THE STORY SPOT

Scriptshadow is the blog by Carson Reeves that lets us eyeball screenplays that have been recently purchased in this big machine we romantically call “Hollywood”. Makes a nice complement to your Done Deal Pro and IMDB Pro subscriptions, no? (Plus, it’s free!)

Here’s how Carson describes his work:

Scriptshadow started off as a small intimate blog whose purpose was to review and make available recently sold spec scripts for amateur writers to study so that they could improve their own writing.

But then came The Man:

Fortunately/Unfortunately, the blog has grown to a place where me posting scripts has become impractical. I’ve received enough legal urging to convince me it’s not worth the risk. As a result, from this point on, I’ll only be reviewing scripts and not linking to them.

Still, he provides a great resource for those who like to be in the know.

Visit ScriptShadow at http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com
on Twitter at twitter.com/Scriptshadow
and on Facebook (where there are treats to be had)

Thanks, Mike H. for the tip!

Novelists are familiar with NaNoWriMo, the annual personal novel-writing challenge that begins in November. It has fueled many successful projects and bolstered much confidence in its ten years. Now screenwriters have their own personal script-writing challenge: Script Frenzy.

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or “best” scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages is victorious and awe-inspiring and will receive a handsome Script Frenzy Winner’s Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact.

More people who want you to write! The immediate gain is purely personal. The bigger picture will be what you make it. New writers and seasoned alike, these marathons are a fun way to break your patterns and see what happens. Try it!

Both projects are managed by non-profits so, if you are able, do gift them with a little something to show them you care. Good writing and good luck meeting your own writing challenge if you choose to join the thousands rapid-firing ideas onto paper next month.

Visit the Script Frenzy official site.

Ok. Maybe this post isn’t exactly about the differences between independent feature scripts and studio scripts, per se, but it is about the plain divide that I’ve personally observed on a regular basis when reading screenplays of all kinds.

I recently made the comment that it is consistently remarkable that a script that’s in the development or production stream at a studio reads differently from page one than does the average script on the same track at an independent/smaller production company. There’s no real reason for this yet it seems to be so. I gave the matter a wee bit o’ thought and am tossing it out here for you all to chew on and toss back. I’d love to hear what you think out there in writer/editor land.
Read on »

Our very special guest, Blake Snyder, author of the bestselling (and indispensable) Save The Cat! series of books on screenwriting, offers THE STORY SPOT’s readers guidance on that notoriously difficult pillar of any story: The Midpoint. (We’ve added the product links below to help you find your way.)

Read on »

Russell over at The LA Grind posted this most excellent (and entirely accurate) look at the piles of scripts littering our desk, floor, shelves, and spilling forth from the drawers.

Okay…even THE STORY SPOT crew doesn’t have that many original plays spilling forth and cluttering all corners but ten? Heck yes. And Russell’s right on the money with the role each one played along the way:

1-3 scripts – shite. Don’t show them to people unless you are really secure with yourself.

4-6 scripts – average. Now, you’ve taken the good things you do and integrated structure into it.

Visit The LA Grind to work your way up to that tenth script.

“10 Scripts…”at The LA Grind

P.S. The LA Grind has taken pole position in our GOOD READS selection at right. Check him out often and subscribe.