Round 2 - Hopes and Fears
Printed From: NYC Midnight : Creative Writing & Screenwriting
Category: GENERAL DISCUSSION
Forum Name: Screenwriting Bar & Lounge
Forum Description: Discuss NYC Midnight Screenwriting Competitions or Screenwriting in general.
URL: https://forums.nycmidnight.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=64543
Printed Date: 26 Mar 2026 at 10:44pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Round 2 - Hopes and Fears
Posted By: slinkylink
Subject: Round 2 - Hopes and Fears
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 4:13pm
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Prompts drop for R2 tonight! How are you feeling? What genre are you hoping to get or not get? I'm always nervous about the turnaround time in R2. I know I CAN write an 8-page script in 3 days. Or at least I've done it in the past with varying degrees of success. But I prefer to chew on story ideas for a day or two, and the 72-hour window doesn't leave much room for dilly-dallying or procrastinating. Regarding genre, I aim most of my wishing energy at NOT getting Political Satire. But if I got to pick a genre, I'd like Thriller. It's the only genre I have not been assigned, and after 50+ rounds, I'd like to stamp out my bingo card. If not that, then I'd like Sci-Fi as that's a genre I'd like more practice with. ------------- https://tinyurl.com/mwms666p" rel="nofollow - 100 R1 https://tinyurl.com/5cxkcu38" rel="nofollow - Archive |
Replies:
Posted By: alexdsut
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 4:29pm
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I'm happy to be in round 2, but annoyed at my lack of scheduling. I'm currently on vacation with my partner and we don't get to see each other too often atm so I'm reluctant to dedicate more than a day to this round (realistically it will be closer to just one evening for the whole shebang). Because of this, I'm really hoping I get a genre I'm comfortable working with, and in a speedy manner. Preferably horror or drama. Genres I don't gel with (romance, romcom) or genres that require extra effort to craft (Histfic/Mystery) will be a pretty big blow for me. Also, praying to the prompt gods that I get something that sparks a good idea straight away 🙏 ------------- http://bit.ly/41LdDrA" rel="nofollow - Screenplay R1 "SAWBONES"(Sci-Fi) https://shorturl.at/KMjjM" rel="nofollow - Screenplay R2 "Joe and Dora" (Romcom) |
Posted By: horrorshaun
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 4:49pm
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Anything but mystery for me. Had that last year in R2 and it sucks trying to craft an actual mystery in so few pages. There just isn't room to set it up, misdirect, and pay it off properly. Best of luck to everyone!! ------------- https://forums.nycmidnight.com/r3-free-dresser-must-pick-up-today_topic67870.html" rel="nofollow - Scary Story Finals- Free Dresser. Must Pick Up Today. |
Posted By: the_serb
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 5:16pm
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Does anyone ever share their stories and feedback in these forums? I ranked #3 in my group, and I'd love the chance to read the entries of those who advanced, especially from my own group, but from others too if they're open to it. Would be great to connect and learn from each other. Any thoughts? |
Posted By: slinkylink
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2025 at 5:24pm
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Some share in Review section. Occasionally people will share their feedback. Though the screenwriting forum in general is pretty slow compared to the prose forums. It looks like a couple of people have updated their posts with FB for R1. I don't share often, but when I do I almost always update with the judges' feedback. What I might recommend is to look in the previous years' comps. Here is a link (which hopefully works?) to the 2023 comp. I did an advance search for "FB" in the title and this was the result. Some of these scripts may have been pulled and not all of them placed, but it might be a good starting point? It isn't much use for comparison to your own story, but it can be useful to see others feedback as well. https://forums.nycmidnight.com/search_results_posts.asp?SearchID=20250424212203&KW=FB" rel="nofollow - https://forums.nycmidnight.com/search_results_posts.asp?SearchID=20250424212203&KW=FB ------------- https://tinyurl.com/mwms666p" rel="nofollow - 100 R1 https://tinyurl.com/5cxkcu38" rel="nofollow - Archive |
Posted By: swilki
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 6:00am
I do usually. I must admit I didn't this time because I didn't have bandwidth to return reads and tbh I wasn't that impressed with my script. I will do it this time though ------------- https://tinyurl.com/2wxm2mec" rel="nofollow - 250 R1 https://tinyurl.com/566e2wya" rel="nofollow - 250 R2 https://bit.ly/3CprYfx" rel="nofollow - All Writing |
the_serb wrote:Posted By: Snarkmaiden
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 10:24am
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Romcom. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. ------------- SSC R1: https://tinyurl.com/4xhsx4t4" rel="nofollow - They Come Here to Kill (horror) |
Posted By: alexdsut
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 10:32am
Ditto Romcom, ditto NOOOOOOOOO 😭 ------------- http://bit.ly/41LdDrA" rel="nofollow - Screenplay R1 "SAWBONES"(Sci-Fi) https://shorturl.at/KMjjM" rel="nofollow - Screenplay R2 "Joe and Dora" (Romcom) |
Posted By: swilki
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 11:48am
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Commiserations to both of you! But at least it's not straight romance, the comedy element opens it up a bit, maybe? I got hist fic - cue weekend of frantic googling to find out which type of shoe was popular in 1659 because I've inexplicably decided to hang my entire plot on it at the last minute. ------------- https://tinyurl.com/2wxm2mec" rel="nofollow - 250 R1 https://tinyurl.com/566e2wya" rel="nofollow - 250 R2 https://bit.ly/3CprYfx" rel="nofollow - All Writing |
Posted By: Snarkmaiden
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 11:50am
That's almost what makes romcom harder. You have two required genre elements - romance AND comedy. With just romance you can play it straight or make it funny, but romcom demands rom AND com. (I'm still sore that the judges hated my cockroach romcom from a few years ago. That was the best romcom I've ever written! Robbed!) Research for historical often produces some really cool stuff to hang a story on! Good luck with your shoes!
