So I've been thinking a lot about screenwriting competitions of late. The deadline is today for one particular competition - Scriptapalooza. I've entered it several years running and last year - yay me - my screenplay, The Guide, was a semi-finalist.
But the question perplexes me... as it does all artists... when will I "make it"? If no one reads your scripts, are you a writer? If no one looks at a piece of "art", was it ever created? And if my manager never answers my call, do I have one?
The self-reflexivity of art is the curse of its nature. We need an I-Thou relationship for it to be made real. And, for our egos to feel satisfied... to know that we brought laughter, tears or outright derision to an audience.
But what happens if your work is never appreciated? When do you give up the ghost and focus on other things in life? Do you need to?
As you can see, it must be the fifth of the Month - doubting day. But this is a question I've long contemplated only because, I want to have a family and a stable life. I can't stand around forever beating on a door no one answers. It's very Kafka-esque, you know?
This life, this country, this time demands we make a nut to support our butt. That's right, I'm a rhyming poet too. Jew. Bottom line, can I work a day job, write scripts on the nights and weekends AND raise a family? In my mind, they don't all seem to fit. And I don't want to be the guy telling his kid I can't wipe his ass because I'm in the middle of a scene.
(That's right, another reference... this one to The King of Kong... an awesome documentary. Check it out. Which brings up another topic, why didn't it get nominated for an Oscar? All the frickin' Oscars, which not that many people saw by my recollection, were serious. But great docs don't have to be about war. They can be about obsessive people vying for control of a very small sandbox. See Fast Cheap and Out of Control.)
So I've formed a list of screenwriting competitions. And I'm going to submit my newly minted script to each one of them. And in the meantime, I'm going to keep writing. It's all I can do. Even if it's not my "job". Stupid artistic inclinations.
Those competitions, btw, are:
Scriptapalooza
Nicholls Fellowship
PAGE International
Austin Film Festival
But the question perplexes me... as it does all artists... when will I "make it"? If no one reads your scripts, are you a writer? If no one looks at a piece of "art", was it ever created? And if my manager never answers my call, do I have one?
The self-reflexivity of art is the curse of its nature. We need an I-Thou relationship for it to be made real. And, for our egos to feel satisfied... to know that we brought laughter, tears or outright derision to an audience.
But what happens if your work is never appreciated? When do you give up the ghost and focus on other things in life? Do you need to?
As you can see, it must be the fifth of the Month - doubting day. But this is a question I've long contemplated only because, I want to have a family and a stable life. I can't stand around forever beating on a door no one answers. It's very Kafka-esque, you know?
This life, this country, this time demands we make a nut to support our butt. That's right, I'm a rhyming poet too. Jew. Bottom line, can I work a day job, write scripts on the nights and weekends AND raise a family? In my mind, they don't all seem to fit. And I don't want to be the guy telling his kid I can't wipe his ass because I'm in the middle of a scene.
(That's right, another reference... this one to The King of Kong... an awesome documentary. Check it out. Which brings up another topic, why didn't it get nominated for an Oscar? All the frickin' Oscars, which not that many people saw by my recollection, were serious. But great docs don't have to be about war. They can be about obsessive people vying for control of a very small sandbox. See Fast Cheap and Out of Control.)
So I've formed a list of screenwriting competitions. And I'm going to submit my newly minted script to each one of them. And in the meantime, I'm going to keep writing. It's all I can do. Even if it's not my "job". Stupid artistic inclinations.
Those competitions, btw, are:
Scriptapalooza
Nicholls Fellowship
PAGE International
Austin Film Festival
Just keep writing Kris. That way when you make it I can retire early and kick it in your mansion.