|
What is Script Frenzy? You know how NaNoWriMo is about writing a novel in a month? Well Script Frenzy is the equivalent for stage plays, musicals, screen plays (including documentaries), TV scripts, radio plays, graphic novels, cabaret shows, podcast scripts–anything where your final output is a script of some sort that is going to be performed by actor/s!* *okay so technically operas qualify as well since there is a libretto for it, but come on, opera is mostly music wrapped up with the vaguest semblance of a script. What's the challenge? Write a 100 page** script (or multiple scripts that add up to 100 pages**) during the 30 days of April. The rules:
** 100 pages when formatted following standard script formatting conventions (see below). There used to be a dedicated Script Frenzy site that had a page count thing where you would upload your final script to be validated and you would get a nice shiny badge, but it's now defunct...so honor system or feel free to post screenshots if you want! + Especially when writing musicals! Writing teams usually work as composer + lyricist/librettist or composer/lyricist + librettist pairs, with the occasional team of composer + lyricist + librettist, or people like Lin Manuel Miranda who show everyone else up by being a quadruple threat of being the composer/lyricist/librettist/lead actor, but let's forget him for a moment because Hamilton took seven years to write and we only have 30 days Script writing software All of these will format your script for you, hassle free:
But I don't have any ideas for a script! If you have:
But scripts are weird and scary and I have no idea how to write one! bassguitarhero posted:You don't need to know anything about screenwriting to write a script, Robert Rodriguez wrote the screenplay for "el mariachi" by hand and it filled up 40 or 60 notebook pages, but the way he bunched it all together it still filled up about 90 minutes of movie time. Scripts are like recipes but for stories that are told in an audio/visual/live format where the main ingredients are dialogue and action. So  all you prose fiction writers who want to practice writing some dialogue? Why not give script writing a go? It'll make you improve your dialogue pretty fast!But I could just practice writing dialogue and action by writing/revising the next draft of my novel! I want you to picture the high you'll experience from landing an agent/getting a book deal/seeing your book go up on Amazon/on the shelves at your local bookstore. Breathe it in. Revel in it. Now multiply that feeling by a factor of a hundred: that is the intensity of the emotional reward you get when you have a bunch of other people do a reading of YOUR script and you see your story come to life in front of your eyes. And every time it's performed, it takes new life, because no performance is ever the same as the one before it. And if you write a script for live performance, you will get to live that high over and over and over again, whenever you watch your audience experiencing your story! Getting started The Producer's Perspective Run by Ken Davenport, who is a big name Broadway producer (e.g. Kinky Boots, plus many, many others). There are some useful blog articles (like how to write a one person show in 30 minutes). He also runs a 30 day script challenge where you sign up for a mailing list and it will email you exactly what you're supposed to be doing on each of those 30 days. This is the program I'll be following. Here's a summary:  Freshmen Screenplay How to write your screenplay in 30 days or less Script Frenzy forums on NaNoWriMo.org Script Frenzy used to have a separate site also run by the NaNoWriMo folks but it's since been rolled into the main site and lives in this forum: https://forums.nanowrimo.org/c/outside-the-box/script-frenzy NObodyNOWHERE posted:Here are a couple of good sites I use to find scripts to read and study. I figure it's the first page and this is a common request. Scridx was a favorite that I used to recommend a lot, but they seem to have shut down. screenwritersblues posted:You can start by reading other scripts and finding out how each writer has a different style from each other. Twisted Perspective posted:There are lots of good articles here: http://www.scriptmag.com/ Count me in! Post in the thread and tell us what you're writing. If you're looking for a writing partner, go ahead and post a request for that too–who knows, you just might find the collaborator you've been looking for! Who else is in and what are they writing? Films As Nero Danced posted:It's going to be a supernatural horror movie set in the post-civil war American frontier. FreudianSlippers posted:-Video Hell Spawn BisonDollah posted:a 100 page period piece film based around William Thomas Turner (the captain of the Lusitania which was torpedoed and sank in 1915). TV Zypher posted:It's a space western about a convoy of intergalactic cargo haulers just trying to survive the trek across the Orion Arm. It's FIREFLY meets BATTLESTAR. Maigius posted:a made-for-TV movie told in the style of breaking news broadcasts. Aliens have made first contact and are extremely outdated. Think disco maniacs, dressed like ABBA members who want to bring Nixon and Gorbachev together for world peace. Musicals Leng posted:a show about auditors: basically Wolf of Wall Street meets Flash Boys/Enron but in the style of like, Dear Evan Hansen. Stage plays fallingdownjoe posted:a one-room heist farce set in an old people's home NObodyNOWHERE posted:I'm going to try to knock out a short script for an anthology show I have in mind, probably around 30 pages. It's about the last man at the heat death of the universe still managing to be problematic. Should be mostly dialogue free, which will be an interesting challenge. Maybes / Brains trust NObodyNOWHERE posted:I am super pumped for this thread. Work is beastly right now and I write slow, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to submit something. I will definitely be happy to read and provide notes for people who want them though. ButtWolf posted:If anyone needs ideas or feedback, PM me. Im not writing cause Im the least prolific writer of all time. But I have some knowledge that may be helpful.  