Congratulations! You just finished a script in 30 days. It is hard to believe, I know. You may not know what to do with yourself and all your free time, but pretty soon, you’ll be back in the swing of things. And after you’ve recovered from the month-long sugar high and composed yourself, your friends and family will welcome you back into their lives with open arms, and if they’re nice friends and family members, they'll do so bearing high fives and back massages.
But don’t bask in the bright sun of your accomplishments for too long. There’s still a lot of work to be done and, sadly enough, your computer will not magically, register, revise, and submit your script for you. Which is why we're here to help you get back on your writerly feet, and direct you to some places where you can take your script to the next level.
Register
If you are planning on entering your script in any contests, it’s a really good idea to register it with the Writers Guild before you do. In order to keep your ideas legally safe, you can register online or by mail
This is not a requirement, but we did see in the forums that some of you are planning on submitting to contests, so we thought we would mention this.
Revise
Whether it’s with a writing group, your close friends, or your younger brother, sharing your newly written script with other people (especially with other writers) makes the revision process much easier. The YWP Script Frenzy forums are a great place to find a revision partner. We even created a Script Swap forum. Once you find a partner, you can either Frenzy mail or email your scripts to each other.
Another good bet is the virtual workshop on the Celtx website. If you have not already done so, sign up for a free account, go to Celtx’s Project Central, and post your script. If you are not already using their free software, you will have to download it in order to share your script with other writers.
Before you begin the revision process, check out this awesome revision advice from the Script Frenzy Program Director, Jen Artz! Like Jen says, one of the best things you should do before, during, and aver revising your script is to read your script out loud. You can either do this by yourself, or with a group of very dedicated friends would like to take parts and read through your script. It does not have to be dramatically acted out, and you won’t need props; all you’ll need is enough copies of your scripts for all the friends who would like to read parts, a comfortable living room, and some serious snacks!
Submit
Once you’re done with revision, it’ll come time to submit to contests and become famous, so we can ride on your coattails, say we knew you when, and borrow money from you. Many of the contests out there require you to be 18 or older, or pay a lot of money, but we found some just for teens and kids. Most of these contests are annual, so if you miss them this year, they'll be back again in 2009.
CONTESTS
Young Playwrights Festival National Playwriting Competition
Deadline: 01/22/2008
Entry Fee: None
About: YPI will give you a place to be heard. Your play will be read and evaluated in writing by a theater professional; selected writers will come to New York for our Writers Conference to work with some of this country's most exciting theater artists. Who knows, your play might even be produced Off Broadway in the Young Playwrights Festival! So, do the write thing: write a play and make yourself heard. The power is in your hands.
Annual Actors’ Theatre Young Playwrights contest
Deadline: TBA
Entry Fee: $5
About: Actors' Theatre continues its groundbreaking efforts to bring new playwrights and exciting, innovative theater to our area, by putting the quills in the hands of our youth! The winning plays will receive either staged readings with age appropriate actors during the Young Writers' Festival Weekend , April 24, 25, and 26, 2008.
Baker’s Plays High School Playwriting Competition
Deadline: TBA
Entry Fee: None
About: Grand Prize is $500!
Blank Theatre Company Young Playwrights Festival
Deadline: 03/15/2008
Entry Fee: None
About: The Blank Theatre Company Young Playwrights COMPETITION & FESTIVAL is the premiere nationwide forum dedicated to developing and producing plays and musicals by playwrights 19 years of age and younger. Since 1993 we have developed and produced 172 plays and musicals by playwrights as young as 13 years old!
Princeton University’s Ten-Minute Play Contest
Deadline: 03/01/2008
Entry Fee: None
About: For the best ten-minute play written by a high school junior. First Prize: $500.00; Second Prize: $250.00; Third Prize: $100.00.
Fledgling Films
Deadline: Ongoing
Entry Fee: None
About: Fledgling Films solicits teen and pre-teen written plays, screenplays, and short stories to be produced as short films at the Fledgling Films Summer Institute. They accept national and international submissions, with a strong preference toward works written primarily in English. Writers receive small honorarium, an invitation to be involved in the filming process, and a copy of the finished film. Ideal script is 10-30 pages. Submit to: Fledgling Films, 949 Somers Road, Barnet, Vermont 05821, USA. Send SASE for return of materials. E-mail kcp@pshift.com for more information.
For more information about contests near you, check out John Dorf’s Young Playwrights Page
Other Really Fun Scriptwriting Things To Do
1. Produce your script!
The coolest thing about writing a script is making it come to life. And you don’t have to have a movie contract or a theatre company to do this! If you wrote a play, grab your friends, some impromptu props and costumes, and take your script to the stage (even if the stage is in your backyard or living room). If you know someone with a camcorder, you can produce your screenplay or TV script in the same fashion. If you wrote a script for a comic book or graphic novel, even batter! Even if you aren’t an artist, all you will need is one friend who is. Scripts were meant to be shared, so whether you wrote one for the stage, the screen, or for the page, make sure to get it out there for the world to see and enjoy!
2. Write another script during National Playwriting Month.
National Playwriting Month.
Event Entry Fee: None
Event Dates: 11/01/08-11/30/08
About: If you are a playwright, this is your chance to write another play in a month with other playwrights around the globe.
3. Write a novel!
National Novel Writing Month's Young Writer's Program
Event Entry Fee: None
Event Dates: 11/01/08-11/30/08
About: Don't miss Script Frenzy's older, sister event, National Novel Writing Month. This year we are celebrating our 10th anniversay! Join us for a month of dangerous noveling!
Congratulations once again on your scripts. Please feel free to email ywp@scriptfrenzy.org if you think we’ve missed any cool, online scriptwriting resources or contests that YWP Script Frenzy participants should know about.