Imagine a story told through traditional oral convention, a narrated tale, and think about how the images conjured up in the mind of the listener can vary greatly from those in the mind of the teller. Use this conundrum of communication to inspire your next challenge: Write a 7-12 page short film script of any genre or theme where the story is recited verbally by a narrator and the visuals unfold in the descriptive action lines, but the narrator is not in the story...

We're trying something new this month, giving you a sneak peek at CreatorUp! a new online WEB SERIES school for writing and making the web series. Workshop your projects in live lab sessions and brush up on technique through video tutorials and more. Engage with expert mentors who are actively working with top video sites including YouTube, Blip, Machinima, Funny or Die, Break, Yahoo, AOL, Hulu, My Damn Channel and many others!

Write a multilinear script for a web mini-serial! Wait, multilinear? What's that, you ask? Well, some of you may recall reading those "choose-your-own-adventure" books when you were younger, books which were designed to allow the reader to decide where they wanted the action of the story to proceed. At the end of every few pages there was a prompt that asked the reader "What should happen next?” and usually gave two or three options. You may also have seen this style of interactive fiction in the popular text adventures of early computer gaming.

It's the start of summer and you know what that means: movie trailers! In celebration of the deluge of movie trailers you'll be seeing this season, we want you to write your own movie trailer! The movie idea could be from a script you've already written or not, that's up to you, but the movie idea should be original (i.e. not a trailer for an existing or forthcoming film).

Write a SCRIPT TREATMENT (a plot synopsis) of an original feature film, short film, tv pilot, tv season, web series, stage play, or really any dramatic medium you'd like! You needn't have written your script yet, but your story should be entirely original. This is about STORY.

Write a short script (up to ten pages) that is entirely unfilmable! A number of stories throughout history have been described as "unfilmable" for many reasons -- usually a restriction of technology -- but with all of today's cinematic advances surely there isn't a thing that can't be translated from page to screen... or is there? What could possibly make any given written script impossible to produce?

Write a 1-4 page television advertisement for a modern or historical product. Choose either a MODERN product (20th/21st century item like an automobile) or choose a HISTORICAL product (pre-20th century item like a… um… trebuchet?). Now it's true that many items that were invented before the 20th century are still in use in different forms today, and that's fine as long as the time context of the item you are writing about is clear. For instance, a sundial could be in an ancient time context or it could be a more fancy/modern context, just make clear in the writing what period you are setting your item and write from that period (like ancient Egypt would tout the sundial as a "new" solution for keeping time).

Okay, we've given you a couple easy ones so far, but now we've got a rather interesting script challenge. Write a short (up to ten page) one-person STAGE PLAY that tells the story of an artist. It could be a day-in-the-life, a truncated history, or a particular event that gives us a window into the artist's world, anything. The artist character could be based on a real-life artist or could be completely original …or even auto-biographical if you think you are interesting enough. This play can be classically styled or it could be utterly abstract and stream-of-consciousness -- style is entirely up to you.

Happy 2012, writers of the world! We're starting the year in high gear with a classic contest for you feature screenwriters. You know how the first ten pages of a feature script are considered "the only ten pages"? It's true! If you don't grab the reader by the first ten, the chances of your script getting made are greatly reduced. So we're highlighting the importance of your opening pages in our new contest!

Write a holiday themed 7 - 10 page "minisode" of a currently airing television series. Choose a series you are watching now: something you like so you know how to emulate the tone and style of the show (it might even help if you can get your hands on a script from that series - they're out there somewhere!). Then set your episode around a December-ish holiday and voila!

In celebration of marriage equality, this month's script contest is all about weddings! If you've got a good wedding story, write that story into a short film script! We want stories that are based on actual wedding happenings, could be from a wedding you attended, your parents' wedding, your own wedding -- basically, the more based on actual life your script is, the more... um, "points" you'll get. Think of this as a challenge of adapting a true life event into a dramatic scene.

Break Media, the guys behind the #1 humor site on-line Break.com, are looking for the next great digital short. Do you have the comedic chops to write the next Break Original? The winners will be selected by our team of experts including Ed Burns, writer Steven De Souza, as well as members of the Break Media in-house production team, The Creative Lab. The top five scripts will be awarded $500 each and the best idea will be greenlit into a Break Original to be developed and produced in partnership with the winning writer by the Creative Lab team.

In 2009, our very own advisor board members Ed Burns and Aaron Lubin produced "The Lynch Pin", a ten-episode digital short series about hitman Dan Lynch (code name Golden Harp) and his attempt to get out of the killing game. The only problem is... the series ends with a cliffhanger! The world has been waiting for two years to know what happened to our antihero and Ed and Aaron want YOU to write the next episode!!

In partnership with the San Francisco Film Commission, Scripped.com is proud to sponsor a film competition for the best two-minute San Francisco-themed movie! Shoot a two-minute film about, or themed after San Francisco, submit the video directly to contact@scripped.com (Subject: San Francisco Movie), and the winning filmmaker will receive a $500 prize!

