One of the best classes I’m taking this semester (or should I say took? 1 class left!) is taught by Maralee Schwartz, former political editor of the Washington Post. In this class, titled “How Politicians Connect,” we study the connecting strategies of Obama and McCain.
Of course it entails a good amount of reading and writing. Hmm… connecting, writing/reading… Seem to go together, no? A good book, or in Scripped-land, a good screenplay, connects the writer to the reader. It is done not just by writing well and looking good (Mitt Romney) but by being straightforward (McCain, at least in his better days) and always genuine (Obama, frustratingly consistent). Finding your true voice and being honest with yourself is what readers respond to in good writing. It’s probably why writing under pressure often produces your best stuff.
Like today. I got an email from Sunil asking me to put another one of my awesome blog posts together. I thought to myself, I have nothing to write about. Then I self-corrected - there is always something to say if I let my true self out. The best way to do that? Give yourself a time limit. I have contact@scripped emails to respond to before my lunch date with said Prof. Schwartz! Plus my own personal overflowing inbox! Plus economic problem sets to grade!
We all have our obligations, but taking the time to write, if that’s what you like to do, is critical. I leave with one last anecdote. Yesterday I had the good fortune to lunch with Jeff Taylor, the former “Chief Monster” at Monster.com (wildly popular job/resume website) and current head of Eons.com. He asked the other students at the table what we do for fun. Odd question from a bad ass CEO, right? Well, he told us he’s a DJ and spends his Sunday mornings sourcing music from all over the world and does his mixing on Thursday nights. Then his mix goes off to Sirius and XM where they broadcast his creation.
He told us that as you get older, it becomes increasingly important to do what you love. It helps you connect, stay straightforward, and be genuine and sincere with yourself. So thank you, Sunil, for making me write.
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Dear Writers:
Well, we promised you some big announcements, and here they are.
- Scripped has partnered with the makers of Movie Magic Screenwriter, an Academy Award-winning professional product that is the official software ofthe WGA-East. Get your coupon below!
- Two top professors from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television have offered to read scripts from the Scripped community. Details below!
- Scripped is also working with WordHustler, a fantastic new service that gives you FREE access to over 3,000 markets for your material.
- Eddie Burns wants your questions! Creative Screenwriting Magazine wants some too. Send your queries directly to Sunil, our humble CEO, at sunil@scripped.com.
- Want to know more about us? Join us on Facebook. And become a friend of Sunil.
Read on to get the skinny on these exciting developments.
Movie Magic - A Match Made in Hollywood
What if you could write online AND offline? What if it was easy to transfer your material between Scripped and professional packaged software?
We thought this would benefit writers tremendously, and so did the Write Brothers, makers of Movie Magic Screenwriter.
To get started, they created a coupon just for Scripped users. Click here and then click “Add to Cart.” Enter SCRIPPED01 in the Coupon or Gift Card field and receive an immediate discount on Movie Magic Screenwriter. If you’re a student or educator, call 1-800-84-STORY for academic rates and mention the coupon code.
We’re now working out how to forge ahead together, and the possibilities are very exciting. The [http://www.scripped.com/submission] Horror Collection we hosted last month was just one example of how our submission platform could be useful to movie studios.
This is an exciting moment for the screenwriting industry. We are proud to be leading the way!
UCLA Professors will Read Your Script
Richard Walter, the head of the UCLA screenwriting program, and another top professor agreed for a limited time to read your scripts and give detailed notes or in-person coaching!
Despite our haggling, they won’t work for free, but they are anxious to see what you’re made of. If you’re ready to be read by the best eyes in the biz, send an email to Sunil at sunil@scripped.com. Put “Richard Walter” or “Script Coach” in the subject.
The UCLA faculty will soon participate in other ways as well. We want to provide you with the means to succeed, and they can help you make it in Hollywood.
WordHustler - A New Button on My Scripts.
You may have noticed a new little W on your My Scripts page. The more adventurous of you may have even clicked on it. Here’s the scoop:
Scripped and WordHustler teamed up to allow seamless transfer between your account on Scripped and your portfolio on WordHustler. When you click on “Submit to WordHustler” for the first time you’ll be prompted to confirm your request to link accounts. If you don’t yet have a WordHustler account, you will be asked to create one.
