This is the first time this script has competed, and I’m thrilled to announce it has advanced to the quarterfinals of the WeScreenplay TV competition! This means all four of the scripts I’ve written so far have received at least a quarterfinals placement or better. [Cue happy dance] I’ll find out about the semifinals in a month.
One thing I really like about the WeScreenplay competitions is that they offer written feedback. The notes for Curio were helpful, and I did make a few small adjustments based on them. However, what I got on the other script I entered not only took 4 months to get (the turnaround is supposed to be 2 weeks), but based on the comments the reader clearly skimmed.
So not surprisingly, Riftmaker did not advance in the competition based on their assessment. Which is a bummer, but also a good reminder of the reality of the screenwriting world. Any time you put your script and yourself out there, this kind of thing can happen and it doesn’t detract from the merits of the script. I’ll be very curious to see how these two pieces do in their next outing Nov 3, the ScreenCraft pilot competition. My very first pilot made it to the finals of that one last year, so fingers crossed for a repeat.
But no matter how things shake out, it’s nice to know I seem to be on the right track. Since beginning my screenwriting journey, I’ve submitted things 18 times to competitions, fellowships, and scholarship programs. This is my fifth placement. Not too shabby considering everyone and their cousin’s babysitter’s BFF wrote screenplays during the pandemic.
Money is going to be tighter going into 2022, so I doubt I’ll be able to submit as often during year 2 of my trek to a TV writing room. However, I will definitely be throwing my hat in the ring for the various fellowships at Disney, WarnerMedia, etc. And I am compiling my spreadsheets of people to query. Wish me luck!
Alison Weaverdyck 