by John Sullivan | Apr 27, 2018 | Highlights, Our Winners, Updates
After praising Second and Third Placed David Kurtz and Simon Bowler, we finally get to our Winter 2018 Writing Contest Grand Prize Winner. And again, it’s a writer who’s come back to us, improved, and won!
It’s been two years since Tyler True won the monthly contest for his script LOVE IS SOMEWHERE ELSE. He’s been improving as a writer all that time and has finally reached the pinnacle of his career – winning the Grand Prize in WriteMovies’ Winter 2018 contest! (We’re joking, of course, but still a great achievement.)
It’s been great to see Tyler’s progress over the past couple of years and we’re delighted that he, David, and Simon have all improved upon previous placements. So proud…
Here’s Tyler’s reaction to his big win…
“I am so incredibly grateful to all of you for this prize! I think I was even sleeping with a smile on my face, which hasn’t left since I woke up. It’s just so fulfilling to realize that somebody else sees the same potential in this script that I do. I can’t wait to sharpen this up and take it to the industry!”
Here’s a little bio on Tyler…
“I’ve had various jobs on the ocean, such as a tug boat driver and commercial scuba diver, led me to the other end of the spectrum and into the skies. After serving 5 years as a pilot in the Canadian Air Force, and completing a degree in Psychology, I decided to quit the military and follow my passion to be a writer. Four years of full time writing, while working sparingly as a diver, has resulted in numerous screenplays and an autobiographical book about my debaucherous and adventure filled life.”
And here’s the logline to Tyler’s winning script, SLAVE SHIP:
A devout African man chooses to work on a slave ship in order to ensure the safe passage of other Africans sold into slavery.
There’s only one way for you to see if you’ll be our next Grand Prize winner. Take a chance with our Spring contest now!
by John Sullivan | Apr 23, 2018 | Our Winners, Updates
We continue our celebration of our Winter 2018 Writing Contest top three winners – who all improved on previous placements.
Last time we commended Simon Bowler, who broke into the top three for the first time after winning two special TV awards. (Check out that article here.)
Today, it’s all about David Kurtz – our Summer 2017 Contest Third Placed winner who re-entered the Winter 2018 Contest to finish in Second Place!
We’re sure our previous Development Notes prizes have helped David out (we’ll let him tell you all about that, though!) but this is a great example of how every draft and version of your script will improve – so never give up!
Here’s what David said about his Second Placed finish…
“Doing well at the WriteMovies Screenwriting Competition brings great rewards – and you don’t have to win! 2nd and 3rd place receive the highest quality script Development Notes (+ INKTIP freebies!) – notes that have the ring of screenwriting experience and authenticity. Their readers really work at understanding what your script is all about – to you!
They not only make detailed proofreading corrections – but they offer suggestions that make you feel like you have a co-writer. For me, the most important help I’ve gotten is to give me the courage to edit – to remove scenes and dialogue I loved but knew deep down didn’t serve to move the story forward. (I save all the edited cuts to possibly be used in another story – this makes letting go easier.)
I assume that most writers (like me) are on a tight budget, but I would suggest saving money on lesser competitions to use on these amazing Development Notes. If you move up toward the top they will be free!”
Here’s a little background on David:
“I retired to Northern California from Massachusetts several years ago and took up writing screenplays – not golf. I’m a “gen Boomer” devotee of 1930s to 1950s movies that feature dialogue, romance, and humor. I naturally tend to write contemporary takes in those genres that might appeal to younger audiences as well as all age groups.
My writing education has been limited to basic composition at college, a creative writing class with a Tufts University professor and a beginner’s screenwriting course at Santa Rosa Junior College. CHARMER is my first “completed” script.”
And here’s the logline to David’s winning script, CHARMER:
A burned-out middle-aged accountant and a young daredevil woman put their polar opposite lifestyles aside when they team up on dangerous hostage-rescue mission.
Check out our script mentoring services for yourself. You could improve your script AND gain free entry into our Spring 2018 Writing Contest. View our services here…
by John Sullivan | Apr 20, 2018 | Highlights, Our Winners
The Winter 2018 Writing Contest was a special one for us as we saw 3 previous winners all improve on past results! We had a previous Monthly Contest winner win the Grand Prize, a former third placed winner came in second, and an Honorable Mention and TV award winner broke into the top three.
Today, you get to meet the Third placed winner of our Winter 2018 Writing Contest Simon Bowler. Simon won the first ever “Best Teleplay and pilot award for Summer 2017. Then he won it again for the Winter Contest AND came Third overall!
A testament to Simon, and how well he used our past Development Notes prizes to improve on his previous draft.
