Five Common Errors to Avoid When Entering Contests for Screenwriting
When submitting their stories to screenwriting competitions, what are the most common faults screenwriters should steer clear of?
Being a screenwriter in Hollywood is difficult. Being with the right person at the right time in the right location with the perfect screenplay requires a lot of writing, networking, and good fortune.
Even though the secondary sector of screenplay contests, script competitions, and fellowships was born during the 1990s screenwriting boom, many of these events have enabled screenwriters to network, connect, and make a little money on their own.
In order to identify prospective scripts and gifted authors, industry insiders employ certain screenwriting contests, competitions, and fellowships as filter services.
In light of this, we provide five errors that screenwriters ought to steer clear of while presenting their work. These 10 tips should help you navigate your screenplay path and transform future high contest places and victories into aspirations and possible professions.
1. Pay Attention to the Contest Guidelines
Make sure you read all of the rules, restrictions, and eligibility requirements before submitting your script to a contest. Red flags are the last thing you want readers and contest administrators to notice about your entry.
Your script will be rejected right away if it doesn’t match the standards. Therefore, make sure that the content of your title page, genre, and page counts adheres to the eligibility requirements, rules, and regulations of the contest.
2. Avoid Attempting to Violate the Contest Guidelines
The saying “rules are meant to be broken” and the modified idea that “you can bend the rules” do not apply to fellowships, competitions, or screenplay contests.
The main purpose of the rules, regulations, and eligibility requirements is to guarantee a fair and efficient review process.
Too many inexperienced screenwriters believe they should be exempt from the competition. Even if their screenplays exceed or fall short of the specified page count limits, they will still submit them to competitions. Despite the fact that the thousands of other candidates had to adhere to the identical guidelines, they will request a fellowship to make an exception.
Simply abide by the guidelines. Later in your screenplay career, you can handle the bending and breaking.
3. Avoid Sending in First Drafts
Indeed, screenwriting competitions provide great venues for you to try out your screenplays. However, submitting work that isn’t complete doesn’t help you. Indeed, initial drafts are incomplete pieces of writing.
You should constantly present yourself in the best possible light. Keep in mind that your scripts are being reviewed and evaluated by industry experts and readers.
Before submitting to a contest, spend more time creating the greatest draft you can.
4. Avoid Having Contests Write Your Script
Any competition that provides reader input is definitely worth the additional expense, and the response is outstanding. However, contests shouldn’t be used to develop your script.
To gain comments on your second draft, don’t submit your first draft. Ultimately, the criticism you receive is really a viewpoint. It is ineffective to place too much importance on such viewpoints to the point where you use contest criticism to improve your script. Your writing isn’t improving. You’re searching for shortcuts instead.
The purpose of script coverage is to provide you with a viewpoint. You could learn about some hidden problems with the plot or characters from that point of view. That viewpoint could offer some solutions to some of your script’s pace or structural issues. However, you should see the news and comments as food for thought rather than as a crutch.
5. Remember to Proofread Several Times
It’s okay if you occasionally mistake a word’s correct spelling. In their drafts, even the experts commit terrible errors. However, reading a screenplay that appears to indicate that the author didn’t care enough about the content to perform a few quality assurance readthroughs is the worst thing a reader can experience.
It irritates me when there are several spelling mistakes. Anger is the last thing you want the reader to take away from your writing.
Spend a few more days reading your script several times, line by line, before submitting it.
Put the tale and people out of your mind. These readthroughs aren’t meant for that.
To assist you with this, you can even offer the script to dependable friends, relatives, or classmates. Having new perspectives on the content is usually beneficial. However, make sure they understand that you are just looking for typos, punctuation, and spelling issues, not comments on the plot or characters.
Be especially mindful of homonym and homophone mistakes. Both you and you’re. Knew and new. To and Too. They’re, There, and Their. It’s and It’s. Then, and Than. Affect & Effect. Cache and Cachet. Brake and break. Principal and Principal. Breathe and breathe. Rain, rule, and control. Buy, bye, and bye. Always be aware of the distinctions.