FAQs Can I use something I've started but never finished? Yes! Abandoned scripts or novels are perfect for Script Frenzy: Zypher posted:The spirit of it is to encourage writing through structure and community. If you want to dust off an old idea, I say go for it Can we start putting together a blueprint or other framework (or other prep work) before the deadline? Yes, absolutely! Notes, concepts, planning your writing schedule, index cards, Pinterest boards, etc all allowed, just don't start typing your actual screenplay until 1 April! Is it a hard 100 pages, can it be less or how much more? Technically it's a minimum of 100 pages. Like the 50,000 word count for NaNoWriMo, it's mainly there to force you to stop procrastinating and actually get into writing a decent amount. If you finish telling the story you want to tell in 80 or 120 pages instead of 100, don't stress about it! Though if you're at the 80 pages end of the spectrum and there's still a week left in the challenge, that's a good opportunity to get cracking on the first 20 pages of the sequel/a short film! --------------- EDIT: Updated to add in more resources from the screenwriting thread (and the one before it) that's now dead, what everyone's working on and some FAQs. Leng fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Apr 2, 2021 |
#
¿
Mar 20, 2021 14:16
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 05:50 |
|
|
Woohoo! Yay!    I'm so psyched we're all in this together! I'll update the OP with a list of everybody and what they're writing.As for me, I'm gonna write a show about auditors: basically Wolf of Wall Street meets Flash Boys/Enron but in the style of like, Dear Evan Hansen. FreudianSlippers posted:Does it need to be a 100% new script or can I use something I've started but never finished? I'd call that an abandoned script which sounds perfect for Script Frenzy! Chances are once you start writing, you may find it'll go in a different direction so those first four pages will probably end up being rewritten anyway. As Nero Danced posted:Question: can we start putting together a blueprint or other framework (or other prep work) before the deadline? Yes, absolutely! Notes, concepts, planning your writing schedule, index cards, Pinterest boards, etc all allowed, just don't start typing your actual screenplay until 1 April!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 21, 2021 23:35
|
|
|
bushisms.txt posted:Is it a hard 100 pages, can it be less or how much more? I'm really bad at hitting targets. A rules lawyer would say it's a hard minimum 100 pages, but I'd treat it as a benchmark. I suspect the "100 page" target was selected because of the general belief that 1 page of script = 1 min of stage/screen time (which is only an approximation at best anyway). Like the 50,000 word count for NaNoWriMo, it's mainly there to force you to stop procrastinating and actually get into writing a decent amount. If you finish telling the story you want to tell in 80 or 120 pages instead of 100, I wouldn't stress about it! Though if you're at the 80 pages end of the spectrum and there's still a week left in the challenge, I'd say that's a good opportunity to get cracking on the first 20 pages of the sequel/a short film!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2021 06:27
|
|
|
fallingdownjoe posted:I've got a few things on, but I've been meaning to properly push on with writing something again for a while, so I will probably get in on this. If I do, it'll be an attempt at a stageplay challenge - I've been pootling around with an idea of a one-room heist farce set in an old people's home for a while, and this may be what I need to actually do it! Yay, a stageplay buddy! I hope there'll be a few more of us. Live performances might not really be happening right now thanks to COVID-19 but there's no time like the present to do all of the hard work of developing a new show! My friend did a Zoom reading of a new musical during lockdown and it turned out surprisingly well. Definitely wasn't the same level of energy and vibe of a pizza and beer living room reading but it still worked and got me my theatre fix.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2021 12:28
|
|
|
We've less than a week to go before Script Frenzy begins!  Compared to where I was for NaNoWriMo, I am woefully underprepared for Script Frenzy, so I thought I'd better go and review what's in store in Ken Davenport's 30 Day Script Challenge. Here's a summary: Now you don't need to sign up for the program, unless you want little daily suggestions/emailed encouragement. If you're new to writing, then I'd recommend it, but if you know how you work best already, then the summary is all you need to know. I'm stoked to see that the first six days of it is all planning/book work on index cards, which means technically under the rules, I can start now! Which is a really good thing, because since I'm writing a musical, that means I need to write songs, and songs take me considerably longer than the scenes. I can usually smash out a scene in a couple of hours, no problem, but songs can take me anywhere from "inspiration has struck and the song literally just pours out of my fingers" to "I have rewritten this song thirty one times over three years before finally getting to a version that I'm reasonably happen with", so I will most likely need those 6 days as buffer days to work on songs. One personal caveat for myself: I ran into loads of trouble with index cards while attempting my last musical so I might do a blend between Brandon Sanderson's outlining method (which I used for NaNoWriMo) and index cards this time around. Also on writing songs in musicals, in case anyone is curious:
