what a difference a year doesn't make

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  • what a difference a year doesn't make

    so ...

    i did a significant rewrite of one of my scripts this year ... and my readers concur that it is markedly better ... last year, i entered it in slamdance and austin ... and it advanced in BOTH competitions

    so i was feeling pretty good about entering it AGAIN this year

    but my 'markedly-better' script -- and it really is greatly improved -- didn't advance in EITHER

    damn

    i don't get it

    i'm not saying i expected the blue ribbon ... but i guess i expected it to do as well as it did in its first much-worse version

    i'm trying to look at the randomness of it all and not get too down about it

    but it's confusing at best ...

    any thoughts?

  • #2
    Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

    I've pondered this too. I don't pretend to understand how these things are marked, whether it is similar to the Nichol. But if every part of your screenplay is awarded points (eg dialogue, story, characters, originality, technique - much as coverage is) then I suppose different readers might give the *same* script slightly different scores for each part, depending on the quality of their stack of scripts and the similitude of them. The very best and the very worst would stand out, but those in the middle on either side of the qualifying line would probably be similar in scores (few points either way) which would affect whether you advanced or not. I really think that with many scripts there is not much in it in terms of points.

    The question is in what areas is your story improved? Are the characters fresher, are the technical aspects better, is the dialogue snappier, is the story more rounded, have you found a new twist to the story that ups the originality score (think what Sixth Sense would have been if it did not have that end twist, it would just have been a run of the mill story)? It may be that although you have rewritten it, that change may only score points on one aspect of marking.

    I had a script that I sent for coverage. The first draft of it received a Consider, so I thought that with a little work I could achieve a Recommend. Imagine what I felt when it came through as a Pass. I rewrote it and received a Consider again. All I can assume is that the first reader was less experienced than the second. That script is now optioned.

    Either way, don't feel too bad about it. Write a new script, and try and be as original as you possibly can. I would guess that is where the real points lie.

    Good luck next time

    VW
    Last edited by Virginwriter; 09-09-2005, 01:32 AM.
    Si vis me flere dolendum est primum ipsi tibi
    If you wish me to weep, you yourself must first feel grief.

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    • #3
      Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

      This situation bespeaks how arbitrary the competition process is. Performance is really subject to the whimsy of the individual reader's taste. My favorite story demonstrating this: in the same week, a friend got her first round rejection from Nicholl and sold the very same script to a major studio, launching her career. Go figure.
      Last edited by Happyhack; 09-09-2005, 12:54 PM.

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      • #4
        Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

        It's all subjective.

        Don't overthink it. It's just luck as to the reader you get - do they dig your genre? Your style? Or are they tired? Just broke up with their girlfriend and are now reading your romantic comedy? No matter how "objective" a reader (in contests or at studios) tries to be, they're going to bring biases with them no matter what.

        My friend has a script that attracted an A-list producer (and did several rewrites on it with said producer that also attracted a director) but yet this same revised script didn't advance at all in certain contests.

        It's just the way the business works. You've got to get your script in the right hands at the right time.

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        • #5
          Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

          All the previous responses demonstrate exactly how this business works. It is even more true for the contests due to the readers experience or lack thereof.

          I have experienced the same results. It is disappointing, sometimes disheartening but suck it up and keep writing and rewriting.

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          • #6
            Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

            Maybe the original script was better.

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            • #7
              Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

              I just wish some things, like my repeated failure in the Nicholl, weren't so totally consistent.

              kullervo

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              • #8
                Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                But in a way, kullervo, consistently losing in a contest may be an indicator of a weakness in your writing. I remember my agent sent a manuscript of a novel of mine around some ten years ago. He passes on the rejection letters to me (all from top editors at their various houses), and each of them found the same flaw in the manuscript. I found that hugely helpful and withdrew the novel from circulating. But I also knew what to do better next time around.

                Of course, contests, unless you've requested and paid for it, don't give you coverage. But consistently getting dinged may also be more a matter of subjective taste, as others here have said. I only entered contests for the first time this year to see what kind of buzz I could get off of them, not for the award money or a statuette. So far I've semifinaled in one and quarterfinaled in another, and I've got a few left to hear about. Just appearing on those placement lists may catch a little attention.

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                • #9
                  Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                  Oh, I definitely know there's something wrong. I'm the only contest-freak in my two writing groups never to have made the semis, and I've tried more than any of them. I think it's a major problem, because the Nicholl is the only contest anyone pays any attention to, and its readers are presumably industry people. So if I can't get past them = I won't make it.

                  The problem is that two writing groups and an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA has put me no closer to figuring out what the heck I'm doing wrong. At least I'm consistent across eighteen scripts in every genre you'd care to mention. And just to confuse me, I've won six other contests (five last year). Of course, nobody gives a &@#* about other contests.

                  Oy.

                  k

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                  • #10
                    Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                    Keep at it. Your time will come

                    Focus on the fact that various folks are pleased with your writing. It is just a matter of time until their feeling propagates out.

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                    • #11
                      Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                      You kind person, you! Hey, wait... Mom?

                      k

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                      • #12
                        Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                        kullervo,

                        with all your wins, I'm surprised you are still eligible for the Nicholl!! Do you think the Nicholl can do for you more than your representation? You won several competitions last year, including first place at expo - I'm surprised by how much emphasis you place on the Nicholl. I'm with the others - I fully expect you to sell soon. There's a lot of positive for you to focus on rather than negative.

                        Best wishes to you,

                        Padget

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                        • #13
                          Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                          And the script that won the Expo-- even my agent is having a heck of a time getting anyone to read it. I put the emphasis on the Nicholl because that's the only one anyone pays attention to. I'll probably get more requests for the script as a Nicholl QF than I did winning the Expo Grand Prize (I received five requests, by the way).

                          k

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                          • #14
                            Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                            really?
                            that's the only one anyone ever pays attention to?
                            really?

                            oh ...
                            and the replies helped with my original query ...
                            thanks to all

                            i think crapshoot is the word to remember when entering a contest ...
                            yes?

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                            • #15
                              Re: what a difference a year doesn't make

                              Contests help you gage where you are in skill. The higher the climb, the more
                              you've learned. I know writers who've entered Austin and never made the
                              second round despite their plethora of scripts under their belt.

                              Contests should be viewed as a stepping stone. If however you've never made
                              it to any round of any contest, you're not ready.

                              Charli

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