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Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024

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The Monthly Script Writing Contest

by PureSciFi

Rated: E · Message Forum · Writing.Com · #2144083

Not just another monthly contest. Instead of Short Stories or Poetry, it's about Scripts.

It is only one word. That word is 'screenwriting.' There isn't much else in it.

The Bi-Monthly Script Writing Contest

Are you tired of reading all this for the millionth time? If so, just click here to go directly to the forum

Have you ever watched a movie or a television series and said to yourself I could do that? I could do better, or I would have written it differently? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then this is the contest for you. And if you are a scriptwriter or ever wanted to be one, then this contest is definitely for you too.

When I first joined WDC I did it because I wanted to write my Scripts without the Hollywood Headache. I wanted my writing to show what my Scripts should look like before the television or movie industry got them. Once they get them, they can be changed so much the original writer can’t even recognize their own creation. But who gets the blame when those movies and television shows aren’t well received. It’s usually the writer that does. By joining WDC I have limited that. At least I think that I have. Anyone who wants to read the real Script all they have to do is read it here, or anywhere else online that it might be.

The only problem is I haven’t written any Scripts for WDC. I’ve barely started writing one of them. I haven’t even written them in Word yet, let along WDC. It’s just handwritten so far. What I have been doing is mostly writing Short Stories. When I first started writing on WDC it was a Short Story. Once I wrote it, I was hooked. I have been writing them ever since. True, I have also written a couple of poems and tried to write a couple of Blogs. But most of my writing experience has been with writing Short Stories.

Most of those Short Stories have been Contest-related. I love Contest. And I have always wanted to create at least one of my own. Now I have done that on WDC too. I always wanted to start a Script Writing contest too. Mostly because I am a Script Writer, but I also am doing it because there has never been one like it. At least it doesn’t look like there has been one up until now.

There aren’t too many Script Writers on WDC. I’m hoping that will change with this contest. It doesn’t matter whether you are a movie writer or a television writer or like me both the only thing that matters is the writing. Starting in January this contest begins.

The Contest ▼

This is a Prompt Contest. Your challenge in this contest is to write a five to ten-page script based on that Prompt. Every month there will be a different Prompt starting in July 2018. It is up to you, and what genre(s) you us. As long as you follow the Prompt that month you can use any genre(s) that you want. It doesn’t matter to me.

{dropnote:"The Samples"}

The only difference between a movie script and a television scripts is that ‘Acts’ begin the first page of next act of the television script. Below, there is a link to both types of Script Writing styles. I know these examples aren’t the same as the real thing I wrote with Word because of WDC formatting. But it’s close to it.

The Movie Script Sample [E]
#2144079

This is the sample of what a Movie Script should look like. It's a made-up example.
by PureSciFi

The Television Script Sample [E]
#2144081

This is my sample of what a Television Script should look like. It's a made-up one.
by PureSciFi

It’s not going to be easy. But it can be done. I use twenty s for the Character Names, fifteen s for Character Descriptions, and ten s for the Dialogue. Usually, there are only a few words in Character Descriptions and they are only on one line. But if it’s more than one line then you need to start the next line as a new paragraph with fifteen s. The same is true for Dialogue lines too because there is almost always more than one line of dialogue. Only instead of fifteen s it’s ten s.

The Rules ▼

1 All scripts must be in b-item format. If you don’t know how to do that please email me. And I will show how to do it.

2 Only five to ten pages per script. Because this is WDC your formatting probably won’t be accurate. But it needs to be as close to it as possible.

3 One movie and one television script can be entered each month. They can be from the same genre(s) or different ones.

4 You can edit up to the end of the month deadline. In fact, I encourage you to update it as much as you can, or feel you need to, until then.

5 It runs from the beginning of the month. I plan on posting next month’s prompt a day or two before the beginning of that month. Only you can’t enter it until the first.

6 Follow the prompt. Continue to place them above the first page of your script. The same is true about the genre(s) you use too.

7 Which genre(s) are you using? These genre(s) do need to be written at the top of the first page too. Something like Horror and Action or Scary and Mystery.

