Social media has been quite abuzz for the past week or so with the latest announcements from some script contests of note. Many a writer is celebrating – and a few lamenting – their individual results.

To every single writer out there, regardless of how your script did – be proud and take a moment to celebrate the fact that not only did you finish a script, but you were also confident enough to put it out there and see how it fared.

If it advanced – great! If not – that’s a shame, but IT DOES NOT MEAN YOUR WRITING IS BAD. Sometimes a reader connects with a script, sometimes they don’t. It’s totally out of your control.

That’s how contests go. I’ve seen a lot of writers say that their first-time entry advanced and an almost equal number saying that a script that placed (or won) last time didn’t advance whatsoever this time.

It’s always a crapshoot.

A lot of writers pin their hopes on doing well in a big contest, seeing it a possible entryway into working in the industry. I don’t know the actual numbers, but I believe that has happened maybe a few times over the past 20ish years, and a wide range of results for everybody else.

I used to be part of that starry-eyed group. I’d send in my script, hoping for the best. Most of the time, I’d get the email of “Thanks for entering! Unfortunately,…”. Maybe I’d be lucky and advance to quarterfinals or even semifinals, with a very rare finalist every once in a while, but never the big prize of overall winner.

After yet another letdown, I vented my frustration online, to which a friend replied “Contests are a waste of time and money. How many contest-winning scripts have actually been produced? I’d rather write a script that somebody wants to make than one that wins a contest.”

That last part really stuck with me.

So much that I’ve drastically cut back on entering contests, which has also saved a significant chunk of change. Those fees really add up.

Apart from a few free entries courtesy of membership in the ISA, I didn’t enter any this year. If I do any next year, it’ll most likely be PAGE and Austin (despite my AI experience from last year). The whole Nicholl-Black List thing seems ridiculous and exclusionary, not to mention not very cost-efficient.

I’m not going to throw shade on any writer who continues to enter contests. If you like doing it, more power to you. And I make a point of offering congratulations to writers I know who advance. For writers I don’t know, I offer a ‘like’ or a thumbs-up or whatever. Even a little recognition goes a long way in helping somebody feel proud about what they’ve accomplished.

Contests are okay, but just not as much for me anymore.