Here’s what Simon said about his Third Placed finish…
“With WriteMovies development notes I was able to climb up from semi-finalist to finalist, to a being a winner three times in a row, which has been an extraordinary validation of my writing and has been hugely encouraging. I now look forward to working with WriteMovies to the hone the script, a pilot for a mini-series, into the best iteration possible, and to start focussing on how to market the project. The writing process, as any writer knows, is a lonely one, so to have the recognition of a triple win with WriteMovies and their continued support will make that journey all the more bearable, and hopefully, successful.”
Here’s some background on Simon:
“Originally from London, where he produced documentary films for the BBC and Channel 4, Simon has spent over twenty years in Los Angeles producing, writing and directing television docs and reality shows. Simon recently switched to drama and besides the multiple award-winning “Insurrection” mini-series (of which he’s written three episodes), he has written two award-winning plays (both at this year’s Austin Film Fest), a feature film, and is developing a classic horror anthology TV series.”
And here’s the logline to Simon’s winning script, INSURRECTION:
INSURRECTION tells the interwoven stories of three men – a farmer, a slave and a senator – whose dangerous battles against slavery led to the American Civil War. Farmer John Brown, slave Frederick Douglass, and Senator Stephen A. Douglas.
With two television awards up for grabs in our Spring 2018 Writing Contest, the chances of your pilot script winning has never been higher… enter here.
by John Sullivan | Mar 16, 2018 | Highlights, Our Winners, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
The results are in… Winter 2018 Screenwriting Contest winners are revealed below!
Another contest complete, another group of winners revealed. We’ve seen the growth and improvement in many writers who have submitted – something that is reflected by the results! Thank you to all of you who entered for making our jobs of judging the scripts enjoyable.
We strongly encourage you to take advantage of our script consultancies to find out why your script placed where it did. Our top 3 now get those for free for the next year!
Here’s what our Top 3 win…
- Cash prize of $2000 for our Grand Prize Winner
- The 3 winners will receive one year free of script development and mentoring.
- We’ll also pitch and promote the scripts to the top of the film industry. Remind yourself what makes for winning writing HERE.
- Plus, exclusive prizes from InkTip – an InkTip Script Listing and the winning scripts’ loglines will be featured in InkTip’s Magazine, read by thousands of writers and producers.
CONGRATULATIONS to SLAVE SHIP by Tyler True for winning the Winter 2018 Screenwriting Competition!
A great win for Tyler for this excellent script about harrowing history and inspirational change. Tyler now takes home those wonderful prizes listed above. But we must also congratulate…
Second Placed Winner, CHARMER by David Kurtz – David has improved on his Third Placed finish in our Summer contest and was so close to taking home the main prize! Good job, David!
Third Placed Winner, INSURRECTION by Simon Bowler. Another win for Simon following on from his “Best Teleplay” win – another script that has continued to improve over multiple submissions!
And, of course, a special congrats to our Honorable Mentions: NEW REALITY by Carolyn Kras, MAGIC MAN by Norma Hickox, THE CRAWL-UP by Gabriell DeBear Paye, VALENTYNE by Dashiell Finley, THE DAWN OF EVE by James Bingham, A Shadow in Space by Bryan Reilly, and THE FOURTH COURIER by TIMOTHY JAY SMITH.
A very well done to everyone named here and the many other impressive scripts we read this time round. It’s been a tough field to choose from!
We’ll be telling you all about our winners in the coming weeks, and getting their script development phase underway.
Head to our Facebook page and our Twitter feed to congratulate our top three winners and Honorable Mentions yourself!
by John Sullivan | Mar 12, 2018 | Highlights, Our Winners, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
Huge congratulations to our Best Teleplay award winner, INSURRECTION by Simon Bowler! That’s two TV awards in two contests for Simon!
Simon now receives free Development Notes to help make his pilot breakthrough. With on-demand bringing the best shows into our homes whenever we want them, the appetite for scripted TV shows is massive and so are the range of new ways to get them made.
Our second placed television entry is SHAKESPEARE OF AVON by James Hanson! For finishing in second place, James will also gain free Development Notes on his pilot. We think there’s some great potential in these two teleplays and we’re looking forward to setting them on the path to success…
by John Sullivan | Mar 12, 2018 | Highlights, Our Winners, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
The book with the best screen potential is… A SHADOW IN SPACE by Bryan Reilly! We’re delighted to announce Bryan as just the second ever winner of this special award and we can’t wait for Bryan to claim his prize! Bryan now receives FREE Development Notes to help him adapt his book to a screenplay, or we’ll help him find a screenwriter who can. This could be an exciting breakthrough for Bryan!
Oh, but there’s more… In second place is THE LOCKSMITH by Jeffrey Ryan Morales– congrats Jeffrey! We will also be providing Jeffrey free Development Notes to guide him in the process of adapting his book to a screenplay.
Hopefully, this is the first chapter of many for these two talented writers!
Here’s Tyler’s reaction to his big win…
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