It’s September 1st! New month, new season (kinda-sorta), school’s back in session, all that rot.
It also means there are 4 months, or 122 days if you want to be super-specific about it, left in 2023 for you to GET SOMETHING WRITTEN.
Totally not impossible.
Even if you average a page a day, that’s a completed draft of a feature (or a pilot), plus some extra time for notes, editing, and polishing.
Dive back into that script you finished earlier this year, last year, or whenever, and attack it with your red pen to edit the bejeezus out of it.
It doesn’t matter what you write, just as long as you plant that ass in a chair and DO. THE. WORK.
That script ain’t gonna write itself, y’know.
Why all the encouragement?
I find a certain appeal to closing out the calendar year having accomplished something writing-wise. You can simultaneously proclaim “Look at what I did!” while also be ready to work on it from the get-go on January 1st.
You’ve got 122 days and counting, so quit your procrastinating, hemming and hawing, and get to it.
The intent was to post the Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase in 2 weeks, with an abundance of film and TV scripts for the enjoyment of all.
More than a few scripts have been sent in, but there has also been a significant number of writers contacting me saying “Normally, I’d do this in a second, but because of the writers’ strike…”
And you can probably fill in the rest.
Much as I would love to proceed with the Showcase, the last thing I want to do is make anybody feel uncomfortable about it or feel like they’re putting their potential future involvement with the WGA at risk. Myself included.
So even though it breaks my heart to do so, the Summer Showcase is on hold until further notice.
I won’t cancel it outright since there’s no idea when the strike could end.
If it does end in the near future, then I’ll weigh the options of opening it up again. If it runs longer than anticipated, the Showcase will most likely return later this year with the Autumn/Winter edition; looking at December 1st.
If you’ve already sent in your script, let me know if you want it kept on file for next time, or plan to resubmit it (or another script) at the appropriate time.
Like many other pre-WGA writers, I’m hoping to eventually be part of the organization, so I stand in solidarity with what they’re trying to accomplish. If that means not being able to do the Showcase, it’s a small price to pay.
Hard to believe it’s that time of year already, but if you’ve got a screenplay or TV script you want to share with the rest of the screenwriting community, and the online world in general, your chance to put it front and center is once again at hand.
The Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase will post on Friday, June 2nd, so you have between now and Thursday, June 1st to send it in. Details listed below.
This bi-annual event has been going on for a few years now. It’s just my little way of giving a helping hand to any writer via a little publicity boost for their script, absolutely free of charge.
Once the post is up, I’ll post a link to it on my various social media platforms, and highly encourage you to do the same if you want to get more eyes on your listing.
And if you see a script you’d like to read, the contact info is right there for you to get in touch with the writer to ask. I’m fairly certain they’d be more than happy to send it your way.
Here’s how it all works:
Email the following info here with the subject line “Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase’:
-Film or TV?
-Title
-Author(s)
-Genre(s)
-Logline
-Awards (if applicable) – 5 at the most
-your email
And that’s it.
Two VERY important details to keep in mind:
-DO NOT SEND THE SCRIPT!!
Just the info above. Nothing else.
-and-
-Only one script per person.
New scripts are highly encouraged, but past submissions are also welcome.
Again – send it in between now and Thursday, June 1st.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – proofread the email before sending!. There’ve been more than a few typos over the years, so make sure everything reads the way it’s supposed to.
Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got, so don’t delay and send it today!
Another week of ups and downs, so felt it was an appropriate time to repost the gem from April 2016. Enjoy.
A friend emailed me earlier this week to vent his frustration regarding the latest development for pitching his TV pilot. Suffice to say, it didn’t go the way he’d hoped.
“Writing is hard work for me, and to have a project like this dismissed completely deflates me. I think I need to set a deadline (end of 2016?), and if I haven’t gotten a sale or at least representation by then, exit, stage left.”
I can totally sympathize. Who hasn’t been in that boat before? You try and try, feel like you’re making no headway and going nowhere fast.
But setting up a deadline of when you’ll stop once and for all?
Um, no.
As we all know, this is not an easy thing to do. The odds are already stacked against us, and it takes an extraordinary amount of effort, determination and perseverance to keep moving forward. And that’s just to get your first break.
I of all people can attest to feeling like nothing good is ever going to happen for me, and why again am I putting myself through the agony of all of this?
Because we’re writers. WE WRITE BECAUSE WE LOVE DOING IT.
For a writer willing to give up writing is, to quote the late, great Vizzini, inconceivable. As crazy as it sounds, I’d rather write and continue to fail than not write at all. (But in theory would be improving after each failure, thereby resulting in an inevitable success.)
DON’T GIVE UP. You never know when things will work out for you, so continuously having at it will always increase your odds.
Continue to work on getting better. Even if only a handful of people read your stuff and like it, that’s still a victory. And they do add up.
IT’S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT. It takes a very, very long time to get to the finish line, let alone at your desired pace. And even then, you’re always striving to improve on it. Take this from someone who writes screenplays AND does half-marathons.
Believe me, there will be shitty days. Lots of them. You will be angry and frustrated. You will see others succeed while you feel like you’re going nowhere. It happens. But that’s the price you pay for setting off on this seemingly impossible journey.
But also keep in mind that you’re not alone. There are lots of us out on a similar path. Feel free to make the occasional turn so your path intersects with somebody else’s. It can help make the journey a bit easier.
My friend responded with a note of thanks and gratitude, which included “I’m ultimately a storyteller, a writer. This is what I exist to do, even if my audience is a small one. I will work hard to find it and share my stories.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Hang in there, chums.
