Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

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  • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

    Originally posted by Rhodi View Post
    That's a below the belt comment. As Jeff has acknowledged, Aspirant provides some excellent advice for up and coming writers on landing representation and working with managers.

    Looks like attention-seeking behavior to me by putting himself forth as an expert when all he does is parrot his rep's advice to him, and then insist that advice applies to all of us and says we're all fools for not believing every word he says.

    And how serious is he about a writing career if he spends most of his time here having a pissing contest with Jeff, and not working on his next project?
    "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." -[/SIZE] James R. Cook

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    • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

      Check out the "word cloud" Greg posted on FB. It shows the percentage of genres entered in the Nicholl so far:

      http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=1&theater
      "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." -[/SIZE] James R. Cook

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      • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

        Originally posted by JoJo View Post

        And how serious is he about a writing career if he spends most of his time here having a pissing contest with Jeff, and not working on his next project?
        How serious is Jeff? Pot to kettle.

        I'm starting to hate the term "pro" -- its flung around here very often as if it implies all-knowing instead of having individual experiences, which may not be another's experience (pro or not).

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        • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

          Originally posted by JoJo View Post
          Check out the "word cloud" Greg posted on FB. It shows the percentage of genres entered in the Nicholl so far:

          http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=1&theater
          Interesting. I wonder how "Dark" is defined, and how it's different from Horror.

          I don't know if this is just me, but is anyone else finding the reader feedback disheartening?

          All that goes through my head is, damn, those are some pretty glowing comments. How's my script going to compete?!

          But I dont want them to stop, I know it's just a little self-doubt.

          Got to sack up.
          Last edited by Anagram; 04-12-2012, 06:18 AM.

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          • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

            Re: Wordcloud

            Does the Romantic category include romantic comedies and romantic dramas? Are there 2 different genres lumped together there?

            Thanks.

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            • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

              Originally posted by iggy View Post
              Re: Wordcloud

              Does the Romantic category include romantic comedies and romantic dramas? Are there 2 different genres lumped together there?

              Thanks.
              The Word Cloud was created by my colleague Joan Wai.

              A slight misnomer in that it doesn't exclusively display genres. Rather it displays instances of the 21 genre words that appear in the Nicholl application's primary and secondary genre fields.

              Thus "romantic" and "dark" are modifiers associated with a primary genre selected by the entrant, most often comedy or drama.

              The Word Cloud is a representation of the number of times each of the 21 genre words was selected by entrants.

              Perhaps I'll ask her to produce a cloud that only displays the ten primary genres. I know she's planning to produce a cloud displaying Nicholl-winning script genres.

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              • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                Originally posted by Anagram View Post
                I don't know if this is just me, but is anyone else finding the reader feedback disheartening?

                All that goes through my head is, damn, those are some pretty glowing comments. How's my script going to compete?!

                But I dont want them to stop, I know it's just a little self-doubt.

                Got to sack up.
                Sorry about that - except someone somewhere is going to have to react to your script in similar fashion if you expect to move forward with your career. And then another person and another . . .

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                • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                  Originally posted by gregbeal View Post
                  Sorry about that - except someone somewhere is going to have to react to your script in similar fashion if you expect to move forward with your career. And then another person and another . . .
                  Hehe no need to apologize, I'm just venting a little stress.

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                  • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                    I think I checked "dark" as a modifier. I can see how these sub-genres could be interpreted differently by each entrant. I meant "dark" as in noir - I define noir as bad things happening to bad people and there ain't no happy ending.

                    Dark could mean something different to someone else.
                    "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." -[/SIZE] James R. Cook

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                    • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                      Originally posted by Anagram View Post
                      I

                      I don't know if this is just me, but is anyone else finding the reader feedback disheartening?
                      No, I find them insightful: a window into the screening process in this initial round. It also indicates what a mixed bag of entries there are - lots of diversity in the scripts that got positive comments - it could be anyone's to win!
                      "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." -[/SIZE] James R. Cook

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                      • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                        It's not showing the full picture though. They aren't posting the negative comments.

                        Like:

                        This script made my eyes hurt.

                        Or, can someone please pass me a razor blade.

                        No, I'm not going to kill myself, I just want to make some cuts. Seriously guys, they're not paying me enough to kill myself.

                        It's an unbalanced view. It's only showing the positive. Post those comments after it's all over. It takes up too much of everyone's focus, they could be getting on with doing something productive towards furthering their careers.

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                        • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                          Originally posted by nojustice View Post
                          It's not showing the full picture though. They aren't posting the negative comments.
                          Excerpted from a Nicholl Facebook Note:

                          Why do we post Reader Comment excerpts?

                          While some entrants may think we post comments to tease or annoy, that is not our intention at all.

