Insane in the membrane

Collapse

Announcement

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

  • Insane in the membrane

    :\ Help!!!!!
    I'm new to the screenwriting game and I just finished my first full length feature. The problems is, I entered it in the Nicholl fellowship and now I get night sweats, nausea and constipation just thinking about it. My boss keeps screaming at me to get back to work because I sit and day dream about winning the grand prize and never having to utter the words, "Would you like fries with that?" ever again! I keep going over the story again and again in my mind and I read the script at least twice a day. Are there any other Nicholl entrants who are experiencing the same nervous anticipation and neurotic self loathing? Is this healthy and a normal part of the process?

  • #2
    2loose,

    Take a deep breath. Now release it. And again.

    Put your screenplay in a drawer. Don't read it any more. Start your next one.

    You're not going to win the Nicholl this year. For the first time in history, one writer (me) is going to win all five fellowships.

    Screenwriting isn't a game, it's a journey. A long one, if you're lucky. (and I don't mean to sound self-righteous; I'm a newbie myself)

    Welcome aboard, may the road rise to meet you, and get writing.

    Comment


    • #3
      good advice

      Yes, start another script! You'll get so caught up with your next big idea, that the time until the Nicholl winners are announced will pass much faster. Either you can sit around for the next 6 months worrying about your script or you can have your second script done or close to it. Good luck!

      Comment


      • #4
        2loose - take it easy!

        To spread your 'risk', you could also submit your sp to several more contests, e.g., Chesterfield, Austin and FD's Big Break (see other thread about the easy e-submission process)...then you'll have more dreams (or nightmares) to contemplate over. But whatever you do, don't sweat it!

        Best advice would be to let this one go, wait and see what develops, and get cracking on your next project.

        Good luck!

        Comment


        • #5
          Your subject header - what song is that from?

          Comment


          • #6
            i guess that we all want to win, but

            there can only be one winner, but

            winning can be nice for the money, but

            a finalist may have the same doors open, and

            if you don't have more scripts (two+) written, and

            you S**t together.

            The whole experience may turn into a waste.

            No I have not won. I have been reading what to expect.

            To take up your time and worry. I would suggest that you read up on the winners. It is a chance to sell yourself as a writer not as a one shot screen play jockey.

            Easy enough for me to say because I am stuck in Germany. I wonder how I will bridge the distance if I should be so lucky. I have taken a little from what Patricia Burroughs (poops) has done. She lives in Texas, and has been setting up meetings and commuting.

            Not to say that I haven't thought about the Nichols. My worries is when I see a script with a similar topic. I wonder how marketable my own script is and if it will fly. I got over it for now until . . .

            Start writing. From what I read, you really need to have material if you win. You need to know structure, vocabulary and the format. I have been studying vocabulary. I don't know all the terms. Come with idea and meat for your ideas.

            write another script. I would say have at least two scripts plus your winning one. even if they are first drafts. i also think a person should have a few ideas in the burner as well.

            This is my plan. Take it or leave it. I am winging it in Germany.

            What it boils down to . . . Nichols offers a tremendous opportunity. A person has one week to make the best of it and not blow it. This is all based on what I have read the past few weeks.

            What you do after you win the Nichols. Have a plan.

            Max Adams book probably spells out what one should do. One week of guerilla warfare, but . . . I would not think of buying it until I know that I am going to the finals. Then again, I still probably will not buy it. I know where I want my script to go if I win. I don't live in LA or near it. I may have to deal with Munich. That is my plan in August. To try and talk with some people in the Bavarian Studios.

            Connected to the Nichols. . . .I am trying to push some ideas to some people (actors) by email. I haven't hit a wall yet. When I hit a wall, that means my email usually gets sent back. If I don't see my idea in the media, it hasn't been played out yet. Suggesting that they don't play the idea out yet. I explained why I am writing and what happened before and why I would love to write the script. Begging to wait until November, giving me a chance if I prove worthy in the Nichols.

            All I need is the Nichols. A finalist would be fine too, but I could use the money for commuting. Nichols will give me some creditability.

            What I have learned since I have started this. If one can get an actor attached, there is a good chance one can make a movie. So if the agents are talking to me. You got any ideas. I say yeah. I wrote to so and so. Here is my idea. If you can play it up to this person, get a script. I think that we can ge a movie.

            My plan simple. Maybe naive, but it worked before. Kamehameha will be hopefully coming to screen. It is waiting on a green light. It has the actor, director and screenplay. Only thing it doesn't have is me.

            Me . . . I'm writing. Nothing else that I can do.

            well, I started lifting weights again. My wife thinks that I am trying to get myself in shape to be an actor. I told my wife maybe not me, but in the script they need two kids about my sons age. I said don't laugh, but you may have to sit my kids if I get them an audition. Six months in Hawaii. Life is hard. That would give me enough time to write two more scripts while I am there. The information is in Hawaii.

            Those are the things I dream about.

            Comment


            • #7
              The group is called Cypress hill.

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks for the advice guys! You're absolutley correct, I need to work on my next script. I've been so bored lately trying to fill up my days by renting movies, masturbating and stuffing my face with junk food. Me thinks it's time to get back in the saddle!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Empirical evidence tells us that you should be suffering from a stress induced spastic colon, yet you fail to mention this as a sympton. I believe that someone with such an affliction would be very conscious of the lifestyle change that is required by having a spastic colon. This leads me to believe that you are, indeed, sir, a fraud!

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X