This year’s Script Competition Deadline is today (June 1st) at 11:59PST. This is the last chance to submit your screenplay and teleplays to this year’s Competition. For a final bit of motivation, we are turning to past AFF Writers Conference panelists for some advice on pushing yourself to type ‘THE END’.
1. Finding My Voice
“I started just writing screenplays and I think I wrote about six and it was just finding my voice and finding out how to do it. And the biggest thing is just to do it to just get used to finishing a script. That’s the biggest thing, you don’t want to be the person who writes a script and carries it around for 20 years.”
– Paul Feig (2016 Extraordinary Contribution to Film Award Recipient; writer/director/producer Freaks and Geeks, Bridesmaids, Spy)
For more from Paul Feig, watch our On Story episode Comedy That Resonates, and/or Heroes and Anti-Heroes at onstory.tv
2. Each Script Is A Life Lesson
“When you stop halfway through anything, you just don’t complete the lesson. There is so much to learn with every script you write.”
– Victoria Strouse (writer Finding Dory)
3. You Have To Finish What You Started
“I think it’s very imperative that you finish every screenplay you begin.”
– Scott Rosenberg (writer Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Venom, Con Air, Beautiful Girls)
For more from Scott Rosenberg, watch our On Story episode Explosive Action! and/or Action! at onstory.tv
4. The Finale Is A Feat
“I would keep rewriting those scenes over and over and never finish and part of finishing is the fear of, okay I just spent a couple of months writing something now I have to read it. Did I just waste my time? So, I never wanted to finish something because I never wanted to get to that point and now writing the bullshit draft just gets me through cause looking at 120 pages of something written is such a beautiful thing…”
Gina Prince-Bythewood (Director The Old Guard; writer/director Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights)
For more from Gina Prince-Bythewood, watch our On Story episode A Conversation with Gina Prince-Bythewood at onstory.tv
Want first-hand tips on all things screenwriting?
Purchase a Badge at any level and join us at the 29th Austin Film Festival Writers Conference for four full days of Conference panels dedicated to the art, craft, and business writing.
Our 2022 Script and Film Competitions are now open for submissions!
Click here to learn more about our competitions and submit your story.
Visit onstory.tv for a closer look inside the creative process from today’s leading writers and filmmakers.