Screenwriting : Getting It Out There... by Alyn Darnay

(Alyn on Screenwriting) In a reply to one of my posts on Screenwriting, a writer asked if there was anything else he could do to get his work out there, other than list on InkTip.com or other such sites, enter screenwriting contests (Beware the cost and contest), send out pitch letters, or endlessly search out an agent or manager. I have a simple suggestion. Write a short script, and personally turn it into a film, which you’ll then enter into a film festival. You can use as simple a camera as an HD Flip and round up your actor buddies for the parts. You can edit in IMovie or find someone to do it for you, and enter the smallest film festivals listed on Without-A-Box. If you get into just one, you’ve become a “produced” screenwriter. Always helps to be produced, looks better in a pitch letter. And the best part of it all, is that you’ll learn. You’ll learn what really goes into making a film and telling the story, and how exacting everything has to be to be good and to express what you actually want the film to say. It should give you and your work more exposure and it should make you a better writer. Just don’t enter anything till the film you make is truly your best possible effort. (To Obtain a copy of my best selling Screenwriting book "The Script" at http://www.alyndarnay.com/)