Do not be sad! True, we have to wait an entire extra week for Halloween Amateur Offerings. But in the meantime, we have an entire thread to update the world on your 2018 screenwriting progress. How many scripts have you written? Or how much of a single script have you written? Are you on schedule to meet your 2018 goals? If not, why not? Are you making excuses? Are you lazy? Are you starting stuff then getting bored? Did you hit a bout of writer’s block and never recover? I find that by admitting your problem, even if it’s just typing it “out loud” in a forum, you’re more likely to overcome the issue and move forward.
Now is a good time to remind everyone that every great piece of work was, at one point, doubted by its author. There’s going to be a struggle with everything you write. Accept that and be okay with it. What you DON’T want is to give up, is to let a day of not writing turn into a week, or a week turn into a month, or worse a month turn into half a year. Because I’ve seen it before. It’s happened to me. Incorporate some harsh deadlines and hold yourself accountable. And for the love of all that is holy, stop wasting so much time on the internet. “I don’t have time to write,” doesn’t work as an excuse when the follow-up question is, “How much time did you spend on the internet today?” and you answer, “4 hours.”
For those of you wondering what Halloween Amateur Offerings is, it’s a mini-contest where FIVE Horror scripts are posted on the site and you, the readers, vote on which one is the best. I then review the winning script on the site the following Friday. If you want to be a part of Halloween Amateur Offerings, send a pdf of your Horror (or “Horror Adjacent”) script to carsonreeves3@gmail.com. Include the title, genre, logline, and why you think your script should get a shot. Only five scripts will be chosen to compete. So bring your best stuff!
