2019 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge!
30 days. Fade In. Fade Out. Write an entire zero draft.
Do you have a story you want to write? A feature length movie screenplay? An original TV pilot? A web series pilot? Short story? An epic length limerick?
The 2019 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge is for you!
September 1: You type FADE IN / “Once upon a time…”
September 30: You type FADE OUT / “…They all lived happily ever after.”
Here is some background on exactly what the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge is. On October 15, 2015, I posted this, inviting people to join me in November as I pounded out a draft of a comedy script. Hundreds of people responded.
So I posted this a few days later. Hundreds more people enlisted in the cause.
Then every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with inspirational writing quotes, videos, and handed out a daily Trumbo Award to the person who was deemed worthy for their efforts in supporting our collective cause.
A Facebook group emerged from the process, now with nearly 3,500 members. The Challenge was written up in Indiewire. Translated into Spanish. Got its own hashtag on Twitter: #ZD30SCRIPT.
Eventually over 1000 writers joined up for the Challenge. Via Facebook, Twitter, or email, nearly 200 writers let me know they had finished their Zero Drafts.
In processing all of this and noting how I had long promoted the idea that we should aim to write two scripts per year, I thought why not do a Zero Draft Thirty Challenge every March and September.
In 2016, we did precisely that as well as 2017 and 2018. Here we are in 2019 ready to strike again! And you are cordially invited.
Here is a ZD30 primer:
Why did you start Zero Draft Thirty?
NaNoWriMo, the write a novel in a month outfit, used to run Script Frenzy, but stopped it in 2012. So why not fill that space here to coincide with our writerly cohorts as they plow through their novels?
Why the name Zero Draft Thirty?
When I posted the initial announcement, I made a point that this is not about writing perfect pages, rather this is about pounding out a first draft. I noted how some writers call that initial iteration of a script a vomit draft. Some a muscle draft. And some a zero draft. GITS reader Orange Pop came up with a great title: Zero Draft Thirty.
Zero Draft = Get The Damn Thing Done Draft!
Thirty = September 1-September 30 (or March 1-March 30).
You can shorthand it: ZD30.
You mentioned Twitter. Does the Challenge have a hashtag?
Indeed it does. As you may know, I am all over Twitter, currently with 55K+ followers (@GoIntoTheStory). So whenever you Tweet anything to do with ZD30, use this hashtag:
#ZD30SCRIPT
What if we want to write a TV pilot or rewrite a script?
Absolutely you can use ZD30 for any scripted project.
So how do we interact?
Every day, I will do a Zero Draft Thirty post here. In it, I will include an inspirational quote, perhaps some reflections on the quote, add a motivational video. I invite folks to pass along ideas and comments to contribute to our collective efforts to support each other’s creativity and output.
The daily posts are cool, but again where’s the interaction part?
As you know, my posts have a comments section. That means you can click RESPONSE and write something on any/all of the ZD30 daily posts. Then I will read your responses. Other writers will read your responses. I’ll post responses to your responses. It will be responses, responses, responses, all day, all night. There’s also Twitter (#ZD30SCRIPT) and the ZD30 Facebook group. That’s interaction. Of course, we could all choose a resort location, fly there, and interact, but all those mixed drinks with little umbrellas get in the way of writing, so we best stick with our virtual online community.
What sort of responses should we make?
Anything you want, but since the whole point of the ZD30 Challenge is to motivate each of us to pound out pages and get from FADE IN to FADE OUT, at the very least, I would hope you drop in often — ideally on a daily basis — and let us know how many pages you wrote in the previous 24 hours. But feel free to share your joy… or your pain. If you need a boost, ask for it. If you feel inspired, share your insights.
So the responses are really about creating a supportive environment, right?
You took the words right out of my mouth… fingers… keyboard.
I heard you would do ‘writing scampers’. What’s that about?
Several pro writers including Jane Espenson and John August from time to time invite people via Twitter to join them in 1 hour writing sprints. We came up with writing scampers as a way of embracing the Zero Draft spirit. I’d do them most every day during the Challenge as would others. It’s a great way to feel the support of other writers knowing while you’re in a writing scamper, other Scampers are with you. By the way, our animal spirit guide is Scamper the Hamster:
What’s this thing you mentioned about The Trumbo Award?
I had an inspiration: What if each day, I select one writer based on their comments and celebrate their creative effort with this:
See that guy? That’s Dalton Trumbo. You can read about him here. He’s a famous screenwriter. But in relation to the ZD30 Challenge, it’s all about the bathtub. I mean, dude liked to write in the tub. In fact, there’s even a statue of Trumbo in his home town of Grand Junction, Colorado… in the bathtub!
So obviously we just gotta give out The Trumbo Award every day to the ZD30 participant with the best comment. I mean, c’mon, right? It’s a photo. Of a screenwriter. Writing. In a bathtub! Hopefully this hallowed award will come to be known simply as… The Trumbo. As in, “Dude, I posted an awesome comment at GITS, and I totally won The Trumbo!”
LATE BREAKING NEWS! In the past, we have presented awards honoring Dalton Trumbo and Anita Loos. For the 2019 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge, we have a new award: The Ben Hecht Award!
Ben Hecht is THE most prolific screenwriter in Hollywood history with a career spanning nearly 40 years and dozens of movie credits to his name along with countless uncredited writing gigs (including Gone With the Wind). And if you participate in the 2019 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge and post something inspirational at Go Into The Story, the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group, or the #ZD30SCRIPT Twitter feed, you could be a recipient of the brand new Ben Hecht Award!
Any other ZD30 motivational goodies?
How about your very own 2019 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge calendar created by Steven Dudley!
Note your page count progress each day. Simple thing, but a strong motivator.
So I post script pages here?
NO!!! YOU DO NOT POST SCRIPT PAGES!!! THEY ARE YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY!!! YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOUR CREATIVE OUTPUT!!! AGAIN… DO NOT POST SCRIPT PAGES HERE!!!
WAIT. SORRY. THE VOLUME LEVEL GOT STUCK ON 11. LET ME DIAL… IT… DOWN…
Ah, got it. Just to underscore this point, the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge is all about one thing: Motivating each of us to write a script draft. That’s the focus. Not reviewing script pages. Not networking. Use the Challenge to get from FADE IN to FADE OUT.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please post in comments.
The 2019 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge.
September 1: Type FADE IN / In the Beginning.
September 30: Type FADE OUT / The End.
30 days. A complete draft.
It’s cool! It’s crazy! It’s free!
Don’t forget the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group. A terrific collection of folks who post things every day, even when we’re not in a challenge.
So calling all Zeronauts, Outlaws, Scamperers, and Writing Warriors. Who’s up for pounding out a Zero Draft in September? LET’S DO THIS THING!
