Coverage Ink Client Sells Spec to Phoenix Pictures

Yeah! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! I knew this one was a winner when I first read this script 3 years ago. There was incredible energy on the page, and Javier Rodriguez' action-packed Renaissance-era hitman story was unique and just damn cool. I hit him with a blizzard of notes but also a ton of encouragement. Empowered, Rodriguez didn't flinch and went on to deliver a polish that knocks your socks off. Which further proves my theory--if you're willing to listen to constructive criticism and put in some hard work, you will be rewarded. Check out the article on the sale from Variety.com:

Phoenix Pictures has snapped up Javier Rodriguez's spec script "The Heretic" and is fast-tracking the Renaissance-era action-adventure thriller.

Story revolves around a fallen priest-turned-hitman sent by a rogue archbishop to assassinate Martin Luther, only to discover that not everyone is telling the truth.

Phoenix's Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and David Thwaites will produce. Michael Connolly of Mad Hatter Films, which manages Rodriguez, will exec produce.

Phoenix plans to start production by the first quarter.

Phoenix is in production on action-thriller "Shutter Island," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese, and announced last week that it's partnering with Gold Co. on "Amish Gone Wild." It's beginning production next month on spy thriller "Shanghai," helmed by Mikael Hafstrom.

Now is that kickass or WHAT? We say thee, huzzah! You rock, Javier!!!

Coverage Ink and Writers Boot Camp present WRITERS ON THE STORM 3

Writers on the Storm 3 - 4/21/08 to 7/11/08

Hey, I heard you missed us! We're back! I brought my pencil! (apologies to Van Halen)

And back we are, Stormies, for the third go-round! The Storm has hit! And this year we're WAY outdoing ourselves. 10,000 bucks cash grand prize. Yep, we mean it! But that's not all. How about $4,500 in Creative Cash from Writers Boot Camp? That's right, the number one place to go to kick your writing into orbit has partnered with us, and we are stoked! We refer y'all to Writers Boot Camp all the time (almost half of the Coverage, Ink and Writers on the Storm reader teams -- so far -- are WBC grads) 'cause we feel there is no better way to learn what you need to learn to smash down the fortified stone walls encircling Hollywood. (Check out their web site HERE and tell 'em Writers on the Storm sent ya!)

Okay, our prizes list this year is pretty amazing. We're over $22 grand now, which puts us in the top echelon of screenwriting contests. That's pretty cool. You can check out the full list of prizes on the contest web site. We're offering classes, seminars, script development, pitch sessions, phone conferences, books, DVDs and even a damn good cup of joe courtesy of Starbucks! (Thank you, I went landed that one myself. What can I say? I'm a fan.)

We've also increased our participating companies list to over 140. These include some of the top agencies, managers and prodcos in the business.

Now I need to make y'all aware of our whole contest philosophy. What we try to do is develop our top ten before the loglines and scripts are seen by the biz. That's why our prize package is so development-heavy. While yeah, all of us would love nothing more than to just have people fall all over our script and say, It's fantastic! I wouldn't change a syllable!, the reality is something else, trust me on that!

I've worked on a lot of contests, and sure, there were plenty of kick-butt scripts -- but more commonly there are scripts that are very good, but... Lots of times we all need a little help to get that ball into the end zone. It's the writers who embrace the fact that movies are a collaborative medium, who are receptive to input and developing their craft -- they're the ones who become known as "easy to work with," and they're the ones who get the writing jobs! The rest, well, you know that feeling of the door hitting you on the butt on the way out? (I do! Ain't exactly happy-happy-joy-joy.)

So that's why the partnership with Writers Boot Camp is such a great fit, because we both believe knowledge is power. Dedicate yourself to the craft, to doing everything you can to make sure your script is tight enough to bounce quarters off it, and you will be rewarded!

And this is also the reason we don't simply blast the list to the companies at the contest end and forget about y'all. Almost a year after the end of WOTS 2, we're still sending those contest scripts out to the industry. Even as we speak, 4 of our top ten and two honorable mentions are in at production and management companies, and our runner up Algo Por Mi is building some serious heat.

I am looking forward to seeing what amazing stuff y'all throw at us this year. We've brought aboard several new readers, industry and contest veterans all, whose opinions we trust implicitly, to make sure that we find all the yummy script-a-licious goodness out there. Our goal is to make Coverage Ink and Writers Boot Camp presents Writers on the Storm 3 (okay, that's a mouthful) the best damn screenwriting contest there is, period! So start your engines, Stormies, and hit us with your best shot!

