So yours truly just found out that his screenplay THE GREAT SURRENDER is a finalist in the Story Pros Screenplay Contest.   Last month I found out I was a quarter-finalist…then last week a semi-finalist.  I tried to temper my hopes as I kept advancing.   I’ve been here before.  And then just a few days ago, THE GREAT SURRENDER became  one of 10 screenplays now in the finalist position.   Story Pros is an international screenplay contest that gets thousands of entries around the world.   Scripts compete in the following 5 genre categories:

• Action/Adventure/Thriller
•  Comedy
• Drama
• Family/Teen/Animation
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror

I submitted THE GREAT SURRENDER in the Family/Teen/Animation category which best represents my story about a young man named Zachary Foley –  a disillusioned former high school football star whose life is left in ruins after a tornado puts his mother in a coma, leaving him to raise his disabled brother.  This chain of events awakens Zachary’s purpose and brings life to a hurting community, but it may not be enough to overcome a tragic past he’s lied about.

In the Story Pro Family Category, there are approximately 300 screenplays submitted.  Top Winners are picked from each category and then an overall winner is chosen from the entire competition.    THE GREAT SURRENDER has placed well and finished in the top 3 in a few contests already.  The script has been read by producers who have expressed admiration for the story, but no one has yet offered me that all important option deal (a contract for the script).  One of the many things Story Pros offers is that if you place near the top, they submit your script to thousands in their database.  Aside from any cash award you may receive, the more important award is getting your screenplay into the hands of producers.

You have to keep getting your work out there and not fear the rejection that often comes your way.  Keep hoping for the right place/right time to happen for you and maybe, just maybe, someone will take a shine to your work.  Speaking of shining, I have just completed another draft of my latest screenplay LET IT SHINE .  This is a story about a precocious , but brilliant young girl, who is born frightfully shy which is only exacerbated by her stuttering problem.  She shares a close bond with her older, compassionate and outgoing older brother who teaches her that in order to stand out one must not be afraid to shine.    I have submitted LET IT SHINE to the competitions/festivals listed below with more to come.  Dream big everyone!  Use failure/rejection as stepping stones to your next destination.