5% of 6,378

So, I went to the doctor and found out I have a sinus infection and another infection I'd rather not talk about . . . okay, I've got a fungal infection on my foot. Ew, I know. I came home with four separate medications. It's party time. Hopefully, I'll be feeling better soon . . . I'm so sick of being sick.

Okay, now the real reason for this post. As a lot of you know (and have probably heard waaay too much about), I entered the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting Competition. It's put on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar people) and it is the most prestigious screenwriting competition out there. They award 6 writers $30,000 a piece. It's a fellowship, so it's meant to give you some extra money so you can devote more time to writing. I got the idea to do this at a screenwriting conference last year. Scott Frank (okay, now I'm shamelessly name dropping!), one of the screenwriters there, told me to enter, and if I didn't win, my script wasn't good enough. Harsh, right? He explained that the competition for screenwriting is so intense that if you don't stand out, you won't make it.

At this point I'm not even thinking about winning the whole thing (except for maybe a few moments where I imagine what I'd wear to the awards ceremony!). The real prize of this contest is getting your name out there, which is the hardest thing to do for a measly screenwriter like me. Even if you don't win a fellowship, you still get your name out if you make the quarterfinals (and the semi- and final rounds, too). The Academy sends out a list of the people who've made it into these qualifying rounds to hundreds of producers and agents. They send out a synopsis of your script, the genre type, along with contact information. Plenty of people have sold their scripts before they even have a chance to make it in the finals. Right now, my eye is on getting to the quarterfinal round.

So, a year ago I made a goal to submit 2 scripts to this competition. At that time, I only had one decent script written, only to find out at this conference, that it was 40 pages too long. I had a great idea for another script, but I doubted that I could finish it in a year (especially since Charlie was still a baby at that point).

Well, I did it! My personal deadline to submit these scripts was April 15, 2009. The month leading up to that date was murder. I had a lot of stuff going on with Charlie and church, etc. I seriously doubted I could meet my deadline much less the May 1st contest deadline. Guess when I submitted them? April 16th. I was so stinking proud of myself!

I thought that once I submitted these scripts, I would be a nervous wreck for months. Turns out, I'm at peace, writing-wise. I can not explain to you how much happiness it gave me to set a goal and meet it . . . even if it was a day late. I know that I've done the best I can do . . . and I don't mean that in a self-defeating way. I'm really proud of what I've done. Now it's in someone else's hands.

I had barely thought about the contest at all since I sent in my scripts . . . until last night. I got confirmation emails that yes, both scripts are in the competition. Kind of random to get that a month and a half later, right? Well, read part of this email and you'll know why:

"Thus far, we have received 6,378 scripts for this year’s competition. We hope to complete first-round judging by the end of July. We will then tally the results as quickly as possible. We expect about 5% of this year’s entrants to progress into the quarterfinal round of judging. If all goes smoothly, you will be hearing from us near August 1 as to your status in the competition."

5% out of 6,378? Okay. Now I'm worried.

But I guess I can't feel bad if I don't make it, right? Plus, they do this every year. I'll just keep plugging away at it. I know even if I never make it, I'll still keep trying.

Those who've asked me anything about my writing know that I'm completely secretive about it. When I'm writing something, I just don't want to talk about it. I need to keep it to myself for awhile. Now that my two scripts are done and sent away, I've decided to finally reveal what I've been working on. I'm going to (gulp!) share the summaries of my scripts I sent in. Here they are!

A Piece of Cake

Legend says that if a girl sleeps on a piece of wedding cake she'll dream of her future husband that night. Robin Jenkins believes she's met the man she dreamed about twenty years before. When she finds out the man of her dreams is engaged to her boss, she learns that destiny is not always a piece of cake.

(The "Cake" synopsis isn't that great--the actual script is a lot darker and quirky. Oh, well. It's the best I could come up with. The next one is a lot better.)

Script Girl

It's Hollywood, 1947. Kate MacArthur is a "script girl" for the struggling Bronze Age Studios. When she witnesses the murder of an aspiring actress, her uncanny eye for detail proves useful to the police investigation. As the victims pile up, gruesome secrets about Kate's co-workers threaten her loyalties and life.

Well, there it is. I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread these ideas around. The scripts are registered with the Writer's Guild, so I could totally sue your sorry butt if you do! : )

Wish me luck!