The Story-Pros Awards Screenplay Contest divides its scripts into five categories:  Action/Thriller/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family/Teen/Animation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror.  It gives screenwriters a chance to compete in their own category rather than with the entire field of scripts.   It’s a way for the contest to spread the wealth and give writers some encouragement and a gauge as to how they are stacking up to other writers.   The contest awards the TOP 3 winners in each category and then an overall winner.

My screenplay BREAK AWAY recently made the Quarters and now it has reached the Semi’s, competing in the the Drama category.  Below is a sampling of those that advanced, with the full list HERE.

SEMI-FINALISTS STORY-PROS SCREENPLAY AWARDS:

Writing is a  subjective art form.  Judging a writer and their script is just as subjective.   I have competed in this competition before with my screenplay BREAK AWAY and have made the semi-finalist cut.  This year when I entered, it was a re-written draft with many bold changes.  I was grateful it made the semi’s again, but it alas, it did NOT make the next cut – FINALISTS.   I was notified recently of this result.

Last month, BREAK AWAY was also in the SCRIPT LAB SCREENPLAY CONTEST where I advanced all the way to the semi’s (along with 250 other screenplays out of 15,000 total entered).   This was a gratifying result, and although it did not make the FINALISTS list, I took great solace in the fact that in many readers minds the script stood out.

Any writer out there trying to get their work in other people’s hands, I would encourage you to keep sending your work out but always remembering two things.  One, it is subjective what you get back.  Two, you have to make peace with the fact that you are doing writing for the love of it.  The amount of rejections I’ve received over the years from film producers, theater companies, contests, etc, etc, etc… has overwhelmed me at times, but I try to remain content in the writing and scoring small victories.   I don’t always succeed in this venture, but I keep trying.

This past spring, I sent out about 50 emails to various small theater companies across Canada  to see if there would be any interest in staging my play ANIMAL.  Out of those emails, around 7 of these companies are now reading the script.  I’m waiting to see if they may include ANIMAL in their upcoming playbills.  Small victory

Here’s another small victory.  After months of brainstorming my new play, I finished the outline and I am now in the process of writing it.  First draft of any draft ever since I began writing is always on paper.  The feeling of the pencil hitting the page, for me, is like an artist painting.  As of this writing, I’m on page 28 of my new play called WAVES.  The process of creating this play started out slow, but I’m finally beginning to feel a flow and the story is picking up steam.  Small victory, but a significant one.  For anyone who has written, the focus can be hard, the distractions are immense, and you sometimes ask yourself in the midst of it all – what am I playing at here?  But remember why you write and don’t get caught up in all the noise around you.   Scoring small victories can be the simplest thing, like writing a great scene or dialogue that sings off the page, or getting positive feedback on your writing that feeds your soul.

Wherever you are today and whatever journey you find yourself on, I hope you can take comfort in scoring small victories because often the bigger ones in life happen when the little ones proceeded it.