From that point on, you can easily move PDFs between Scripped and WordHustler with just the click of a button. Once you’re in WordHustler, you have access to thousands of opportunities to submit your work!
And as always, for additional security, don’t forget to Vault it before you submit.
Questions? - Our Bloggers Want You.
We have new posts up at Eddie and Aaron’s blog and the Creative Screenwriting Magazine blog. For their next posts, both want to answer questions from you, the writers on Scripped.com. Send your questions to Sunil at sunil@scripped.com today!
Finally, Facebook.
Yes, we too have a Facebook page, and we’d like to add to the 100 “fans” who already joined us. If you have a Facebook account, please click here and then click “Become a Fan.”
To be Sunil’s friend on Facebook, you can click here and then click “Add as Friend” but make sure you mention Scripped. You’ll then join the throngs of other business school and college and various other friends. You can also peruse the pictures of Sunil with famous people at weddings.
Sorry this was a long one, but we have a lot going on. We hope you’re enjoying this ride as much as we are!
We noticed a hiccup in the Horror Collection submissions and need some of you to resubmit. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.
If you submitted on 7/18, 7/19, or 7/20, please go to http://www.scripped.com/submission and submit
your horror treatment again.
For everyone else, the Horror Collection ends today, 7/31!
Also, thanks to those of you who are already using our new Vault screenplay security service! We improved it based on your feedback and you can now secure your scripts with ease.
Start registering your material at http://www.scripped.com/vault.
For other updates or just to see what Sunil ate for lunch, check our blog at http://www.scripped.com/blog. We’ll try to keep it tasty.
Whew! It has been a busy month for The Scripped Guys, and you’ve been busy too. We tallied up your scripts and found something amazing: 14 MILLION WORDS written on Scripped! That’s a lot of writing.
Now with 8,000 writers and 10,000 scripts, we are making Scripped stronger and safer than ever. In fact, we are happy to announce a new service to keep you and your scripts secure.
Are you sharing yourscripts, pitches, and outlines with friends? Submitting them tocompetitions, festivals, producers, and agents? Sending them out forprofessional feedback/coverage or even just your little sister?
Whether you are protecting a work-in-progress or a completed work, registering your script provides you with peace of mind AND the authentication you need to prove you are the original author of the
uploaded document. Questions? Check out our FAQ page to get the low-down on how Vault
works.
If you sent your script after July 18, please resubmit! We have extended the Horror Collection to July 31. Now you can register your script for just$15 (5 bucks off) and put it on the desk of an Oscar-winning producer, all in thespace of 5 minutes.
Even if you already submitted your script you can Vault it today and be protected.
Also, our friends at Creative Screenwriting Magazine have agreed to blogexclusively for Scripped!
With your script written and protected, Eddie,Aaron and the folks at Creative Screenwriting Magazine will provide the knowledge necessary to take your writing to the nextlevel.
To our loyal readers/users - I hope you are having a good week. I just ate a fantastic meal at Sunnin, which is easily one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles. Of course I happen to be in Long Beach now, but the LA location is just as good. I’ve been eating a lot of good food lately, come to think of it….
Irrelevant intro aside, I wanted to address a couple of emails we’ve received from our users and non-users alike regarding our long term plans. A user recently emailed us expressing gratitude and satisfaction for providing such a “robust, free service.” The second part of the email expressed concern over whether a free screenwriting software company can exist for longer than a few months in this dicey economy.
To that user and to all Scripped users, I want to assure you that we are not going anywhere. We will be around for a very, very long time. We are not building a company with the 1 in a trillion hope that it will be acquired by Google (those who build a company for that purpose generally fail, FYI). We are not doing this because we are the only philanthropists in Hollywood. We actually do have a plan, and if that plan doesn’t work, there is a plan B. If that plan doesn’t work, there are also plan C’s, and then plan D’s, or whatever else you want to call them.
In the meantime, relax! The software will always be free and we want you to enjoy Scripped for one year, ten years, or however long it takes to write your screenplay. We are here to guide you throughout the creative process. We are also dreamers, and thinkers, and our 500 grand worth of education bought us more than a few beers at a frat party (incidentally, none of us were frat boys). We think that screenwriting software is great, but we believe the possibilities are much greater for us, and for you.
