subjectivity

Just not their thing?

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(Apologies for no post last week. Had some important family stuff going on.)

Although my current focus is all about the crowdfunding for my short film, I got a bit of news earlier this week that really made me stop and think.

I subscribe to International Screenwriters’ Association (ISA), and one of the benefits of that is free entry to some of their contests.

I took advantage of that and entered my fantasy-comedy into the Emerging Screenwriters Sci-Fi/Fantasy contest.

It made quarterfinals, which was nice, but did not make the semifinals, which was not as nice.

My first reactions were naturally “Man, this script must really suck,” and “This does not bode well for the other contests I sent it to.”

After the requisite wallowing in remorse and self-pity, I’d remembered something else about this contest. When the list of quarterfinalists was released, I recognized a couple of names and titles I’d seen before.

I checked which of those scripts had advanced and which had not. One in particular that had not was a script I knew had placed in one of last year’s major competitions.

That gave me some pause. A script like this, one of exceptional quality, had NOT advanced in this contest? That just didn’t seem right. How could that happen?

This once again reminded me that IT’S ALL SUBJECTIVE. Your script isn’t going to click with everybody. I don’t know what the criteria for the readers or the contest are. Maybe the script wasn’t “genre” enough for them? Who knows?

I’ve gotten a lot of great & positive feedback on my script, and it’s done moderately well in a few other contests. Not that I’m comparing mine to this other writer’s, but neither script advancing doesn’t mean they’re bad. Just “not what they’re looking for”, and there’s nothing to do about it.

While it would have been nice for the script to advance, it’s not the end of the world that it didn’t. And it was still free.

I’ve been slowly pulling back from contests overall, and this kind of result is a contributing factor.

And almost as a counterpoint to this experience, I recently got a very nice pass on the same script from a reputable management firm that invited writers to submit. I had a strong suspicion it wasn’t the type of material they usually worked with, but figured I’d take a chance. Even though they passed, they liked it, and had some very nice things to say.

Now it’s back to the short film crowdfunding (currently at 34% with just over 3 weeks to go, so hope you can chip in. Thanks!)

The other three little words

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My, what a rough week this was.

PAGE semifinalists and Nicholl quarterfinalists were announced. My script was not on either list.

Disappointing, especially since I think it’s a pretty solid script.

At least that’s what my readers say.

But like you always hear: it’s all subjective.

Your first thought when you get that notification that includes “Unfortunately,…” is probably “I must be a really shitty writer”.

Not so. I’ve read a lot of scripts of exceptional quality that also didn’t advance, including one by a previous Nicholl top 10 finalist.

There is absolutely no way to tell how a script is going to do in a contest. You send it, hope for the best, then move on to whatever the next thing is.

After I’d posted about not advancing, more than a few writers responded in kind.

“Me too.”

“Another swing and a miss.”

“Whoo! My eighth consecutive year of not advancing.”

It’s taken me a lot of time to accept that while it’s great to see your script do well in a contest, when it doesn’t do well is no absolute reflection on you as a writer.

Again: it’s all subjective.

One writer I know was frustrated after years and years of their script never doing well in a contest. That script then went on to place in the top 50 for the Nicholl.

This isn’t to say that your script couldn’t do with a little more work. That’s really up to you.

If you’re among the horde of writers whose contest journey has come to an end, give yourself a minute to vent and air those grievances, then decide what you’re going to do about it.

Is your script as solid as it can be, or would it be worth your while to give it another read to see if anything could use some tweaking?

Something to also keep in mind: winning a contest can be a stepping stone to a career as a writer, but it’s not the only way. A script can not do well in a contest but still attract the attention of somebody interested in making it.

As another writer put it: “I’d rather write a script that would be a good movie, than one that wins contests.”

At this point I don’t know what my plan is for next year’s contests. I’m too busy working on scripts to worry about it.

Which reminds me of another three important little words:

Don’t. Stop. Trying.

Don’t let it get you down

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introspection
A little introspection can do wonders

Results are slowly trickling out for some of the big writing contests, and while hopes were high for my revised western, it once again failed to make the quarterfinals for PAGE.

My immediate reaction – that’s it. I’m done. No longer will I subject myself to that kind of humiliation!

And of course, later the same day, I was figuring out whether or not I should look into  any further tweaking so as to get it ready for next year.

More than a few writing colleagues and connections voiced similar comments, ranging from the frustration of their lack of advancing in this contest, to the murkiness regarding the quality of contest readers overall, to the subjectiveness of it all, and whether contests are even worth it.

As you’d imagine, there’s a wide spectrum of opinions about all of these.

I dug up this post from last year which I believe sums things up quite nicely.

Contests aren’t the only way to break in, but a win or very high placement can help, or at least potentially open a door or two. It’s just one of the many routes a writer can take. Some writers are even fortunate enough to not even have to do them. I am not one of them.

A key component of all of this is persistence. There’ll be lots of disappointments, which can be…disappointing. And frustrating. Oh so frustrating. But learning to overcome those is just as important as learning how to tell a good story.

All you can do is send your script out there, hope for the best, and move on to whatever’s next. If things work out, great. If not, yeah, it sucks, but it’s not the end of the world. It might feel like it, but it’s not.

Try to look at it as a learning experience – “How can I make this better?” Also a question with no easy answer, but how willing are you to put in the time and effort necessary to accomplish that?

That’s what I’m doing. On several fronts.

See you next year, PAGE.