Update: “Go Into The Story: The Quest”
I have got about 400 loglines left to review which I should finish late tonight and that will be that for the official submission process for “Go Into The Story: The Quest” [For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, you may go here to find out more].
Tomorrow [Monday, June 25] at 6PM Eastern, I will start sending out emails to writers whose loglines make the first round cut. I can’t give an accurate number yet because I don’t know what I’ll find in these remaining submissions and I’ve got to put on my producer’s hat [i.e., Max Millimeter needs to weigh in] on the preliminary list of possibilities I’ve accumulated. If I had to guess, I will be contacting no more than 30, no fewer than 20.
Once I hear back from all the writers I contact and they agree to move forward to the next part of the process, I will make public their names [perhaps as early as Tuesday, more likely Wednesday, June 27]. Those writers will need to provide information including a writing resume [basically your background and history as a writer], story synopsis [if you have fleshed out anything more of your logline], writing sample [screenplay or screenplay excerpt, short story, novel excerpt], bio, plus a brief questionnaire.
The rest of the schedule as previously announced:
Thursday, June 28: Information due from first round writers.
Saturday, June 30: Emails to writers who make the second round to set up phone calls with me.
Sunday, July 1-Monday, July 2: Phone calls.
Friday, July 6: Contact the Questers.
Monday, July 9: Announce the Questers.
Monday, July 16: The Quest begins!
Let me add a few wrinkles to the situation:
Believe it or not, once I get through the selection process, I am going to review the entire set of submissions again over a 2–3 month period. On this first pass, I’ve been relying on my initial instincts and gut feelings which is, frankly, pretty much how Hollywood buyers react in the moment to a new story idea. However I want to dig deeper into your concepts as there may be some ‘gems’ that aren’t so obvious. Or some might have the kernel of something that could come alive if it was reworked a bit. Or maybe even a conceit that could become quite interesting if it was a different genre.
In other words, if I don’t get in touch with you tomorrow, I may be contacting you down the road.
What does that mean? For instance, you may have demonstrated a commercial sensibility in the loglines you submitted to me, but not quite hit the mark with one just yet. In that case, I may agree to work with you as a sounding board as you brainstorm ideas.
Or I may find your idea intriguing, but it’s one of those stories that requires more information to make an accurate assessment. So I might ask you work up a treatment.
In any case, it’s entirely possible that I may decide to take on a select few writers ‘on the side,’ in effect doing a private one-on-one version of The Quest with them, again for free. Same goal: Come up with a great first draft which we would then move into writer-producer mode in terms of rewrites, going to market, and so on.
The fact is this entire process has opened up new possibilities. For example, while your logline may not make the final or even preliminary cut, I may sense something intangible there. In that case, perhaps I contact you to provide moral and creative support. Maybe I send you some or even all the Core lectures to help you develop your theoretical understanding of screenwriting. Or set up a phone call to talk about your story ideas and where you are as a writer.
All I know is in reviewing over 4000 loglines, it certainly feels like I have intersected with a lot of talented writers. I want to make sure I give each and every one of you the opportunity for your creativity to be heard.
As to the free Core or Craft course with me: That is going to happen. I have come up with three ways to provide that opportunity for all “Quest” entrants: (1) First-come, first-serve admission into courses as I offer them [my entire schedule through the end of 2012 is here]. (2) As each course is offered, you may request the lectures in lieu of waiting to take a class. (3) A series of 2-hour webinars, condensed version of the classes with a live Q&A component. I plan on starting that process in conjunction with the upcoming cycle of Core classes which I will be offering on a bi-weekly basis starting with Core I: Plot on July 23rd.
Let me close with this: With over 4000 loglines and perhaps as few as 20 writers chosen, most of you will not get an email tomorrow or thereafter. That does not mean your story idea isn’t a good one. As noted here, I have been wrong before.
Indeed if you believe strongly that you do have a great story idea, you have honestly evaluated it with the question “Is this a movie,” and it has passed that test, why not Go On Your Own Quest [details here]?
Finally I can’t begin to count the number of Tweets, blog comments and emails I have received from people who say this process has not only stoked their creative fires, it has motivated them to raise their game: think harder about story concepts; learn more about the craft; read scripts and watch movies; do more story analysis.
That is extremely gratifying to hear and a benefit of this initiative I hadn’t anticipated. So much so that even before I have had a chance to see this process through, I am inclined to do a second version of “Go Into The Story: The Quest”. If I do decide to go forward with that, we could be looking at November for a new round of logline submissions with the hope of selecting four other writers to have the opportunity to go through the 24-week Quest workshop with me — for free — starting in January 2013.
So while you should be generating story ideas as part of your creative routine anyway, you might use the possibility of a second “Quest” as additional motivation.
To each of you who submitted a logline or loglines, I tip my cap. It takes courage to put your creativity out there. Some of you will hear from me via email tomorrow. Others maybe later. But all of you who submitted loglines to me, no matter what the result with this initiative, have taken steps forward on your screenwriting journey. And as hard as it is, as much as the odds are against each of us to write and sell a spec script, as challenging as it can be to conjure up a great story idea out of nothing, the simple fact remains: The possibility exists for you to do it.
I will continue to do whatever I can here on GITS to provide information and inspiration to the online screenwriting community. I will continue to look for ways I can create alternate paths for outsiders into Hollywood. And I will continue to believe in you.
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