Screenwriting : Finally wrote something this year... by John Austin

Good job! I seriously doubt it's garbage--and anyway, what it means to you is ultimately the most important thing. I've written and refined projects I have zero faith in ever getting made, but I enjoy the process and therapy of it!

Sorry you and your family had to go through so much, John Austin. Congratulations on writing something! Your first draft isn't perfect, but now you have something to work from. What genre and length is it?

Thanks, C. E. Simon. I had a free coverage coupon for WeScreenplay due to expire, so I've it through before it does. I guess we'll see if at least one person likes it!

Hi, Maurice Vaughan. How's it going, bud? It's a 61 page horror TV pilot with a load of family drama layered throughout. I have been meaning to focus more on features this year, but I've mulled this idea around for a while and there's too much for a feature. Just to fit a pilot script length, I had to take an axe to about 50% of what I wanted to include and that's only to setup a smaller part of a series.

I might try tackling this idea as a novel, at some point. It'd need rejigging, of course, but I think it could work.

Sorry to hear of the troubles on the personal front. At least you have the bones and shape of your story--you've gotten past the infinite number of things it could have been into something that IS. Well done!

Cheers, Jim Wells. Thanks for the kind words!

John, I know it is a rough time in our country right now and our politicians on both sides appear oblivious to the real world concerns of their own people. I hope things for you and your family improve greatly in the near future and congratulations on having a great creative day yesterday.

Sometimes a feature works better as a show, John Austin. Or a book. Do you have a logline for the series?

Thanks, Phillip E. Hardy, Prolifique. I appreciate the kind words. I'm based in the UK (I see you're in Austin, TX) but what you just said could easily apply over here too.

Hi, Maurice Vaughan. I came up with a quick one (you have to submit a logline with the WeScreenplay coverage submission), so it's probably not the final one I'll use but for now...

"When a troubled sixth-form student moves to a new town with a violent history, bloodstone deposits in the ground awaken chaotic supernatural abilities and draw malevolent forces to her."

The logline is a start, John Austin. It has the inciting incident and the main character (with an adjective). The logline needs the student's goal/what she's after in the story and stakes. What's "sixth-form"? Sixth grade?

You finished it. That alone is a huge accomplishment. I taught 6th grade (states) for seven years, and I can quite imagine what activities a supernatural deposit of bloodstone might instigate. LOL. I'm in, can't wait to hear how it goes!

You're my hero, Austin! For getting it done, despite everything distracting you. And for writing so much in a couple of days.

Hi, Maurice Vaughan. I fear Sixth Form is one of those things that is likely to cause confusion for Americans.

To try and keep it simple, Sixth Form is Years 12 & 13, equivalent to US High School Grades 11 & 12. Thus, as a general rule, a first-year Sixth-Form student will have their 17th birthday at some point during the school year, and they'll leave college/sixth-form sometime after or around their 18th birthday when they've completed their A-Levels (or equivalent qualification such as BTEC).

In general terms, we regard sixth form as college. Some secondary schools/high schools have their own sixth-forms, but there are dedicated independent Sixth Form Colleges, as well as Further Education Colleges which usually offer more vocational programmes than academic ones - but even that's not always the case.

Regardless, if I say 'sixth form student' or 'college student' to someone from England, they'll generally get that I'm talking about a 16-18 year old who isn't studying an undergraduate programme and is probably studying for free (unless privately educated - which we continue to call 'public schooling' as a sick joke).

If I say 'college student' to someone in the US, however, they'll generally think I'm talking about someone 18+ who is studying an undergraduate programme and who has likely paid a hefty sum or incurred a debt to be there.

That was probably far more info than you wanted...

Can you just say "student," John Austin?

Thanks, Shelly Battista. Alas, these aren't sixth graders... they're twice as old; although if I recall my own teenage years correctly, it doesn't necessarily make them twice as mature. :D

Thank you, @Cara (it seems I've exhausted my @ allowance!). I'm just hoping that it doesn't take another six months or however long it's been to get some more writing done. I still need to revise the script I worked on for last year's write-thingy on S32!

Hi, Maurice Vaughan. Yeah, possibly.

My initial thinking was to use the English term since its set in England and contains a lot of English slang and colloquialisms. I've got one character speaking what can only be described as 'proper Northern' at one point (although I refrained from going full 'if ivver tha does owt for nowt, allus do it for thissen'). So if I say 'sixth form', people over here will immediately grasp the age range I'm on about.

I could probably use student, though, you're right.

I taught high school for four years afterwards, and in comparison, I can say while more academically advanced, some of them would have fit into their middle school roles quite easily. (LOL) One year I was in Colombia, and I can say without a doubt, kids are kids no matter where, and they are amazing in any language. "Amazing" has many connotations, and they covered pretty much all of them.

Since your script is set in England and if you're pitching it to a producer in England, the English term might be better, John Austin.

Haha Shelly Battista! I can recall my immaturity in high school. Not saying I'm that much more mature now, but erm... teenage me was a proper child.

Hopefully, Maurice, I'll come up with something better anyway. Be a long time, if ever, before this thing gets pitched to anyone so plenty of time!

Hope the pitching goes well (whenever you start pitching), John Austin! Keep us updated.