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TeaWithWolves
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 12 Jul 2018 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 460 |
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Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 4:38am |
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Any other newbies out there slightly terrified?
I've never written a screenplay before but always wanted to, so I thought this would be a good way to push me into it. Now I'm bricking it Do any veterans have any advice? (I've signed up to WritersDuet) Also, is beta reading the same as flash fic?
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FFC CH1: Blood in the Water
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Talespinner
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 09 Jul 2018 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 479 |
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A beta reader is someone who reads your stuff and gives crits to help you get the bugs out of the writing - errors of spelling, grammar etc, and bits that make no sense, etc. Here at NYCM we swap peer reviews, so we're beta readers for each other. Everyone makes mistakes, and this helps ensure mistakes don't get to our audience. Flash fiction has many definitions. Simplest is, "a story in 1000 words or less." For some, it's an art form in itself, For others it's a way to learn to write fiction with focus and concise expression. For others, with the use of random prompts, it's an ideas generator. Hope this helps, and good luck.
Edited by Talespinner - 11 Oct 2018 at 5:22am |
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Ch3 NC story SF/hospice/armband
Ending; Happy? |
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TeaWithWolves
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 12 Jul 2018 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 460 |
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Hi thanks! Sorry I meant is it done the same as in the flash fic challenge Like do we have a beta spreadsheet and stuff?
Edited by TeaWithWolves - 11 Oct 2018 at 5:21am |
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FFC CH1: Blood in the Water
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Talespinner
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 09 Jul 2018 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 479 |
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Similar ideas but check the rules for diffs in the details. I do flash, dunno about screenwriting.
Pat
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Ch3 NC story SF/hospice/armband
Ending; Happy? |
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steph9289
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 23 Jan 2016 Location: Brooklyn, NY Status: Offline Points: 8966 |
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Personally, I prefer Amazon Storywriter (though I've never tried WritersDuet, so can't offer my opinion there). It's simple to use and easily exports to a PDF. The main advice is to only write what the audience can SEE and HEAR. You can't really get away with getting inside the characters' heads. I will look for the Beta Spreadsheet from earlier this year. It's exactly the same process as Flash! Though fewer people participate in Screenplay for some reason. Good luck this weekend! :)
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#amrevising
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Joni
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 17 Jul 2017 Status: Offline Points: 1840 |
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I did it for the exact same reason last year. Did horribly on first round, learned a ton, scored a few points on second. Then I was hooked, started writing on my own, joined in on the screenplay challenge and managed to even score an hm on final round. I don't know that there's any place better to jump in and learn and force yourself to do it than this place. The forum alone will teach you so much! Good luck, and most importantly, have fun with it!
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Zblugg
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 25 Apr 2017 Location: Cantley, Canada Status: Offline Points: 4256 |
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Started last year with the Screenwriting Challenge (12 pages in 5 days, then 8 in 3, then 5 in 1). First screenplay ever, also my first Crime Caper ever, and pounded a 2nd place out. Then bowed out of the competition with a round 2 honorable mention.
The secret, I think, is to keep things as VISUAL as possible. I scored a 15pts with a silent RomCom, last SSC. That was fun to do! Ask around. A lot of people on the boards are well versed in the technicals. Better yet, dig in the forums and read topics. Bet you'll find a lot of very useful info!
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MF100 R2G16 Marv and Mary Have Flower Issues
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lisafox10800
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 18 Jul 2016 Location: NJ Status: Offline Points: 9440 |
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Welcome! Screenplay is FUN! :) As others have said, it's all about painting a picture for the reader through description and dialogue. No internal thought bubbles - it's only what the viewer can see or hear. (Why a lot of avid readers always think "the book is better" - in screenplay you can't get inside of the character's head unless you show it. Which, from a writing perspective, is an awesome challenge)
GREAT way to up your game in the whole "show don't tell" and in dialogue. (Writing better dialogue is why I signed up for screenplay the first time and, well, now I'm hooked). One thing to keep in mind with formatting - try to avoid big chunks of text. I think the rule of thumb is no more than five lines per "paragraph" (the technical term is eluding me). Oh, and I just converted one of last year's short screenplays to prose. It nets about 1000 words, so pretty similar to flash fiction, but for the screen. Good luck! :)
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lisafoxiswriting.com
My short story collection, Core Truths, is now available wherever books are sold. |
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TeaWithWolves
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 12 Jul 2018 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 460 |
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WriterDuet can export to PDF, but I'll be sure to check out the Amazon one as you can only have three free screenplays with Duet. Fab, I'll keep that in mind! And thank you for bumping up the spreadsheet! One less thing to worry about now
I'm hoping I'll be the same, I really want to get into it!
I'm hoping I don't struggle with the visual, my last flash fic is from the perspective of a blind MC And thanks, I'll be sure to do some digging!
Oohhh! I never thought about improving dialogue! That'll be great! And thanks, I'll keep that in mind!
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FFC CH1: Blood in the Water
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TheSiren
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 12 Oct 2018 Location: Oklahoma Status: Offline Points: 656 |
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I've written screenplays, but I have never entered them into a competition. I am pretty nervous to see what will happen!
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