Short Stories

[Bono]

A few short stories (genre horror) have sold recently in bidding wars. Not that we can control that part, but is this an avenue worth exploring for everyday screenwriter trying to break in or is it just the same as someone that got a sitcom off twitter a few years ago. Just randomness?

Because I've been thinking write novels as way to break into screenwriting. Maybe it's short stories.

I'm sure you guys and gals know more than I do about this. Clue us in.

https://deadline.com/2023/02/horror-...le-1235255996/

https://deadline.com/2023/03/jessica...ry-1235285754/

[Rantanplan]

Where did all these Hollywood bigwigs SEE the short stories? That's the big question. Films do get made from short stories, usually concept-driven ones like sci-fi (like BLADE RUNNER), but not as often as novels that find a huge audience. There are thousands of tiny literary magazines that publish short stories, but does any writer really want to spend their time submitting to those unless short stories are genuinely their calling? I would think the odds of getting noticed from a short story are extremely low, unless it comes out in the New Yorker and such. Seems like these writers already had reps, no?

If you want to give it a shot, publish it yourself on Amazon. Hugh Howie did that (with WOOL) and became a millionaire (he actually turned down a 7-figure offer from St. Martin Press) and Ridley Scott is producing a movie adaptation. His writing is terrible but he had a concept that readers around the world gobbled up, after which the industry came-a-calling. Now he's sailing around the world on his yacht and getting engaged to Italian models.

[figment]

One of them was only 22 pages!! It doesn’t mention how they saw the stories, though.

Previously, I think some others were just uploaded on Reddit’s “No Sleep” site? If you write horror you could probably give it a go. I’d still wonder, like Ranta, HOW everyone saw them — because that’s the real problem.

[Rantanplan]

Previously, I think some others were just uploaded on Reddit’s “No Sleep” site? .

Turns out so did these two. But both had an online following apparently. So it didn't happen overnight (it never does) but the point is, there are other ways to get in. Anyone writing horror should give this some serious thought. Looks like HW checks out this place. I think it's awesome.

******ETA: I just saw this part, re. the writer in the first article below: he spent three years developing the short story with his rep! THREE YEARS. So yeah, not overnight, LOL. But still cool.

"In an interview with IndieWire, Hicks and his manager Peter Katz (who is also producing the film through his company, Story Driven) said that they spent three years developing the idea into the perfect short story. They compared the process to crafting a pop song, explaining that the margin for error is nonexistent when working in such a short medium."

More info here: https://www.indiewire.com/2023/03/re...in-1234818386/

And here for the other writer: https://www.reddit.com/r/NoSleepOOC/...came_to_birch/

"Occupant" (Formerly "The House That Came to Birch Street") Sold to New Line Cinema!

https://www.redditstatic.com/desktop2x/img/renderTimingPixel.pngI've got some exciting news. A story I worked on with Scott Glassgold and John Poliquin has sold to New Line Cinema: https://deadline.com/2023/02/new-lin...ds-1235256524/
It was originally titled The House That Came to Birch Street when the first three parts posted on Reddit. Before the writing of it, I first got in touch with Scott Glassgold thanks to winning best of June here on NoSleep for another haunted house story, and Scott then connected me to John Poliquin, who had a killer concept and film treatment for a haunted house story that they wanted to see fleshed out in NoSleep form. I have such a debt of gratitude towards them, not only in the sale but also in their notes as I was writing the story, knowledge I will take with me beyond this sale. I'm also extremely grateful to have had Marcus Kliewer's (We Used to Live Here) notes on the draft along the way.
Big, big thank you as well to the NoSleep community. I joined Reddit and NoSleep relatively late in the game I think, though I'd been one of those lurkers. Before posting my stories on Reddit (and sometimes while posting them on Reddit) I'd been sending off to publishers and agents for years, feeling like I was sending stories out into the void. To be a part of this community, where one can get instant interaction with the readership, has been like wind in my sails. (Not to mention winning best of June hooked me up with some big names like John Poliquin and Scott Glassgold.) I also have to say thank you to all the moderators on NoSleep for organizing and moderating and giving advice.
Before I finish this post and pinch myself again, I've also got to say how fortunate I am to have such an awesome family.
Gratefully,
Rick the Intern/Victor Sweetser

[figment]

******ETA: I just saw this part, re. the writer in the first article below: he spent three years developing the short story with his rep! THREE YEARS. So yeah, not overnight, LOL. But still cool.

"In an interview with IndieWire, Hicks and his manager Peter Katz (who is also producing the film through his company, Story Driven) said that they spent three years developing the idea into the perfect short story.

]

Thanis for all of that digging, Ranta. Is the "discovery" of a short story such a draw that you'd spend three years crafting one instead of just writing the script? I guess it must be, but wow. That's sort of sad, really. That it seems less organic, and more of a marketing ploy.