Hello all, I just registered to these boards! I am a screenwriter, and have written seven feature length screenplays--Two of which I have self produced. The first one was a comedy called Kankered which I made on a zero dollar budget in Calgary, Alberta when I was 18, and the second I just finished filming which I raised $175,000 for, entitled Black Mountain Side. It is a psychological horror. Generally I write horror, but I like to keep it fresh and write the occasional drama or comedy. I'm in the process of writing another script which is a coming-of-age drama which I plan to produce for $200,000 within the next year. Even more recently, however, I have begun writing short stories, a form of writing which is new to me. I registered here to get feedback, give feedback and to just read about problems and solutions in storytelling. My goal with my shorts are to help myself mature as a writer and hopefully bring a bit more attention to my filmmaking! Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoy my work and I look forward to reading yours.
Hello szostakiwskyj, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Writing Prompts, or the Writing Workshop, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the site rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Writing Workshop, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Writing Workshop forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
good to see you here, nick! congratulations on your lovecraft award for the 'black mountain side' script... when are you going to add your screenwriting credits and those two films to your imdb page?... or is that another 'Nicholas Alexander Szostakiwskyj' ? love and welcoming hugs, maia
Thank you dearly, In order to create an IMDb page for a film (which needs to be done before you can credit yourself) you have to meet certain requirements. The most common of which is to submit them to a film festival, which, since Black Mountain Side is still in post production, we haven't done yet! However, there has been a few news articles written about the film as of late, which we can use to create an IMDb page. So stand by! That credit will soon be on my IMDb. (I am the Nicholas Alexander Szostakiwskyj by the way). As for Kankered, it never went much further than Youtube-- But you can see it there! Just search Kankered and it should be the only thing. Go easy though, I was just starting out. Thanks again! Nick Also, I just found out about the Lovecraft award last night! Somehow that snuck past me!!
i'd say you're definitely on your way up with that under your belt... let me know if i can be of any help... hugs, m
Yeah, IMDB can be very harsh to self-produced films and won't allow many to be listed. I've got an IMDB listing which is 'healthy' but love the fact that no one here will ever know which one. Good to see another screenwriter on the forums. Often there feels like a bit too much focus on novel writing, myself included. I look forward to seeing some of your work. PS: This may not be allowable, so I'll stay vague, but for your reference I've built myself a professional reputation as a harsh but effective script and story editor. Just sayin'
Welcome to the forums! May you find yourself at home among fellow dreamers and tellers of tales. Let me know if I can help you with anything you need.. PM anytime..
Thanks again, everyone. IMDb can be harsh but that's just them making sure they aren't posting thousands of stillborn projects. They're just trying to maintain sense of exclusivity.
it's not allowable to tout your services if you do it for money, but ok if you help folks for free...
Welcome to the forum, Nick! I hope we can call you Nick - I ran out of keys on my keyboard trying to type "szostakiwskyj" and had to borrow some from my roommate to finish the job. Please read Cogito's post above - it directs you to everything you need to know about this forum and how it works. It's good to have you here!
