By: Sarah Chaisson-Warner
Winning (or placing) in a screenwriting contest can be career-changing, especially if it’s the Shore Scripts Feature Contest. Our Feature Contest has a history of helping writers meet their goals as screenwriters. Past winners, like Mrs&Mr Thomas, went on to land a 7-figure deal with Amazon. Others winners, like thriller genre-winner Brian T. Arnold, are now in production, and still others have gone on to gain representation through our contest, including Lisa Luedekke.
But how do you set yourself up to win this year’s Feature Contest? Here’s a quick guide designed to help you submit your best script yet, and increase your chances of winning!
BECOME AN EXPERT IN YOUR GENRE
Whether you’re fanatic about fantasy or driven by drama, one of the best ways to become an expert in your genre is by reading other successful scripts and learning from them. Consider taking a look at our Script Library, which houses pdf versions of successful feature scripts, including by genre.
Remember too what makes each genre special, and hone in on the pieces that are unique to it. If you’re writing a comedy, take a keen eye to dialogue and comedic timing. Is there enough lead-up to the joke, and does it land at just the right moment? If you’re writing a thriller, consider the story’s pace. Does the plot and action inspire heart-pumping excitement? Leaning into the components that make your genre special and successfully delivering on these aspects will help your script stand out in a crowd.
DEFINE THE CENTRAL CONFLICT EARLY
This is critical for hooking the reader and helping them understand the journey they are going on with the protagonist. What does the protagonist want, and who or what is standing in their way? Are they undertaking a physical journey, like travelling across the country by car to meet their birth mother? A spiritual journey to better understand the death of a friend? An emotional journey to finally accept love and affection from their husband?
After defining the central conflict, introducing subconflicts can also help to propel the story forward, and give the plot more depth. Crafting subconflicts can be tricky though – they shouldn’t be so prominent that they compete with the central conflict, but should be meaty enough so as to have a meaningful impact on the story. When creating subconflicts, ask yourself a few questions:
- How does the subconflict relate to the central conflict?
- Will the outcome of this subconflict – good or bad – also have an impact on the protagonist and their journey? (The answer should be yes!)
- What impact could this subconflict have on the central conflict and the protagonist (ie – what are the stakes of the subconflict and are they important enough to garner time and space in my script?)
CUT YOUR SCRIPT BACK BY FIVE PERCENT
This is a common technique for helping writers write succinct scripts that move at a solid pace. If your script clocks in at 120 pages, try to get it down to 114 pages. Of course, this isn’t necessary for all scripts (perhaps you’ve already winnowed your script down and further cuts would hurt the story) but this can be a helpful exercise for weeding out duplicative scenes, ensuring scenes start and end at just the right time, and eliminating confusing or unnecessary plot points and subconflicts.
LEAVE OUT CAMERA DIRECTION (AND OTHER PRODUCTION NOTES!)
While it may be tempting to include camera direction in your script (after all, you’ve pictured in your head how your script would look on the screen a thousand times!) camera direction isn’t necessary nor appropriate at this phase of scriptwriting.
Similarly, writers often think it is necessary to include copious detail about how the main characters look in order to help the reader picture them. While some description is helpful, significantly more detail like extensive costuming is not. Only include these details if they are critical to the plot. Think of “The Town” for example – Jeremy Renner’s character is described as having a particular tattoo on his neck. This is important because the woman robbed noticed a tattoo during the crime.
PUT YOURSELF IN THE READER’S SHOES
Consider what the reader’s experience with your script might be like by thinking about important aspects of scriptwriting, like world-building, comprehension, and flow.
First, readers actively want to engage with your script and immerse themselves in your story. One of the best ways to do this is by world-building. Where and when does your story take place – is it 1960s London or present-day New York City? Does your story take place on Mars or in a village at the base of a dormant volcano? In building your world, incorporate not only the setting, but how the characters experience them as well – what do they see, hear, and smell in this world? But be careful, world building is both an art and a science: too much description can slow down a script and too little can leave the reader less invested in the story.
Second, scripts with a lot of characters can often be difficult to follow, particularly for someone reading your script for the first time. “Wait – who is Jillian again?” One way to help the reader keep track of your characters is by relating minor characters to the major ones. If your protagonist is named MARY JONES, instead of giving each minor character their own first and last name, name them according to their relationship to the main character – for example, MARY’S MOM instead of JILLIAN JONES. This will help the reader better keep track of multiple characters and ensure a smoother, more comprehensive reading experience.
Last, readers appreciate the use of white space. Long descriptions and action content, along with soliloquies, can crowd the page and make reading a bit more difficult.
POLISH YOUR SCRIPT
As mentioned above, consider the reader’s experience with your script. While an error or two can happen at times, a script that contains numerous grammar and spelling errors can impede the flow of the read. If proofreading isn’t your strongest suit, consider asking a friend or colleague to help, or purchase proofreading services from a reputable company.
Most often, scripts use an active voice rather than passive voice. For example, “The woman is looking through the window at the dress” should be “The woman looks through the window at the dress.” Or in this case – “The man is chased by the robber through the neighborhood” should be “The robber chases the man through the neighborhood.”
Similarly, make sure your script is formatted to industry standards. For many readers, after having read hundreds of scripts, our brains are now trained to read them in a certain way. When a script crosses our desk that ignores the conventions of industry formatting, it can be difficult to follow. A few formatting best practices include:
- Only put the name of your character in CAPS when you introduce them in the action content.
- TINA (30s), enters the bar looking tired.
- Keep your scene headers consistent, starting with INT/EXT, the location, and DAY or NIGHT
- EXT – PLAYGROUND – DAY
- If your location is technically within another location, include that in the scene header and consistently use that format throughout
- INT. MIA’S HOUSE/BEDROOM – NIGHT
GET FEEDBACK
Before you submit (to the Shore Scripts contest, or any other one), consider first utilizing a coverage service. Coverage can provide a fresh set of eyes from seasoned storytellers and help you identify the weak spots and gaps in your script before it goes to the contest’s judges.
Shore Scripts offers a variety of coverage options for feature films – everything from a two-page report on your first 10 pages to a more comprehensive 10-page report of your entire script.
LEARN MORE
Our Feature Contest has a proven track record of helping emerging writers achieve their goals of becoming full-time working screenwriters. Through our Feature contest, writers have gained representation, had their projects produced with A-list actors, and gone on to write for Blumhouse, Netflix, Paramount, Film4, NBC, Hulu, & many others. Submit your script today!
