“Twas the Night Before Black List…”
Funny how things become traditions here at Go Into The Story. Two years ago, screenwriter Chris McCoy uploaded this series of tweets the day before the roll-out of the 2013 Black List:
“‘Twas the Night Before Black List and all through the LA / Writers were nervous — could this help them get pay?”
“Their loglines were sharp and polished with care / In the hopes that St. Franklin soon would be there.”
“The writers were ambien’d all snug in their beds / While visions of having a sustainable future danced in their heads.”
“The agent in Prada and the hopeful in Gap / Had just settled their brains (with pot) for a long winter’s nap.”
I asked Chris if we could run with his verse as a blog contest to which he kindly agreed and that led to this. It was so much fun, I decided to reprise it this year. The winner: Shannon Corbeil. So in the spirit of Christmas Eve, I thought it would be appropriate to share the poem Shannon wrote completing what Chris started. Here it is!
’Twas the Night Before Black List and all through the LA
Writers were nervous — could this help them get pay?
Their loglines were sharp and polished with care
In the hopes that St. Franklin soon would be there.
The writers were ambien’d all snug in their beds
While visions of having a sustainable future danced in their heads.
The agent in Prada and the hopeful in Gap
Had just settled their brains (with pot) for a long winter’s nap.
When, as if from a dream, there came inspiration.
One writer sat up with a funny sensation.
Away to her laptop she flew like The Flash.
For suddenly she knew how she’d earn some quick cash!
The glow from the screen was a welcoméd sight.
“Screw the rumors,” she murmured, “this can’t hurt my eyes.”
She typed and she toiled, the words flowed like wine.
She looked to the clock–would she make it in time?
With all of the talent in this wild town,
she knew she would def’nitely have to throw down.
Too many to number, the hashtags were plenty!
She thought to be safe, she’d pick ten–maybe twenty:
#amwriting! #screenwriting! #movies! #endscene!
#zerodraftthirty! #BlackList2015!
“From Facebook to Twitter! From Tumblr to Vine!
I’ll network the shit out of e’ryone online!”
For her work was not ready for laurels quite yet;
she had to be prudent when hedging her bets.
Tomorrow she’d celebrate twenty fifteen Black Listers…
but perhaps with a poem, they’d next year call her ‘sister’.
Three months of hosting and two readers’ notes?
A dream for a script that could rock next year’s boat!
So she published her words and climbed back in bed,
tucked the covers around her, and laid down her head.
Her last thoughts before sleep were not of fortune nor glory;
just heapings of thanks for Go Into The Story.
Thanks, Shannon, and to all the writers who took the time to compose a poem. I was so impressed by the submissions, not only did Shannon win the Ultra Groovy Grand Prize, two script evaluations and three months hosting on the Black List website for free, I gave away additional Uber Groovy Grand Prizes, one free Craft class of their choice I will be teaching through Screenwriting Master Class in 2016.
In the spirit of Shannon’s verse, my sincerest hope for each of you is that in 2016, you write a screenplay, teleplay, novel, short story, or poem that brings you the best of fortune and success… like making the Black List.
Happy Holidays!