by John | Mar 16, 2020 | Our Winners, Rom-Com award
The first ever WriteMovies Romance and Comedy Award has a winner! It’s been great to read all the scripts that were entered, and the standard was extremely high, as it usually is – but there can only be one script that takes the top spot…
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by John | Jan 24, 2020 | Our Winners
The winner of our Horror Award 2019 was also the Grand Prize Winner of our Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest: MONGER by David Axe!
Having already introduced it here, we thought we’d get a more in-depth look at the project with a Q&A with David…
To find out what inspired the project, how he went about writing it, and his advice for writers, take a look below. And if you’d like to give yourself a chance to follow in his footsteps and win our Grand Prize of $2000, enter our Winter 2020 Screenwriting Contest by March 1st!
What was your inspiration for writing MONGER?
I borrowed from my own experiences. I was a war correspondent for many years and spent time with combat troops in several war zones. In 2011 I was riding in a U.S. Army vehicle in Logar province in Afghanistan when a bomb exploded underneath it. I was fine but many of the soldiers in the vehicle were not. More generally, I’m no stranger to trauma, guilt and alcoholism. I wanted to write about these things while also giving them substance. As in, a monster.
Why did you choose to write a horror movie?
Horror stretches the rules of everyday life, allowing a writer to play in a much wider space than, say, a strictly naturalistic drama would do. I wanted to give form to guilt. I wanted my characters to literally fight a monster that embodies their worst trauma. Hence horror.
What was the writing process, and how long did it take?
I write steadily, from beginning to end, over a period of a couple of months. Once I’ve got a solid first draft, I get some notes from readers I trust. In the case of MONGER, I hosted a table read that was very helpful. Then revisions lasting a few weeks. The whole process of writing MONGER took maybe four months.
How have your own experiences as a filmmaker informed your writing?
I’ve made a few indie features, most recently LECTION. The more I direct, the more I simplify my writing. As a director, I want a very clean script with clear conflict and strong characters. The texture and nuance come from performance, photography and production design. The writing should be a robust, strong framework. In other words, the director in me wants the writer in me to not overthink it.
What would be your advice to other screenwriters?
Write like it’s your job and you’re going to die soon, which you are. Get used to rejection and being ignored. Don’t be shy about showing your work. Be humble when people offer notes but also learn to smile and nod and ignore bad notes. Try everything you can think of to con someone, anyone, into producing your script. And if no one will shoot your script, consider doing it yourself. At the very least, you’ll learn a lot. Then sit down and write another one. And another. And another.
by John | Jan 10, 2020 | Our Winners
In a good year for horror here at WriteMovies, the 3rd Place Script is a classic haunted house story. With a gripping plot and a fantastic lead character, HAVENWOOD by Jai Brandon gave us all the spooks, thrills, and excitement we could have possibly hoped for!
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by John | Dec 9, 2019 | Our Winners, WMC
The last WriteMovies competition of 2019 – our 20th anniversary year – is over. It’s been a fantastic contest, with amazing scripts at every stage – but in the end, there can only be one victor. And today is the day that we announce the winner!
What is it that separates our winner from the rest? How do we make that decision? We’ve given our hints and tips in the past, but here’s a quick guide for all you screenwriters as you hone your craft…
- Come up with a concept that we haven’t seen before. Your script needs a unique selling point that will make people sit up and take notice!
- Grab us in the first ten pages. These are the most important pages of your script, your chance to make a good impression; make sure you don’t have a weak opening.
- Get us invested in your characters before hitting us with the action. We need a reason to care about the things that are happening – and that means we need to care about the people those things are happening to!
- Make sure you understand the basics before trying anything more complicated. The true masters of the craft know the fundamentals inside and out, and often the best scripts are the ones that implement do the simplest things well.
These are all things we’re looking for when judging – and the things that guided us when making our decision this time around as we picked… the WriteMovies Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest winner!
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Winner |
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MONGER,
David Axe |
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2nd Place |
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3rd Place |
THE PINCH,
James Raynor |
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HAVENWOOD,
Jai Brandon |
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Honorable Mentions |
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GHOSTED, WITH LOVE,
Bob Canning |
BREAKING POINT,
Christina Ward |
ROCK’N’BISCUIT,
Craig Miller |
THE PAPER ROUTE,
Danny Howell |
MINDSET,
Edward Smythe |
HOLLYWOOD WOMAN,
Jesse Lopez |
CODE.7390,
Johnny Gilligan |
SUNSHINE STATE: DUENDE,
Kai Thorup |
WHEN NIGHT AWAKENS,
Ken Paiva |
by John | Nov 25, 2019 | Our Winners, WMC
This is where the competition starts hotting up! We’ve been hard at work reading and judging for our Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest, and after some careful decision making, we’ve decided on our semi-finalists…
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by John | Nov 15, 2019 | Our Winners, WMC
A couple of weeks ago we announced the winner of the first ever WriteMovies Horror Award: MONGER by David Axe. Now it’s time for the next round of results with the Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest Quarter-Finalists!
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by John | Sep 16, 2019 | Our Winners, WMC
From our highly competitive Spring 2019 Screenwriting Contest, one script rose to the top of pile to win our Grand Prize: CARAVAGGIO!
Based on the tempestuous life of the Italian painter, this television pilot caught our attention with its strong concept, engaging main character, and commercial potential. Congratulations to its writer, Alasdair McMullan, for winning the competition!
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