What is Script Frenzy? | Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants attempt the creatively daring feat of writing an original, full-length screenplay—or stage play—in a single month."
from my email:-
'Dear fellow playwrights and screenwriters (hey, I like the sound of that),
First off, a huge welcome to the 1000 new writers who joined the Frenzy this past week! We are all the stronger for having you in our Viking ship, pulling hard against the oars as we start across the tempestuous seas of Week Two. We may be whipped by the winds of indecision and tossed by swells of fatigue, but just remember all the sea beasts we vanquished in Week One: self-doubt, perfectionism, fear of failure, an attachment to sleep. We will persevere and conquer.
For those of you still standing on the shore, wondering whether to swim for the wild camaraderie of the HMS Frenzy or just sit and watch moss grow on your keyboard, I say make a break for it! Almost everyone - myself included - is still just getting started. Even if you haven't written a single word, you're only 4,000-ish words behind the suggested goal for Week One. You've probably written more than that trying to get out of a parking ticket.
Since everyone is still very much in the race, I'm including a few writing tips to help you gain and maintain momentum:
1) Delete the delete button. Better yet, pry it off your keyboard entirely. There's no time for editing when you have a word goal to meet. Only once you chug past your daily goal should you even dream of trimming and tidying.
2) Ease up on formatting. At this point, all you need to know are four things: action, character name, dialogue, and parentheticals (or for plays: scene, staging, and character directions plus character tags and dialogue). Everything else can wait until July. For a refresher on margins/style for these, check the formatting guides in our Writers Resources section.
3) Hold onto your ideas. Funnier jokes, sharper retorts, a better way to describe your main character's neuroses -- new ideas will come to you at all hours of the day. Put them in an idea notebook or file for safekeeping, but don't implement them right away. Maintain your focus and keep writing the scene at hand. You can act on those brilliant epiphanies after you've met your daily word goal.
4) Watch a lousy movie. This may sound like sheer procrastination, but seeing a horrible film -- or an appalling play -- will banish any remaining worries about bad writing. Your dialogue is clunky? Your scene goes nowhere? It'll still be better than the abomination you just watched. Keep writing as you savor your superiority.
5) Don't write alone. Just like kissing or square dancing, scriptwriting is easier when done with others. Head for your regional write-in, seek out writing buddies in your genre forum, or just invite non-Frenzy friends and family over to pass you Gatorade and mop your brow as you continue your script marathon. When the going gets rough, you'll need the support.
And last but not least, try to have fun with this. We're just not paying you enough to stress out.
Okay, it appears I have a script to write, too. Happy creating, and may we meet on the other side of Week Two with our dignity and stories intact.
Onward!
Kristina
Script Frenzy
1746 words and picking up steam
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
first draft
Special Effects~!! | Script Frenzy: "What you're doing now is writing a first draft. Just write it, and don't worry about how it will be created. This is not the point when you should be self-limiting.
If it helps you get past it, make a list of effects you'll need to create. Just list them, don't worry about how. Know that you can go back to the list later and figure things out.
If you find later on that there's something you just can't create, fine, rewrite then. But for now write it the way you dream it."
If it helps you get past it, make a list of effects you'll need to create. Just list them, don't worry about how. Know that you can go back to the list later and figure things out.
If you find later on that there's something you just can't create, fine, rewrite then. But for now write it the way you dream it."
Special Effects
Special Effects~!! | Script Frenzy: "The screenwriter is technically not supposed to write anything about effects, camera angle, anything like that. Only if you want to produce it yourself do you include that kind of thing. You can describe what something looks like, but you're not responsible for how to make what you describe."
Holberg' s inspiration
RomanComedy: "Plautus and Terence
The Greek world came to fruition sometime in the 7th c. BC, and was still culturally active throughout the period in which the Roman Empire flourished. By 300 BC Greek culture had subtly shifted over to what would later be called Hellenistic, which refers to the transplanting of Greek ideas and techniques to all parts of the then known world, both East and West. The Jews of Palestine, the populace of Egypt, the Syrians, Armenians and the Romans in their turn were exposed to the indelible influence of Greek thought, just as the Arabs of the 7 c. AD were to be influenced in the same way. It was this fermentative quality in the Greek mind which proved so attractive to less cultivated peoples, and although everybody benefitted, nobody was ever the same again."
The Greek world came to fruition sometime in the 7th c. BC, and was still culturally active throughout the period in which the Roman Empire flourished. By 300 BC Greek culture had subtly shifted over to what would later be called Hellenistic, which refers to the transplanting of Greek ideas and techniques to all parts of the then known world, both East and West. The Jews of Palestine, the populace of Egypt, the Syrians, Armenians and the Romans in their turn were exposed to the indelible influence of Greek thought, just as the Arabs of the 7 c. AD were to be influenced in the same way. It was this fermentative quality in the Greek mind which proved so attractive to less cultivated peoples, and although everybody benefitted, nobody was ever the same again."
Friday, May 25, 2007
Screenplay Structure: Three Acts & Five Points | Script Frenzy
Screenplay Structure: Three Acts & Five Points | Script Frenzy: "You’ve heard of the one-act play. And if you’ve ever watched “Law and Order,” you’ve seen a five-act TV show. So what’s all this talk about a screenplay in three acts? Aren’t the number of acts ultimately up to the screenwriter? Well, the truth is that almost every movie you’ve ever seen was constructed in three well-delineated acts. Some filmmakers take greater pains to disguise their act breaks, but trust me, they’re there, bubbling beneath the witty banter and gravity-defying stunts. ET moves into Elliot’s house? Act break! Guido visits his mother’s grave in Fellini’s 81/2? Act break! Derek Zoolander retires from the world of professional modeling? You got it—a big old obvious act break"
formats
Script Frenzy | Your ticket to creative adventure: "You know what a play is, and you've probably seen published versions before but for the purposes of writing it looks a little different. Some of the formatting of your play is done as you write. Setting up your master file with your tabs and margins makes this much easier. You can use formatting software, but it's certainly not necessary even the most basic word processing program can handle these specs."
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