Several TSA members have recently received recognition for their works on page and on the screen: Elvis Wilson’s screenplay, Strawberry Plains, made the list of semi-finalists in the drama feature category for the Austin Film Festival screenwriting contest, while his comedy script, Strike and Spare, is a finalist in National Lampoon and Stage 32’s Search … More TSA members’ scripts, films earn notice
The Tennessee Screenwriting Association is holding a horror-themed short screenwriting contest for our Halloween meeting. Writers, bring your five-page script to the Oct. 31 meeting at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film. Scripts will be read live by our stellar cast of members with the best script to be voted on at the conclusion of the meeting. Make them scary, shocking, filled with thrills and chills or unnerving suspense. Monsters, aliens, serial killers, it’s your script. Thrill us. … More Get your spook on! TSA launches Halloween short script contest
Nashville filmmaker/screenwriter Elvis Wilson’s FOGG pits a “cold and calculating sociopath” against a neuroscientist looking to cure such behavior in a tense, psychological thriller. Wilson recently shared how the movie moved from script to screen and how the Tennessee Screenwriting Association was an integral part in its development. … More Wilson: TSA’s input invaluable in development of ‘Fogg’
Tennessee Screenwriting Association member Bob Giordano’s film debut, The Odds, has landed the coveted closing night spot on Oct. 7 at the prestigious Raindance Film Festival. A psychological game of cat and mouse between captor and captive, the film previously won Best Horror Feature Film at the New York City International Film Festival and Graveyard … More Giordano beats ‘The Odds’; wins closing night spot at Raindance
Guy1: What’s the threat to the protagonist? Guy2: We don’t need a specific threat. It’s never addressed. Guy1: Is there a threat to the protagonist? Guy2: There’s a threat to all of them [the characters]. Guy1: What is it? Guy2: It’s not important. We don’t need to define that. The audience doesn’t care. Unlike the … More Conversations From Hollywood: Stakes Are High for Protagonist
Plot Point 1 and Plot Point 2 are opt-out decisions. The other 5 Decisions demonstrate a character arc. There may be more Opt-out Decisions throughout your screenplay but want to try for at least those 7.
The 7 Decisions MAY be the Plot Point 1, Plot Point 2 or Midpoint decisions but don’t have to be. Usually Plot Point 1 is a reflection of the protagonist’s decision to undertake the challenge of Act 2.
Question: Does the protagonist’s need & want exist before the movie even begins? Answer: Yes.
Ask yourself this: what do my characters want? Not just your main character, which is a huge ginormous duh. You know, the other guys running around in your world. Recently I watched a very funny BBC sitcom called ‘Whites’ which features a dysfunctional kitchen crew in a high-end eatery. In this show, every character has … More Give Them Some Wants
1000 other screenwriting contest are out there. We’re primarily an educational organization and thus, our contest is created in such of way to provide education to empower you, the writer, to become better. We also offer opportunities for our winning writers to develop relationships with people already working in the business where they can learn, … More TSA Contest, Good for the Environment! And totally vegan! Num!
