Script Frenzy 2010: Follow-up

With Script Frenzy over for another year, the young writers who attempted it should feel a certain sense of achievement, for they have done something many of us may be too intimidated to try: they set out to write a 100 page script within just one month.

Though not everyone reached their goal, no one can deny that the effort was valiant, at the least, and more than a little admirable. They should all be extremely proud of themselves and their accomplishments. They took on a very daunting task and now they can say, “I have written a script!”

I had a chance to catch up with the members interviewed in the May issue of the Mibba Magazine (see Script Frenzy 2010) to find out if they had completed the challenge themselves, and their overall thoughts.

Interview with Mr. Tony Stark

So did you manage to finish Script Frenzy this year?

Unfortunately, I didn't finish Script Frenzy this year, but there's always next year!

What was the most challenging thing about writing your script?

Finding ideas was a challenge, for sure. Another thing was finding time to work on it.

What was the least challenging thing about writing your script?

The whole idea in general wasn't challenging, it was just finding the time for it.

How did you keep yourself motivated?

I kept myself motivated by telling myself this will be one of the only things I've finished writing-wise.

Will you participate in Script Frenzy again next year?

Definitely, I will try it again next year!

Any advice for people wanting to take the challenge themselves next year?

My advice to others trying it out would be to just stick with it. Even if it doesn't go the way you planned it, just keep working on it. Also, make sure to find time to work on it!

Interview with Caravaggio

So did you manage to finish Script Frenzy this year?

I finished only eight days into it!

What was the most challenging thing about writing your script?

It was definitely content for me. It doesn't take much for me to get motivated to write, so that wasn't a problem. But there were quite a few times along the way where I was finishing up a scene and realizing I had no other plan after it.

What was the least challenging thing about writing your script?

I guess I kind of already answered that! ; Like I said earlier, motivation. I adore anything that lets me play with words, so I don't often become downtrodden when I see a large goal ahead of me - such as a hundred page script.

How did you keep yourself motivated?

I honestly have no idea. It was probably coffee. As long as I had caffeine, I was usually fine. Other than that, I used my friends for brainstorming, and the world around me for inspiration. I'm the type that can look at a blade of grass and get an entire story from it.

Will you participate in Script Frenzy again next year?

I think I will if I have the time. I don't write scripts very often and it's a good chance to do so once a year and feel accomplished when I get it done! It's definitely worth it!

Any advice for people wanting to take the challenge themselves next year?

No matter what happens, don't give up! There will be quite a few times where you begin to think you don't have control of the story or that you have nowhere to go. But that's the point of Script Frenzy! To challenge yourself and to continue on where before you would've given up!

Interview with Odysseus

So did you manage to finish Script Frenzy this year?

No, I did not manage to finish Script Frenzy. Things got really busy and I lost motivation. So now my script is just a half-finished file on my desktop.

What was the most challenging thing about writing your script?

The most challenging thing had to have been finding time to actually write the script. April is extremely busy for me. I play soccer and I had three choir concerts in the month, along with after-school choir rehearsals; add that with having a huge family and Easter parties and birthday parties. I also go to my grandparent’s house a lot and they don't have Internet there, so I never think to bring my laptop. Another challenge was the adaptation part. I knew the story by heart, but sometimes I got confused and had to go back to the book, which was a bit of a hassle.

What was the least challenging thing about writing your script?

The least challenging was the formatting. When I was reading about how to format a screen play, I was really worried because it sounded so complicated. But I downloaded Celtx, and it does everything for me. It’s crazy awesome. All you have to do is press "enter" or "tab" and it automatically formatted it for me. And it's free! I probably sound like a Celtx spokesperson, but I honestly don't care. It's amazing and so easy to use. On the Script Frenzy thread, Celtx is like God. We could go on and on about how amazing it is.

How did you keep yourself motivated?

Back when I started Script Frenzy with Ginny, I told her about "The Lightning Thief". She said that she had heard of it before and that it sounded stupid. I was shocked! So I tried to convince her to read it but she was really adamant about not reading it. So I told her that when I finished the script she could read it and decide for herself if she liked it or not. That was all my motivation, which is pretty sad. But I really wanted her to read the book, because I think it's great.

Will you participate in Script Frenzy again next year?

Yes, I really want to participate next year, even though this year was a flop. I realized that I'm horrible at writing screen plays, so next year I'm thinking about writing a comic book script. I have a couple of ideas and if it were a comic book, I think I would be more motivated to write it. I think it would be fun, because writing a screen play is obviously not for me.

Any advice for people wanting to take the challenge themselves next year?

My advice would be: Know what you're writing! And not like, "Oh, I know about horses, so I'll write about horses." I mean, write whatever you want, but plan out what's going to happen and know everything about your story. Make sure you don't have any breathing space, because that leads to filler scenes and bad dialogue with no substance. You have to constantly keep the plot moving or you're lost. Another thing that's really, extremely important is that Script Frenzy is just for fun. Don't beat yourself up if you can't write three pages a day or get to your goal. If you stress out about it, then... well, it's not good. It's about challenging yourself and having fun and if you can't get 100 pages, there is always next year.

And with that in mind, I would encourage all you young writers out there to take part in Script Frenzy 2011. Even if script-writing isn’t something you may be particularly interested in now, give it a go because who knows... you just may be surprised with what you can achieve.