I recently received the above email from The Script Lab.  I breathed a sigh of relief when I got the news as my screenplay BREAK AWAY has not been doing well in my recent submissions.  It is quite frustrating, as I’ve spent a lot of time in re-writes and submitting the script to the same places where a previous draft made the quarters and semi’s.  You would think a better written draft would do better upon re-submission.  Think again.  I have received mostly rejection from BREAK AWAY these last few months and it has left me a little disillusioned.   How can a script which I know is far superior to previous drafts do worse in contests/ fellowships where the old draft scored higher and advanced further?!*#!?  Some may say:  “Well, Romeo, how do you actually know it’s a better draft?”  And my response to that is simply this:  “Well because I do.  Period.”  You have to trust me on that.  If I were to give any reader both the old draft and the new draft of BREAK AWAY, the new draft would inevitably be chosen as the superior script.

But we can’t control the readers.  And tastes change as well.   Although that should have nothing to do with the quality of a script, which is what I’m speaking of.  Okay.  Diatribe done.  Life’s not fair sometimes.  Get over it.   This is supposed to be about good news!

Over 15,000 scripts entered this contest (it’s free to enter, thus the reason for the high submission count).  But here’s the catch,  judges ONLY read the first few pages in the 1st round.  Based on these pages, each script is scored and the highest 1000 scripts advance.   BREAK AWAY made that cut.  For the 2nd round to decide the semi’s (approximately 250 scripts will advance), the entire script is read.  It’s gratifying to know that my screenplay will be read from cover to cover in the next round.  Here’s the complete list of QUARTERFINALISTS.

And now a few words from author Brad Stulberg, who has written such national bestsellers as Master of Change, The Practice of Groundedness and Peak Performance:

That last point about “find joy in the process” is what hits home to me most.  Brad speaks a lot about “the journey not the destination” idea.  It is something that we should all embrace as life takes us along some twisty paths that are sometimes wickedly hard, beautifully joyful and uniquely surprising.

I am wrestling with words right now as the process of writing has taken hold of me.  I am writing a new play.  Starting for me is always the hardest.  Not much joy in the process and yet that process is necessary in order to discover the joy.  I began brainstorming ideas but the words were not coming.   I was stalled…stuck…apathetic.  But finally, I’m seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and the joy is slowly but surely creeping in.

You ask any writer how they start a script, you’ll get dozens of answers.  I am a plot guy.  I need to know what happens at the beginning, in between the beginning and middle, in between the middle and end and then the actual ending.  In other words, I need to know what every character is doing along the way. I map it, flesh out scenes, develop characters and then after all that’s done, I’ll start writing the play.   Some writers let their characters tell the story.   I guess I let the story tell the characters.

My new play is about three generations of women (a grandmother, mother and daughter) living under the same roof in a country house where life, love and death are happening at the same time and where each of them must grapple with what it means to be truthful about where they’ve been, who they are and where they’re going.   There will be much laughter and bittersweet sentiment as the story unfolds around these strong-willed women with contradictory shades.

Wherever you are today, do your utmost best to find joy in the process.  Until we meet again…