After putting aside the setback of losing my first draft of the Dig Down script and adapting Lock the Doors into a screenplay, I found myself at an impasse of what to do next. I can almost hear the suggestion: start pitching to studios, or hire an agent. And those were both things I definitely wanted to do.
The problem with going that route is that although I had a completed draft, and one with a few rounds of edits under its belt, I still had no idea where my script stood in terms of being on a professional level. And a pitfall with this industry is that you may only get one chance to pitch your story to a studio or agent. If it doesn’t come across as polished and professional, you might burn through a lot of potential opportunities.
I felt the best course of action was to enter Lock the Doors in some screenwriting competitions. This method wasn’t pitching to get representation or a deal done, it was a way to determine how my screenplay compared, not only to industry standards, but against other hopeful screenwriters.
I opted for the 13Horror.com Film & Screenplay Contest because it also offered feedback and notes on entries, and if I submitted early enough, would have the chance to make revisions based on their notes and recommendations and resubmit. I felt this would be extremely beneficial because not only would I see where I ranked against other entrants, but I would also receive critiques that pinpointed what I did well and what I needed to improve on.
On July 15th of last year, the lead judge got back to me last summer with the much anticipated notes, which I will share in a post later this week. To summarize, there were some good notes, and to be honest, more than I expected. Aside from adapting Dig Down, I had only ever written one other screenplay, another thriller called On the River, and the only feedback I had ever received on that was that it was not selected when I entered it into Scriptapalooza.
In short, even adapted from a story people enjoyed, I’m not a screenwriter, and I do find shifting from an author mindset to that of a screenwriter an adjustment. So this was huge to get some positive notes.
However, there were also areas that I needed to address, which again, to me is fair, given I was stepping out of my comfort zone. And the deadline to re-submit was midnight on July 23rd, leaving me just 8 days to take their critiques, decide what I wanted to implement, and execute on this new vision.
More to come…