April is Script Frenzy: Let the Frenzy Begin

Script Frenzy is the annual adventure through the Office of Letters and Light that sets down the challenge: write 100 pages of a script (or scripts) during the 30 days of April.

Script Frenzy is an event, not a contest or festival. There are no prizes or judges.

The event happens online, in cities and towns, in coffee shops and libraries. People gather to write together. It is a ridiculous amount of fun. There is safety, and more importantly, motivation in numbers. (A crazy, unflinching, deadline doesn't hurt either.)

Jennifer Arzt, Program Director of Script Frenzy, has written two screenplays through Script Frenzy, and a novel through National Novel Writing Month (the SF’s sister event in November). She holds an MFA in Film, Television, and Recording Arts. Arzt, who writes because she too has stories to tell, answers some questions about everyone’s favorite short-term Screenplay Challenge - and how she first joined the Frenzy.

1. What is the value of Script Frenzy?
Script Frenzy gets people motivated to start and finish. So often the act of writing becomes a series of fits and starts, which can get a script going but makes it difficult to finish. The Script Frenzy deadline renders excuses useless; participants don’t have time to worry about their dirty dishes, squeaky brakes, a pet llama that won't spit, etc. They don't have time not to write. So, they keep writing.

The idea is to keep going even when your story tries to get away. And it will.

This is where Script Frenzy really shines. When you want to scratch everything and start again with another idea, or change your lead from a man to a woman, the Script Frenzy deadline urges you on. It keeps you committed to the story you knew was going to be great at the start. The pot-hole-riddled plot and the stubborn characters have no choice but to let you work on them - and you can't hear all their protests when you are moving at a rate of 3.33 pages per day. The plot and characters don't have the chance to boss you around or push you back to page one. The deadline becomes boss of you and your script.

The Script Frenzy draft won't be perfect. It won't shine as polished, finished products do. But it will be done. And having something to edit is an amazing way to get to the next, better, stronger draft.

2. How does Script Frenzy work?
Writers at every level of experience and know-how are challenged to write 100 pages in the 30 days of April. Participants sign up at www.scriptfrenzy.org, and on April 1 they start writing. Everyday they can login and update their total page count to date. (A fantastically motivating progress bar tracks your page count. Until you try it, it is hard to explain how motivating a few pixels can be!)

All April, participants write. To hit the 100 page mark in 30 days one only need write 3.33 pages per day. Then, on (or before) April 30, the 100-page script is uploaded and validated. And, voila! A Script Frenzy winner is born.

Writers can chip away at the 100 pages on their own, or join others in their area for write-ins that happen in cafes and libraries.

3. What tools for writers are available on Script Frenzy?
Our website has a wide variety of tools, ranging from a collection of writers' resources to forums for chatting with fellow participants.

One of my favorite features is the Cameo. We ask professional writers to offer their thoughts and ideas to our writers. The Cameo articles can range in subject from handling twist endings to utilizing minor characters. Script Frenzy participants can read How-to Cameo articles before April, and get a booster shot of knowledge from new Cameos all April long.

Pep Talks arrive in email boxes throughout the month. I send out messages of encouragement and thoughts on where I am in my writing process (since I am probably encountering a lot of the same self-doubt and plot frustrations as the participants).

And, not to be forgotten about is the Plot Machine. It generates funny – often outrageous – plot ideas. It is a great way to get brainstorming.

4. How did you get involved?
Script Frenzy's first year was back in 2007. At the time, I was firmly stuck in outline-land on three or four stories and losing faith that the outlines would ever grow into a full-fledged scripts.

Then, while procrastinating and clicking around online, I saw it: an email inquiring who else was doing Script Frenzy. I’d never heard of Script Frenzy. As I was in the middle of nothing, I had time to check it out. The challenge was set to start in three days. Then, in a matter of moments, getting my script done felt very doable.

In less than 30 days, one of my outlines emerged as a beautifully flawed script. It was the first full-length screenplay I'd completed.

At a writing event a few months later, I ran into the superstars who were responsible for putting the event on. I expressed my undying gratitude, naming-rights of my first born, and offered to help in any way I could in the future. As it turned out, they were in need of a new Program Director. I applied, had an interview at a coffee-shop just around the block for the office, and started just a few weeks later.

I still feel lucky to be allowed to work here every day.

5. What advice do you have for writers?
Stop talking about writing and write. It is as simple - and as hard - as that.