For those few of you who haven't yet seen "The Social Network," it is the story about how Mark Zuckerberg and a supporting cast of characters conceived of, build out, and expanded what is now Facebook. No doubt "The Facebook Effect" is big, but we also think Twitter is just as relevant. Morever, we wanted to see a short documentary about how Twitter is being used around the world, and we want your input.

Author Solutions is pleased to be working with Scripped in order to provide our base of authors a pool of quality screenwriters with whom they can work to develop marketable treatments and screenplay adaptations of their work. ASI will be looking to Scripped writers to develop a number of treatments based on our books, and should the author wish to move their specific project forward, treatment writers may be commissioned to write full screenplays.

Make a 1-3 minute UNKNOWN SENDER short film in conjunction with the Ojai Film Festival, Steven de Souza, and Scripped. All entries must emulate the UNKNOWN SENDER "found footage" conceit of "faux reality", etc... which end in a Hitchcockian twist or shocking reveal. All entries must be no more than 3 minutes long (not including credits), appear to be "found footage", and must reference the Ojai Film Festival in some fashion, whether in dialogue, setting, a Festival poster on the wall, a message on an answering machine - use your imagination! The winning films will be displayed at the Ojai film festival on Sunday November 7th!

Ever wish you could be Molly Ringwald, Jon Cusack, or Anthony Michael Hall? Ever wish you could star in a John Hughes movie, or be in class with Ferris Bueller? Here's your chance to relive your 1980s dreams! For the current Pro-only contest, we are looking for the best 5-page, 1980s-themed script! We encourage you to draw upon the 80s classics: think Wall Street meets Platoon meets Say Anything meets The Lost Boys. We loved the 80s, and we want to see your 80s dream come to life!

The United States Tennis Open is one of the best attended sports events in the world. The glitz and glam of NYC attracts celebrities, fashionistas and the rich and famous. We are looking for a short script that captures the tennis, the excitement, and the glamour of the US Open! We will produce the winning script and send the winning work out to all 75,000 Scripped.com members, and to our 10,000 Twitter followers.

Spike (Blue Mountain State, The Ultimate Fighter, Deadliest Warrior) is looking for its next bold and energetic half-hour, live-action, single-camera comedy. What is a Spike comedy? It's loud, action-packed and unapologetically male in all aspects - characters, tone, subject matter, dialogue - set in an authentic world (no spaceships, no aliens, no vampires, no werewolves, no time travel, etc) that guys get. Think big and push the limits. Think you got what it takes?

Join the "Pro Contest" group by logging in and clicking this link: Scripped Pro Contest Group. We will announce contests on the 1st and 15th of each month within the group. To participate, all you need to do is post your 300-500 word treatment based on the contest topic. The winner will receive $75 for his or her treatment, and you maintain full rights to your treatment Win up to $150 per month for 600-1000 words! Only pro members will be eligible to win the cash, but all Scripped.com members can view the group. To upgrade to Scripped Pro and participate in the competitions, click here: Scripped Upgrade. For the first contest, we are looking for the best 300-500 word treatment on the Gulf Oil Spill Disaster. We hope you go Pro and decide to participate!

Award-winning writer/director/actor Edward Burns (The Brothers McMullen, She's The One, Saving Private Ryan and the upcoming Nice Guy Johnny) and his producing partner Aaron Lubin, are offering Scripped users a unique opportunity. Burns and Lubin will collaborate with the winning writer to develop a screenplay based on the following logline: Like Father, Like Son: comedy drama about a middle aged father who ends up falling for his son's 20 something girlfriend. The winner will receive $1,000 cash prize, and Eddie will give you feedback over a phone call if you win! To be eligible for the contest, you only need to write the first 15 pages of the screenplay - finish the rest of the script for the folks at Script Frenzy.

Writer / Director Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard, 48 HRS., Commando, The Running Man, and Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) is too busy racing his yacht, giving Chuck Norris karate lessons, and fending off his stalker, Sasha Grey, to finish writing the second season of his Award-winning web series unknown sender. That's where you come in. Keep your script 3-7 pages and follow the faux-verite/found footage concept of the series.

Diggnation and Totaly Rad Show co-host and co-creator Alex Albrecht sourced a 15-page horror short script from Scripped.com. The script is currently in pre-production, and will be shot during the summer of 2010.

Up and coming actress Dawn Olivieri (Heroes, True Blood) and Girl2watch.com ran a script competition, which featured Dawn as a powerful female lead. The search was successful, and the contest received a significant amount of positive press.

Scripped ran a contest in search of a 15-page script about the financial crisis. A panel of judges, picked a winner, and the contest received press from LA-based magazine lalawag.com.

Scripped ran a month-long contest in search of a 5-page holiday-themed script. Over 100 scripts were submitted, and Sean Dunne became our first two-time contest winner.