------------- SSC R1: https://tinyurl.com/4xhsx4t4" rel="nofollow - They Come Here to Kill (horror) |
Posted By: swilki
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 11:56am
Ah I didn't think of it that way, just anything to get away from the romance bit, which I. Cannot. Do. I wish I'd caught your cockroach romance, but I bet it was great! I think you should continue the theme to get justice for it - Cockroach 2, Bride of Kafka. It practically writes itself... ------------- https://tinyurl.com/2wxm2mec" rel="nofollow - 250 R1 https://tinyurl.com/566e2wya" rel="nofollow - 250 R2 https://bit.ly/3CprYfx" rel="nofollow - All Writing |
Posted By: ElleJay
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2025 at 10:25pm
I got Romance  theres not one ounce of soppiness in me  ------------- https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic63676_post684545.html#684545" rel="nofollow - SWC2025 Suspense |
Posted By: Crixuss
Date Posted: 26 Apr 2025 at 12:49pm
| I wound up with Thriller! Which is definitely not a genre I'm super comfortable with. I must be one of the few folks who really likes writing romance (and got super lucky getting assigned that for round 1!). Tbh though I'm actually pretty pumped about what I was able to write for this round. The 8 pages made the build-up and the payoff real hard though. |
Posted By: missalwayswrite
Date Posted: 26 Apr 2025 at 1:30pm
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Here I was praying for romcom, and I pulled historical fiction 😭 ------------- https://shorturl.at/afj29" rel="nofollow - SW24 R1 - Roundabout (1st) https://shorturl.at/lDY23" rel="nofollow - SW24 R2 - Mayhem in the Meadow (3rd) |
Posted By: themodvictorian
Date Posted: 26 Apr 2025 at 4:21pm
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I'm also a "chewer" when it comes to writing. I like to mull over story concepts and characters and scenes for sometimes weeks before putting pen to paper/fingers to the keyboard. But I think that's why I find the NYC Midnight challenge so refreshing and exciting. It forces me not to overthink and to just trust my creative instincts. Is an 8-page script written from concept to completion in 3 days going to be my masterpiece? No, probably not. But it's still worthwhile, and pushes me to test my skills as a screenwriter. Best of luck!
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Posted By: themodvictorian
Date Posted: 26 Apr 2025 at 4:23pm
| This is a good opportunity to subvert romance genre cliches! Romance isn't just one thing - there are so many different subgenres of romance! |
Posted By: asterism
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2025 at 11:08pm
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Hi group-mate, LOL, I feel you on not super-comfortable with thriller. I spent Friday night thinking What even is a thriller? Not-scary horror? Big-stakes drama? The part of mystery where something happens? Suspense with less nuance? It was all over the place. I finished one script Saturday afternoon, then decided it wasn't a story on Saturday night & ended up going back to my first idea and reworking it. It was definitely the right choice. I'm glad you got something in that you're excited about! Good luck with the judges!
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Posted By: Pizzadog
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2025 at 11:19pm
| I got histfic, which blindsided me a bit. I think I ended up with something I like, though! This is the finest I've cut any of my NYCM submissions yet (1h 39m until the deadline) |
Posted By: slinkylink
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2025 at 3:06am
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I ended up drawing comedy. It isn’t my least favorite genre, but its definitely at the bottom of the list. But I landed on an idea pretty quickly and had fun with it. I don’t know if it will get me to the finals, but I did the thing as best I could and I’m happy with the result. ------------- https://tinyurl.com/mwms666p" rel="nofollow - 100 R1 https://tinyurl.com/5cxkcu38" rel="nofollow - Archive |