|
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2021 12:56
|
|
|
Nice that could be extremely hilarious! Today is the last day of March and contrary to my good intentions, I have done zero prep work (so, par for course really). I need to finish up my last project today so I can start tomorrow with a clear, focused head. Maybe I can just power through those first 6 days in one sitting tomorrow. So long as I don't overthink stuff, it should be ok, right? That's what revisions are for?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2021 23:11
|
|
|
FreudianSlippers posted:The second one has more potential from a practical standpoint because 90% of it would be two actors outside so no sets and tiny cast. But maybe I shouldn't be thinking so practically at this stage. I once went to a seminar run by Ken Davenport where I was really concerned about writing a show that demanded a huge cast and sets, etc. I asked him "is it produceable?" and he answered "everything is produceable somewhere, but you need to finish writing it first". That said, I ran into loads of story problems with that idea so I'm deliberately putting some constraints on myself this time around to tell a more focused story. Namely, max 3 locations and 5 actors.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2021 23:51
|
|
|
 SCRIPT FRENZY HAS BEGUN I REPEAT SCRIPT FRENZY HAS BEGUN!!! It has in Australia, at any rate. It's almost 1 AM and I should really be getting to bed because I'm tired as hell in pushing myself to get my March project over the line. But I didn't end up doing any of my prepping so my fingers are itching to get started but also I should probably sleep.  Yay for Script Frenzy!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2021 14:53
|
|
|
BisonDollah posted:I'll write 100 pages or sink trying.  Here we go!  Title of show is a working title, obviously I've technically hit the goal for Day 1 of the 30 Day Script Challenge but it is annoying that Days 2 through 5 are gonna fall on the Easter long weekend, which means no daycare and therefore less writing time. So I guess I better keep pushing on!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 1, 2021 12:06
|
|
|
Welp, my daughter has a cough and a low grade fever (probably not COVID) and nobody got any sleep last night and tonight's looking like it'll go the same way. So I haven't actually done all that much, I just literally have a pile of index cards of things that I think would be good to go in the show. The goal is to get all of the index cards down and in some sort of order that makes a sort of sense by the end of the weekend so I can start cranking out the scenes once Easter is over. FreudianSlippers posted:I figure that even if I don't reach 100 by the 30th I'll at least have gotten started and built momentum. But yeah, 100% this!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2021 11:59
|
|
|
I'm halfway through page four and still not done with my opening number, which has at least four distinct musical sections and does not resemble any sort of standard AABA song form or anything conventional. And because I just need to get things moving, I've decided to go lyrics first mostly, and leave the music until later. Which undoubtedly I will pay for as I frantically try to score like 16 songs during the last week of April or something. Maybe I'll cheat like Jeff Bowen did when he wrote [title of show] where he basically handed in songs with lyrics but no music, but nobody knew because they only had to submit 3 demo tracks instead of the full score.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2021 07:38
|
|
|
Nice work everyone! I just finished my first scene and stumbled across this hidden little feature in WriterDuet:  If you click on "View Writing Schedule", it takes you to this:  Clicking "Submit" will automatically create a Google Calendar entry for all of those writing times, which is pretty handy. Now my calendar can bug me at 9 PM if I haven't already logged in and done some writing for the day. I also found that you can "Publish" a version for people to comment on, Google Docs style! Highlight and select specific lines to comment on them. So um, I guess I will do that: https://read.writerduet.com/DVKK9PYXNP5RPQC2/cb8e525a-17e3-4de4-92f2-0199d7c5c234 Obligatory self-loathing follows: it's a first draft, the lyrics suck, I have vague musical ideas but no actual music written down, I've probably overdone the stage directions, etc etc etc. I started in the middle of the job interview; I'm not sure whether I should have included some set up before that just so it's clear that this is a Big Prestigious Accounting Firm, though I figure that would be conveyed through set design and costume. Critiques welcome. Looking for feedback on the scene, set up of the conflicts and characters.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 9, 2021 03:41
|
|
|
