The Daily One Scene Contest

by PureSciFi

Rated: E · Message Forum · Writing.Com · #2162318

Another contest that isn't a Short Story or Poetry one. It's another scriptwriting one.

It is only one word. That word is 'screenwriting.' There isn't much else in it.

The Daily One Scene Contest

Click here to go to the forum. It will take you directly there.

One of the reasons my first contest, The Monthly Script Writing Contest, isn’t a better success is because of the page count. True, you have the whole month to do it, but it’s still too hard to do for most of you. I understand that. That’s why I decided to start this second contest. It’s similar. Yet, it’s different.

Of course, the biggest problem that I have had with my first contest is because it’s about Script Writing instead of Short Stories or Poetry. Since this new contest also involves Script Writing this one should be as big of a success as my first one, but I hope it will be a bigger one.

Another reason my first contest hasn’t been a success is because of WDC. I can show you how to write a script, even give you some examples of it, but when you try to transfer it to the WDC it doesn’t turn out the way it should be, or you wanted it to be. I’m hoping this contest will help with that problem too.

The experts say that practice makes perfect. I agree with the practice part, but not the perfect half. They also say that the more you practice the better you will get. That I also agree with. The more you do it the better you should get. That’s what this contest is all about.

The Contest ▼

It may look like this contest is very hard, but it isn’t. It’s very easy. You start with the daily Prompt. From that Prompt, you write one scene based on that Prompt. For example, the Prompt is Parents, father and son/daughter, brother and sister, etc. are fighting. It’s up to you who that is, where it takes place, etc. In this example, it could be about a sister and brother where the brother storms into her bedroom where the fight continues.

The Examples ▼

Below are three examples of what your single scene for a movie or television show should look like. They may or may not be future Prompts, but sooner or later they probably will be.

The first script is a no dialogue one. It’s a little under thirty seconds/lines long.

Scene Example One [E]
#2162328

This is my first One Scene example. It has only twenty-six lines aka twenty-six seconds.
by PureSciFi

My second script sample is exactly one page/minute long. It does have some dialogue in it.

Scene Example Two [E]
#2162335

This is my second One Scene example. It's sixty line long aka one minute.
by PureSciFi

Script sample number three has a lot of dialogue with a little bit of non-dialogue. It’s barely under two pages/minutes long.

Scene Example Three [E]
#2162339

This is my last example. It's one hundred and nineteen lines line. Almost two minutes.
by PureSciFi

The Rules ▼

Now for the bad news. Every contest has rules. Unfortunately, this one is no exception. It just doesn’t have a lot of them, but it does have a few.

First Rule

A single scene can be as little as a few lines to about two pages in length. The ones that are only a few lines are usually action-oriented, no dialogue. Most are from fifteen seconds to two pages. That’s fifteen lines to one hundred and twenty. Those are for Dramas, adventures, etc. Comedies can be another page or two. Whether it’s a comedy or not, the limit is two pages. There is no minimum.

Second Rule

This is a one scene only contest. So, there can only be one scene. If there is more than one, you will be disqualified from the competition for that day. You can always go back to make it one scene if you do it before the end of day deadline.

Third Rule

If you plan on entering this contest on a regular or semi-regular basis you should do it with book entries. I think you can have up to one hundred entries in a book. That will save you ninety-nine single Item creations, and if you only have one hundred to work with then you are in real trouble. Whether you do it with book entries or with the b-item format you need to create it to qualify.

Fourth Rule

At the end of your scripts, you need to put today’s Prompts and your Line Count. It not only shows me that you have finished the script, but that it is only one scene. There are several ways you can do this. One way is how I end my sample scripts. Another one is with the date of the Prompt like May 16th Prompt: Running. Don’t forget your Line Count too.

Fifth Rule

This is a contest for movie and television scriptwriters. True, I know that Stage Plays are scripts too, but I know very little about Stage Plays. If there are any Stage Play scriptwriters out there who would like to be a Judge for this contest, then I would include Stage Plays in this contest as well. Right now I can't do that. The future of this concern is up to you. Do you want me to include Stage Plays too?

The Prizes ▼

Ten thousand GPs are up for grabs each day of this contest. Five thousand for First Place, three thousand for Second Place, and two thousand for Third Place. To get only First Place, there must be at least two entries. Three to five entries will add the Second Place to the winning list. Six or more will add a Third Place to this list.

The Judging ▼

I’m the only Judge in this contest right now. I would like to have four to six other Judges like they do at Writer’s Cramp in time, but it’s just me so far. If you would like to be a Judge too, please email me. You don’t need to be a scriptwriter to be a Judge either.

The Donations ▼

Donations are always welcomed. Especially in a contest like this one. If you would like to donate to this contest, you can do so with the link below.

The Daily One Scene Contest Bank [E]
#2162340

Every contest needs Donations to keep it going. It's even more important for daily ones.
by PureSciFi

Remember: You only have twenty-four hours to come up with one scene. That’s not a lot of time, but it is only one scene.