Julie in Michigan

I got inspired this week; I noted an ad for a writing contest in the Oakland Press. They want a 3-5 minute script. On impulse I clipped the ad and set it on the kitchen table. That’s an area that gets visited frequently and I need my visual reminders in plain view. A roommate once said that after we hung a curtain on a hall closet, the closet disappeared. Neither of us ever thought to look there when we were searching for something we knew was in the house, somewhere. If I can’t see it, I forget it. Makes for a mess in the bedroom but that’s another story.

So, I need to think of a story for the writing contest. I have a few of them, a few that I think about from time to time and know that I need to develop further, one that I’d like to expand into a novel, a few that would go well in a collection of short stories (maybe not too many of those), but the problem is what is right for a screen play.

I watch movies every day. I get no televised programming on my set… it’s for video only. I vary between Netflix, Blockbuster, Redbox, public library and whatever I hear of next. My current favorite is Netflix because of the streaming video. But that’s taking me off on another subject again.

I took a cinematography class last summer from Texas Woman’s University. It was a distance class but provided an excellent text book, inspirational discussion with classmates and many recommendations for movies I hadn’t yet seen. We studied color, setting, script, music, all sorts of interesting concepts related to film that we normally just process without awareness. I became more aware.

Plus, a friend of mine sold a screenplay and that really got me excited. I picked up a couple of books on how to write a screenplay – a little different than the novel or short story and started thinking about it. So, here I am with a contest requiring a 3-5 minute script. I just have to decide which story to create an excerpt from. I’m on the case.