Enjoy the rest of your week, and finish that screenplay already!
Creative World Awards ongoing video showcase THE BUSINESS OF STORYTELLING is up and rolling. This week features Tomas Jegeus, Co-President of 20th Century Fox International. He jointly handles and overseas the international releases of all Fox’s titles. Following him in the upcoming weeks: Anthony Mandler, one of the industry’s hottest up-coming feature directors. His background includes being one of the top music and commercial directors as well as a world renowned photographer. Mark Gooder, CEO of Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment Group. He overseas the production, acquisitions and distribution of all of Icon’s films.
Don’t miss out on these valuable insights. A slue of prominent names will unveil through out the summer.
I’ve been trying to learn as much about screenwriting as possible, though I doubt my knowledge will ever rival Zak’s. That being said, I’ve been surfing around for experts’ advice on screenwriting, etc, and came accross this site: http://thedialogueseries.com.
Here is what they have to say:
THE DIALOGUE: Learning From the Masters is a groundbreaking interview series that goes behind the scenes of the fascinating craft of screenwriting. In these 70-90 minute in-depth discussions, more than two dozen of today’s most successful screenwriters share their work habits, methods and inspirations, secrets of the trade, business advice, and eye-opening stories from life in the trenches of the film industry. Each screenwriter discusses his or her filmography in great detail and breaks down the mechanics of one favorite scene from their produced work. To purschase these DVDS visit www.thedialogueseries.com.
Hey all, I’ve been in contact with other entrepreneurs in the screenwriting/net world over the past several months and I just wanted to highlight a site I came upon called “Coverage Ink.” Be sure to check them out at http://www.coverageink.com. Here is a quote from Jim Cirile, the founder:
The most important thing to know is Coverage, Ink is by writers, for writers. We’re not owned by a big corporation. We’re owned by me–Jim Cirile–a writer. I founded CI as a reaction to the coverage services out there, which I found to be overpriced, and oftentimes the coverage was hostile or useless. Worse, some of those people have a carrot and stick approach — promising you ‘industry access’ if you get a consider or better, when more often than not this is vapor — as I learned from personal experience. Writers are generally hardworking and broke! Again, I know this firsthand. We just want someone to help us with gentle guidance. So when I pony up money for an opinion, I want it to be creatively constructive, as opposed to belittling or insulting. I want people to feel empowered and have a real idea how to better their script after they work with us. I use my own company to develop my own scripts all the time, submitting to my readers under pseudonyms and paying the full rate. So I know what we’re doing works, and the 99% positive feedback we get from our clients bears that out. I also hand-pick and test all our readers personally to make sure they know their stuff. That’s what CI is all about
Coverage Ink is running a screenwriting competition called “Writers on the Storm”, which runs through July. If you submit a script to CI, it is automatically entered into the contest. Grand prize is 10gs…. maybe I should figure out a way to get Zak to enter.
Now if only we were as innovative as some of these other companies out there… Ryan, maybe we need you to sell a kidney soon.
Thanks to Jason Arnopp for writing such a nice post about us in his blog: http://jasonarnopp.blogspot.com. We at Scripped are always happy to hear feedback like this. We are very self-deprecating and hard working, and we want to create the best product possible for our users. We are a long ways away from perfection, but we are working hard to get there.
Headed home today to Northern California, which is very exciting. I think that’s it for now…
It seems like I only write when I’m on vacation, but I swear, I actually do work from time to time. I was in Miami this past week for Spring Break and my girlfriend and I had an awesome time. We attended the Miami Masters Series tennis tourney, spent a lot of time on the beach, and just generally had a nice time. We were lucky enough to sit in the IMG Luxury box thanks to my sister and brother-in-law and we watched Novak Djokovic lose and Rafael Nadal win (which is great because I am a huge Nadal fan and I dislike Djokovic). My sister interviewed Nadal after the match, and was nice enough to mention her in his blog. He’s a great guy…. The picture above is a bit weird - my iPhone somehow skewed the way the court looks….
On the Scripped front, we have a huge week ahead of us. We’re gearing up for Script Frenzy and we have a few big meetings ahead. We’re really excited about the way things are going, and really appreciate all of your positive feedback. Please let us know what feature you’d like to see next!
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