Scribble me at writerstorm@gmail.com if you have any questions. I know y'all will ;)

Portia Jefferson
Writers on the Storm

Beyond Structure rolling into town

Hey folks, our pal (and Writers on the Storm contest sponsor) David S. Freeman's amazing seminar hits NYC and Los Angeles soon. If you've never seen this man in action, you're missing out on some goodness that can really up your game. I love this quote from Evan Somers, former staff writer for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Using something akin to the Vulcan mind meld, David has probed into the minds of Hollywood's master writers and identified all of their techniques. But the even greater feat is how David manages to articulate thee techniques better than the masters themselves. This seminar is a must." We agree! Check out the info below and then check out David's web site for all the details. Did we mentioning he's offering $50 off if you mention Writers on the Storm? Not to be missed!

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DAVID FREEMAN'S "BEYOND STRUCTURE" SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP
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L.A.'S AND N.Y.'S MOST POPULAR SCREENWRITING CLASS RETURNS!

NEW YORK: APRIL 26-27 / L.A: MAY 3-4
http://www.beyondstructure.com

DAVID S. FREEMAN'S "BEYOND STRUCTURE," L.A.'s and N.Y.'s most popular screenwriting and development workshop is back! Get $50 off if you mention "Writers on the Storm," or $100 off if you fly in from out of town or take a train with a ticket cost
of $100. As always, the workshop comes with a full money-back guarantee.

This is the workshop taken both by newcomers and by the writers, directors, producers, and execs behind "Good Will Hunting," "Austin Powers," "Runaway Bride," "E.R." "Sling Blade," "Meet the Fockers," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "E-Ring," and many other major films and series. David's 200 proven techniques will help you create stunning and original characters, dialogue, plots, and scenes.

Read the articles on the website to sample some of these powerful writing techniques. For a free brochure, call toll-free, from outside CA: (866) 239-2600, or inside CA: (310) 394-6556 -- or see the website HERE.

KILLER SCREENWRITING: Interview with Jim Mercurio

by Jim Cirile

I remember the first time I met Jim Mercurio. It was almost ten years ago, and I’d been invited to a poker game by a friend who told me it would be “an industry game.” Little did I know that the players largely consisted of the editorial staff of “Creative Screenwriting” magazine! There was Jim Mercurio, a whirlwind at the table, an H-bomb with his take-no-prisoners style, mathematician’s brain and his frickin’ uncanny Daniel Negreanu-like ability to intuit your hole cards. Curse you, Merky! Jim and I went on to work on several projects together, and we consult on each other’s material.

The thing that impresses me about Mercurio is not so much his encyclopedic knowledge of movie structure, which is amazing enough, but his uncanny facility with character. This man makes me seriously up my game in terms of thinking about my characters as real, dimensional people, not just automatons serving the needs of the plot. Jim brings psychology to the table, and as a result, he forces you to transform your characters into living, breathing, noble, flawed, brilliant yet fallible entities -- in short, real people. This sounds easy, but trust me, it’s not.

I spoke with Jim about what he’s up to post-Creative Screenwriting and about his upcoming seminar series.

Coverage, Ink: I'm sure a lot of folks remember you from your great column in “Creative Screenwriting” but also for coordinating the Screenwriting Expo contests. Tell us about what you're into lately.

Jim Mercurio: As always, I am balancing working in and around screenwriting as a teacher, consultant and gun-for-hire with finding time to write my own stuff, too. The Expo experience has been great. What I am looking forward to in my Killer Screenwriting classes and in long-term script mentoring is to have an ongoing relationship with writers and really have an impact on them. It's like the difference between Dr. Phil and your personal therapist. It was fun to reach hundreds of people all at once at the Expo, but I have very little idea if what I gave those writers is going to impact them. I like the intensive and ongoing environment which allows me to see the growth and adjust to make sure I am really being helpful to my clients and students.

CI: There's a couple of screenwriting seminars out there. How does your approach differ from the others?

Mercurio: Look, we will probably spend ten hours on structure but the 20 interactive hours where we spend time on the nitty-gritty craft is where this class is special. Maybe in spec markets past, a cool concept or good structure was enough, but now you have to be the complete writer. You have to have a great concept and good story--which is the focus of most classes and workshops -- but my class is going to elevate your scene writing, clarify your characters, improve your dialogue, sharpen your jokes and make your script the best read it can be.

