Thursday, April 3, 2014

PART II: GRAND PRIZE: StoryPros


PART II:

OK, in re-reading Part I, it's obvious that there is nothing more boring than reading a story with a writer (especially a braggart) as the lead character!

But, this is about writing & it's my assumption no one else is REALLY reading this, so here's part II...

The winning script was completed at a 48-hour retreat put on by the good folks (Signe & Bob) at the Great American Pitchfest (GAPF).

The setting was inspiring for a spooky thriller: the haunted hotel where Stephen King wrote "The Shining" in the Colorado Rockies.

To capitalize on the weekend's theme, I decided to set aside all my historical story projects and work on an idea for a paranormal thriller I'd outlined one weekend after learning about a heartbreaking unsolved murder.

With screenwriting guru Pilar Alessandra to guide us through a day of exercises to get us going, a group of dedicated writers sat in an old room filled with ghost-like vibes, and eked out our outlines and several pages, then for the next two days we wrote...and wrote. Two of us completed our scripts while everyone went away with a strong start.

About a month later we all converged on GAPF to pitch our now complete and polished projects. I had lots of requests.

The next month I took my story to my private critique group and they tore it to shreds. I took the notes to heart and made revisions then entered a couple of contests, just to get more outside feedback.

The feedback was helpful, so I made more revisions/tweaks and entered several contests, again just hoping for feedback & MAYBE a placement.

Apparently those final revisions did the trick. The script has done well in all but one of those contests, winning the grand prize at StoryPros.

Woo-hoo!

Now back to the historical stuff that really floats my pirate boat...