Screengrab of quote on The Blacklist Film & TV Writer’s Calendar
Not all screenwriters are brainstorming in the writer’s room of a hit TV show or arguing dialogue lines on the set of a summer blockbuster with a director or cast member.
Many, let’s face it, most, are toiling away either waiting for their first break into the industry or doing smaller budget project with paychecks nowhere close to WGA scale.
So anything FREE is worth looking into as a screenwriter.
Two recent offerings that could assist many screenwriters hoping to make their name in a festival or spruce up their pitch or even brainstorm an idea visually are The Blacklist’s 2014 Film and Television Writing Calendar and Amazon Studio’s Storyteller.
The Blacklist Calendar is free online and filled with tons of deadlines for screenwriting contests and festivals of all kind, as well as mentorship programs such as the Women In Film Mentoring Program deadline on June 13, 2014.
Amazon Storyteller is a free storyboard program currently in beta. Now what’s in your head doesn’t have to only be on paper. It allows those of us who can barely draw a stick figure to “picture” a scene.
Both the Calendar and Storyteller have limitations.* When I visit the Calendar online, I’d love to see a way to download it or integrate with my own calendar. If that is possible, I can’t figure out how. Storyteller is only available if you are part of Amazon Studio. That might not be your cup of tea, but you can learn more about the storyboard software on tested.com, where Jeanne Bowerman, Editor of Scriptmag, took it for a drive.
Now get writing!
— AMANDA LIN COSTA
* UPDATE 1/31/13 – Turns out The Blacklist Calendar is perfect! They kindly reached out to me on Twitter and I realized my browser screen was slightly zoomed in. Links to Google/iCal version are in the lower left hand corner. I love Twitter.
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Heather Shreve
Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to new member Heather Shreve! Heather is an award-winning screenwriter, historical advisor, and content creator, as well as a master artist with four producer-ready film projects. In her youth, Japanese culture was always part of her life and has influenced her art as well as her writing and research. Heather has rich ancestral history in America, with several strong areas of knowledge, from the Keelboat Age to the 1940s. Heather resides in Maryland, has two grown children, and has authored six books. Heather spoke to us her passion for history, recent projects, and the connections between coaching and creativity.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Stephanie Okun
Please join us in welcoming new NYWIFT member Stephanie Okun! Stephanie is a screenwriter/director and recent grad from Wesleyan University. She is currently working on a feature film that she started at Wesleyan called At Sea, as well as throwing herself into Production Assistant and other entry-level jobs. She is excited to be a part of NYWIFT and get more entrenched in the world of film and television. Previously, Stephanie was a NYWIFT intern – and even wrote a few of the pieces in this series! Now, we’ve turned the microphone on her to learn about her writing, her theatrical roots, and her dreams for the future.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Mohana Rajakumar
Welcome to NYWIFT, Mohana Rajakumar! Mohana is a South Asian American scholar, novelist, screenwriter, and stand-up comic whose work regularly explores feminist themes. Some of her most notable literary accomplishments include winning the She Writes New Novelist Award in 2011 for her coming-of-age novel An Unlikely Goddess and the Best Indie Book Award for Romance in 2013 for Love Comes Later. She co-wrote and appeared in the short film Me Against the World, directed by Kali Bailey, which appeared in NYWIFT’s “Women in Film Night” at the 2022 Montauk Film Festival. Mohana has resided in Qatar since 2005. She spoke to us about working across various art forms, her writing process, and the special honor that comes with writing a banned book!
READ MORE6 Tips for Hooking a Reader in the First Pages of Your Pilot
The first pages of your pilot need to be solid — as in, a representation of your very best work — and they need to establish us in the world succinctly. Last year, NYWIFT Member and WWFC Co-Founder Katrina Medoff read hundreds of pilot scripts submitted for Women’s Weekend Film Challenge’s inaugural pilot accelerator, and she saw some general themes emerge for how to make the opening of your pilot stand out. Read on for her six tips, and learn how to apply to the next WWFC pilot accelerator.
READ MORE
