Didn't win. Not even one of the six honorable honorable mentions [though I guess it's possible I made the top ten - hah]. There is a strong thought towards that bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge, and getting knackered for the night, but...
There's no reason. Entered one contest, got one rejection. Wasn't even one of the touchier-feelier contests that takes the time to send updates, encourage its entrants, win or lose. Almost no reason to feel anymore discouraged than I feel about things in my day-to-day when it comes to writings, so I have no intention to. Yes, I spent two straight months trying to jam an already finished screenplay into a slimming 25 pages when it was [at the time], a slightly less svelte 32 pages, but I think it's probably better for it, and easier to make, assuming I find a way to do that. Less likely, as comics are cheaper, I enjoy those more, and... oi, I've never had much luck putting money together for those, either.
The point is, "Nova" is better for the preparation. Haven't even scratched the surface of pursuing this sort of thing, and as a test run goes, this went smoothly, if not slowly, and I now know that entering these things early will save me some cash and open my schedule up for other things. It's not a win, but it's not... well, it is a loss, by every definition, but there's some cliché about the real measure of a man, how he bounces back after defeat, not victory, etc, etc.
Have a nearly finished short in the way of the peep show script, and Nova which is now in the proper shape to pass around to other contests too. Plus a sack full of unfinished or barely fleshed out short ideas, two unfinished features, and an idea for a horror film. And there are a lot of these competitions out there, plus grants -- which I know about already, because I found a whole list of them after I lost the contact information for this previous one. And there are probably a lot of other ways to get noticed I haven't thought of or explored yet.
I want to thank everyone who wished me well or good luck for this one, gave me feedback on "Nova," or took the time to listen to me bitch about my nerves over it. I appreciate that support more than I could ever articulate here. And Savannah, who turned me onto this competition in the first place... I tended to think outside of grants, these were all scams.
Going forward, movies and screenplays aren't the principle thing on my mind anyway. The short for Normal [re: A Change is Gonna Come] really set me back to my original passion, and all this reading about zines, and everyone's bullheaded insistence that paper is dead as a medium... I have at least one comic idea, if not more. So that's next.
Again, those of you with kind words, sympathetic ears, thank you for the support. I appreciate it.
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No need to get knackered. You worked your ass off, have a slick script. The best that comes out of any of these comps is that they motivate you to work. That's all.
I say this after 3 rejection letters and one accepted assignment. It's the life.
Plug away, love.
Kimberly Kaye
December 14, 2010 at 9:51 PMYeah, no need at all. It is, as you say, the life, and the most talented writers among my peers [I flatter myself with that one] receive more rejection letters than they deserve. My medium doesn't give me that opportunity so much, nor is the turnover as fast... sobering reminder.
Thank you, for the kind words though. Especially heartening, as I've just discovered your work and have been thoroughly charmed with it.
Randall Nichols
December 14, 2010 at 11:52 PM