8 All Ratings are welcomed. But please create your Items reflecting them. Also, remember to post them according to Posting Standards. All Contests are 13+ and below Ratings.

9 Whether it’s five or ten pages, or anything in between, it must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Of course, it doesn’t have to be The End of it. There could be a question(s), a comment, a cliffhanger, etc.

10 True, these entries aren’t Short Stories. But grammar and punctuation rules still need to be followed.

The Prizes ▼

Now for the good part: The Prizes. Every winner likes to get GPs. But they also like getting MBs and Awardicons. So, I have decided to let those winners choose their winnings. They can have just GPs if that’s what they want, or they can have it combined. The choice is yours.

Of course, this is a competition. So, there must be at least three scripts for the first prize to be rewarded. It doesn’t matter if they are movie scripts or television scripts, a script is a script. If only three are posted just the first prize will be rewarded. Four to seven scripts will get the chance at the first and second prizes. And if it’s eight or more all three will be given.

Everyone who enters will get one thousand GPs just for trying. It may increase in the future. But for right now it’s one thousand each. Which means if you post both a movie script and a television script you will get two thousand GPs.

You winners have a choice. And those choices are:

First Prize

Twenty-five thousand GPs
Fifteen thousand GPs and a MB or an Awardicon
Five thousand GPs and either two MBs, two Awardicons, or one of each

Second Prize

Fifteen thousand GPs
Five thousand GPs and a MB or an Awardicon

Third Prize

Ten thousand GPs, a MB, or an Awardicon

The Judging ▼

So far, I am the only judge, jury, and executioner for this contest. If you want to be part of all this fun, please let me know.

You don’t have to be worried about not winning if your script isn’t Science Fiction. I might specialize in Science Fiction. But that doesn’t mean I can’t write in these other genres. Because I have written in almost all of them. The only one I haven’t yet is Western. I have thought about it a lot. But I haven't written one so far.

The Donations ▼

I recently renewed my membership to WDC. So, I don’t too many GPs to reward this contest with. And I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to keep it going without some help. If you would like to donate to this contest you can send them to
The Monthly Script Writing Contest Bank.

The Monthly Script Writing Contest Bank [E]
#2144078

This is the Bank I'm going to be using for this contest. If I get any donations for it.
by PureSciFi

Not only will you be keeping this contest going, but you will be getting MBs or Awardicons for doing it. Once again, the choice is yours. And they include:

Twenty-five thousand GPs gets you one MB or Awardicon

Fifty thousand GPs gets you two MBs or two Awardicons or One each

Seventy-five thousand GPs gets you any combination of three MBs or Awardicons

One hundred thousand GPs gets you any combination of four MBs or Awardicons

Monthly Prompts ▼

I know how it feels to not know what the latest Prompt is without looking for it. Especially, when it comes to Monthly Contests. So, I decided to put them here for this contest. That way you can access them any time that you want to, or need to, do it.

You can find it at any time with the link below. It will be updated monthly.

Monthly Prompts [E]
#2144563

What are Monthly Prompts? They are the Prompts for The Monthly Script Writing Contest.
by PureSciFi

Monthly Entries ▼

Hopefully, there will be a lot of entries each month for this contest. But even if there is only one it will be placed here for you and everyone else interested can see it. All the entries each month will be placed here. That way you can see how many entries there is that month without searching through the posts. You can also see how many entries there are for the prizes.

They can be found at any time with the link below. It will be updated as needed throughout the month.

Monthly Entries [E]
#2144588

It's where of all the entries for this contest will go. It will be updated as needed.
by PureSciFi

The link below is a better way to see who the Monthly Entries are. You can still look at them at the link above. But instead of opening several new tabs, you only need to open this one.

"January 2018 Entries"

"February 2018 Entries"

"March 2018 Entries"

"April 2018 Entries"

"May 2018 Entries"

"July 2018 Entries"

REMEMBER: You have until the end of the month to enter your script. That means you have until 11:59 WDC time on the last day of each month. If you don’t know what ‘WDC time’ is all you need to do is look at the bottom of your left side navigational menu.