                          We decided to post comments in 2010 to allow entrants to experience the reactions of readers to individual scripts. It was an attempt to convey the excitement readers describe after encountering a great script. In addition, we wanted to show that Nicholl readers enjoy scripts of every genre, style and storytelling approach. We also found that the comment excerpts occasionally showed a reader overcoming a negative first impression to award a script a high score.


                          Why don't we post negative reactions to scripts as well as the positive?

                          We feel that lists of problems appearing in scripts can be found at numerous locations on the Web. Pretty much any problem ever described about a script has appeared in one or many of the over 100,000 scripts entered in the competition since 1986.

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                          • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                            Originally posted by nojustice View Post
                            It's an unbalanced view. It's only showing the positive. Post those comments after it's all over. It takes up too much of everyone's focus, they could be getting on with doing something productive towards furthering their careers.
                            Posted on the Nicholl Facebook page in February:

                            A few thoughts on the subject of breaking in as a screenwriter (not necessarily in order):

                            Write a screenplay. Write another screenplay. Write more screenplays.

                            Get an education. Learn about the world and people. Learn how to think. Learn how to write.

                            Attend film school or graduate film school. Concentrate on screen and television writing.

                            Read professional screenplays. Read screenplays by your friends. Read screenplays.

                            Work on student films. Work on independent films. Work on studio films.

                            Make movies yourself.

                            Join a writing group. Read and give feedback on group members' work. Learn how to accept and use group criticism of your own work.

                            Hang out on screenwriting forums. Interact with other writers. Ask questions.

                            Learn about the craft and business of writing.

                            Take an acting class. Join a theater group.

                            Get a job in the film or television industry.

                            Do interesting things. Visit interesting places. Meet interesting people. Learn more about the world and people.

                            Pay attention to the way friends and strangers act, their gestures, their speech patterns, their actions.

                            Keep a journal.

                            Find and save intriguing articles about people and events that might fit somehow into a movie someday.

                            Write more screenplays.

                            Learn how to write a great log line. Write a great log line for every screenplay you've written.

                            Contact the alumni group at your college and ask whether any fellow alumni work in film and television.

                            Ask friends and family if anyone from your hometown, region or state works in film and television.

                            Make lists of screenwriters whose films you like. Add to that list over time.

                            Makes lists of the producers and production companies of films you like. Add to that list over time.

                            Have you read about any screenplay sales by new writers? Make a list over time.

                            When you are confident that you have written a screenplay as good as many of the professional screenplays you have read, begin formulating a strategy for getting the script out into the world.

                            What professionals do you have any connection with who might read your screenplay? Have any friends or fellow students made it in film? If so, ask them to read your script. What about all the films you worked on? What producers do you know? Is there a production manager looking to move into producing?

                            Send "fan- letters to screenwriters whose work you appreciate.

                            Attend film festivals and screenwriting conferences and workshops. Interact with professionals as much as possible.

                            As possible, ask professionals if they will read your screenplay.

                            Perhaps one of these people will recommend you to an agent or manager.

                            With your list of screenwriters in hand, visit wga.org and look up the agents of those writers.

                            Research the managers of the screenwriters on your list. Research other agents and managers who might be an appropriate representative for you at this stage of your career.

                            Send query letters or emails or make cold calls to agents and managers.

                            Continue to add to your list of producers and production companies that might appreciate a script of yours. Research additional producers and companies that might be a good fit for your screenplay. Identify individuals at each company as your initial target.

                            Send query letters or emails or make cold calls to producers and your targeted individuals at production companies.

                            Learn the names of the assistants at all of the companies you contact. Interact with the assistants as much as possible.

                            Write more screenplays.

                            Enter screenplay competitions. Research competitions to find those that might be a good fit for you and your screenplay.

                            Write more screenplays.

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                            • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                              Originally posted by nojustice View Post
                              It's not showing the full picture though. They aren't posting the negative comments.
                              "Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning." - Oddball


                              Originally posted by nojustice View Post
                              It takes up too much of everyone's focus, they could be getting on with doing something productive towards furthering their careers.
                              Something productive like posting complaints on DDP about how other people choose to spend their time instead of writing?

                              As for me, I like the chance to dream once in a while like buying a MegaMillions ticket...
                              "Crazy! I mean like so many positive waves maybe we can't lose." - Oddball

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                              • Re: Nicholl Fellowship 2012 open for submissions

                                Originally posted by Hilander View Post
                                "Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning." - Oddball

                                "Crazy! I mean like so many positive waves maybe we can't lose." - Oddball
                                My 12 year-old frickin' loves that movie. Well, mostly Oddball. And maybe I'm a bit de-sensitized anymore, but for a war movie with a body count in the dozens, it never felt violent . . . more like a "bang-bang-you're-dead" kinda thing.

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