybe two) of the pilot.

                  Does that fall within the rulez?
                  I heard the starting gun


                  sigpic

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                  • #24
                    Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                    Methinks Road Warrior has deliberately avoided specifying short script contest. 'Cause he's devious that way. So if anyone wants to submit pages from a full-length script, that's cool. Though your pages might well be competing against short scripts offering a complete story and possibly faster pacing, too. Something to bear in mind, perhaps.

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                    • #25
                      Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                      Yes, very subtle and devious.

                      We've had folks submit a portion of a script before, and the feedback has then been yeah, I'd read further, and so on, but as Dpat says, you don't get the advantage of the begin/middle/end satisfaction. I use these contests to see what nonsense comes out of my brain in a short time frame. And for the fun of it of course...

                      Of coures, there's always the risk that you cheat yourself too, if you use work that is old, it's not work done within the timeframe of the contest, or it's an opportunity lost to come up with something fresh. The main thrust of these contests is that it's as much YOU vs. YOU I guess... as much as you vs. the other entrants.

                      How many brave souls do we have now, 7,8 or 9 entrants perhaps?

                      We could do with 2 or 3 more ideally... just as a buffer.


                      .


                      Please sign up!


                      .
                      Last edited by The Road Warrior; 04-04-2013, 12:56 AM. Reason: bolding the sign-up plea
                      Forthcoming: The Annual, "I JUST GOT DUMPED" Valentine's Short Screenplay Writing Competition. Keep an eye on Writing Exercises.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                        --just to clarify, it's fairly open, you could even sort out and dust down an old script, rewrite the begin.. end.. middle, or begin a new project that is noir based and see how it grabs people...

                        How I see these contests:

                        It's very much seat of the pants writing: you get 3 weeks, thereabouts, to come up with something new, you think it over for a week, lots of head scratching and coffee and then you scribble out a quick 8 page DRAFT ONE... and then on into tinkering and rewrites and finally you submit the darn thing.

                        However, owing to the tight time restraints it's likely to be flawed or will not quite work in some way, whether that's due to the structure or overall scenario or some other problem - who knows, because you've rushed it in by then!

                        Perhaps there's even a few underdeveloped characters knocking around in there or even knocking into things (various parts of the set I'd imagine!) but hopefully you'll gain something from the process and the "feedback session" at the end is always a good fireside chat!

                        .
                        Last edited by The Road Warrior; 04-04-2013, 01:10 AM.
                        Forthcoming: The Annual, "I JUST GOT DUMPED" Valentine's Short Screenplay Writing Competition. Keep an eye on Writing Exercises.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                          Oh yeah, and so it stands out from one post back:

                          Please sign up, we're looking for 2 or 3 more folks!
                          Forthcoming: The Annual, "I JUST GOT DUMPED" Valentine's Short Screenplay Writing Competition. Keep an eye on Writing Exercises.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                            Very good thanks gents, it'll be nice to even commit some of this idea to bytes again after several failed attempts from other directions
                            I heard the starting gun


                            sigpic

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                            • #29
                              Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                              Originally posted by The Road Warrior View Post
                              Please sign up, we're looking for 2 or 3 more folks!
                              Yeah, right. You're just trying to get me to embarrass myself again. Like that's going to happen ... how gullible do you think I am? ... well ... maybe. But first I've got to really figure out what noir means. Someone has to be last, right?
                              STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Noir themed writing exercise... forthcoming!

                                Heh. Ironically, if this contest reflected a Noir theme, there would be no winners... everybody loses!

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