So I saidLeng posted:I'm gonna write a show about auditors: basically Wolf of Wall Street meets Flash Boys/Enron but in the style of like, Dear Evan Hansen. But I'm on page 6 and the second number has turned into a rap. Specifically I was looking at Nikki Minaj's verse in Monster for inspiration (because it is an epic bit of writing). So uh, I guess we're not entirely in the pop-rock bucket anymore. Rewrites on this for musical consistency are gonna be hell. EDIT: Done with the second scene and number on page 11. 10 more scenes to go. The next one is gonna be a rewrite of a standalone song I've previously written, so hopefully will be faster though I never know if that's actually going to be true until I start writing. Leng fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Apr 11, 2021 |
|
#
¿
Apr 10, 2021 19:41
|
|
|
As Nero Danced posted:I've had a lot of personal life stuff pop up that's broken my concentration (not all bad, mostly good, but still) so I'm not sure if I'm going to get very far with my script. You and me both! But it's ok, there's still 9 days left and progress is progress. sebmojo posted:If someone makes a gang tag I'm happy to give it to everyone who succeeds in getting their script done. This is super cool of you! Forget real life incentives...a gang tag would be awesome. I'll try my hand at something later this week when I need a break.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2021 00:52
|
|
|
Four and a half pages tonight for me, which was one and bit of scene and the rest of it is an extremely oddly structured song. I've finished the opening chunk of the script (1/4 of my outline, at 17 pages) and the next section will have a time jump that I don't exactly know how to start so I suppose I'm going to go sleep on it.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 23, 2021 15:51
|
|
|
 Do what you gotta do to deal with life, the script will always be there!When ScriptFrenzy wraps up in a few days, I'll start a new script writing thread where we can all keep cheering each other on and eventually see these scripts through to completion (and eventual rewrites). I'm at the top of page 22 today, after finishing a stanza of 35 straight identity rhymes, which I hope to eventually set to music at the speed of I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General. This last scene is full of really terrible dummy lyrics that will probably bear zero resemblance to anything in the final form and is really more of a brain dump than anything. Also this was a scene/song that I did not plan to write but when I got to the end of the third planned scene, I had a time skip of like 4-5 years that I wasn't really sure how to handle so that means I put a song in so if/when this gets staged I can rely on the wonderful magic of musical theatre to handle the time skip. EDIT: I used "eventually" way too many times in this post.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2021 14:42
|
|
|
bushisms.txt posted:Welp, finished my script Wooo! With life taking so many of us out, I'd say this is a win for you and a win for the thread.Trig Discipline posted:Well god dammit I just learned about this today. I'm a songwriter/composer. I'd really love to collaborate on a musical with someone next time out, the weirder the better. Yay a fellow musical buddy! There'll be plenty of opportunities in the future. I'd like to run another script challenge later in the year, but maybe for shorts instead of a full show/feature. I'd be game to collaborate on a weird 5-15 minute internet musical.sebmojo posted:If someone makes a gang tag I'm happy to give it to everyone who succeeds in getting their script done. I'm not sure of the likelihood of anyone hitting the 100 page target so we may not have a winner, but could we give bushisms a champion gang tag for finishing the script? I took a crack at one (attached) - I had grand plans for it to be animated so it would type the text and to have pages flying out the back of the typewriter into a neat stack behind/next to the typewriter but I am new to pixel art and that requires a lot more skill/time than I currently have.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2021 03:44
|
|
|
^^^^^ I'll read it over and give you some feedback tomorrow! I've got 2 hours left of Script Frenzy in Australia so I'm gonna knuckle down and try to knock out one more scene to hopefully get over the 25 page mark. In future I'm going to do my best to avoid scheduling a book launch and a creative writing challenge at the same time my brain just doesn't have the bandwidth for it so the panic monster freaking about the book launch is always going to win over writing time. SCRIPT FRENZY IS OVER!! At least in Australia! I just eked out a few stanzas at the top of page 25. This scene/number is not quite finished, but I'm stopping here for now in the spirit of Script Frenzy and will continue on later. Overall, I think I had 6 writing days during April and produced 5 scenes/songs in total. Most require a lot of rewriting but that's a lot faster than I normally get stuff down. Usually I spend days and days agonizing about the book before even starting. Assuming I don't shoot myself in the foot schedule-wise next time, 100 pages in 30 days should be eminently doable! Leng fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Apr 30, 2021 |
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2021 13:03
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 05:50 |
|
|
Hey everybody, life got away from me so I totally failed at setting up a general/ongoing script writing thread! But PHIZ KALIFA has us covered over here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3987481 Please jump over to say hi and chat about stuff you're working on!
|
|
#
¿
Dec 14, 2021 04:15
|
|