CI: You've been involved in the poker world for a while, too. Tell us about that. Any possible crossover into movies?


Mercurio: Some of my connections may lead me to raising money for films and, of course, I have a rom-com set in the poker world in my head, but surprisingly the biggest effect poker has had on my life as it relates to movies is in helping me understand learning and mentoring and the importance of a dialogue, a back-and-forth in the learning process. I have had access to some of the greatest poker minds ever and as a student of the game, it has humbled me to be on the other side of learning. Teaching poker may be harder than teaching screenwriting, but I have learned unless you are one of the top 1% of people who have amazing natural talent, its about learning the craft/fundamentals. Like one of my poker mentors said to me: "Talent has nothing to do with it. There are a zillion things you have to learn before you even get to your talent." I guess I feel the same way about screenwriting craft. There are hundreds of things you can learn about screenwriting and storytelling before you pour your heart and talent into it. I am not saying that you can't write whenever or whatever you want. But if you are an intermediate writer, I have hours of material and examples that will push you to become a better screenwriter and storyteller.

CI: What do you see is the biggest mistake writers make? I think it's sending out scripts too early, or not being receptive enough to doing heavy lifting that is often required.

Mercurio: Back to the poker analogy...when an intermediate player plays against a pro, it's impossible for him to have an idea of how much better his opponent is, because he is limited in what he knows. I think so many writers are limited in their view of scriptwriting and their craft that they think their script is done, good enough. But if you have read several thousand screenplays like I have, you can quickly assess writer's weaknesses. My goal in Killer Screenwriting is for writers to leave the class with higher expectations for themselves and for every aspect of their craft, which allows them to find their own path to improving as a screenwriter.

CI: Tell us about the coolest or most remarkable thing about doing your Killer Screenwriting class.

Mercurio: I am really proud of the fact that the class is like a living and breathing work of art. A lot of the examples and clips and are taken from or inspired by the student's work. The class is never exactly the same. A portion of the class is actually tailored to what the students in that class need. For example, if I find a writer has problems with hiding exposition or reverting to clichés, I will take an excerpt from a produced movie or script and use it to illustrate how another writer was able to solve that same problem. So the class is interactive even before the first day.

CI: Thanks, Jim. Anything else you'd like to say to our readers?

Mercurio: Respect your passion and your craft. Seek out and face all of your weaknesses as a writer and push your stuff to be as good as it can be. I know you’d be the first person to agree that when you nail it and your writing is firing at all cylinders, it rises to the top. It will get you noticed. And I hope that it will change your life.

Jim's intensive, week-long Killer Screenwriting seminar is coming to NYC June 23-27 and LA July 7-11. For more info, please visit his website. Or order his KILLER ENDINGS DVD from the Writers Store HERE.

HOLY CRAP! SPECS ARE SELLING!

It was doom and gloom there for a while -- not just because of the strike, but because the feeding frenzy everyone hoped for post-strike never materialized… until now! All of a sudden, two or three specs and pitches are selling every day! Just pick up the trades
for the last week or so and you may have flashbacks to 1996.

“Lots of deals are happening right now,” says Energy Entertainment’s Jake Wagner. “A, All the studios have new full development funds to buy material because its technically the beginning of the year (because the strike went into Feb) and B, there's a lot of great material out there probably because writers had time to roll up there sleeves and write specs during the strike.”

This is great news for EVERYBODY. So if you’ve been poised all catlike to pounce, well, meow, baby! Get those scripts polished up and get ‘em out there while the damn fish are bitin’. Ahhh.

Slack Like U Mean It: Top PC Games for Writers

by Jim Cirile

Hold on thar, Babalouie. This isn’t going to be one of those articles that talk about the great writing that’s going on in video games, or about how some screenwriters are transitioning into game writing and how cool that all is. Yeah, whatever. While some of that is true, by and large, games still can’t really tell a story as well as a movie or TV show. Sure, there have been plenty of games that are well-written, going all the way back to the ground-breaking Infocom and Trillium text adventures, most notably the HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY game, written by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky, (a free version of which -- now with graphics -- can be found HERE, and the amazing ancient Commodore 64/Amiga game FAHRENHEIT 451, cowritten by Ray Bradbury himself.

But this is about kicking back and letting off a little steam. I’ve been a gamer for over 20 years, and as a writer/gamer, I have certain benchmarks that I demand of a game for me to waste my time on. First -- it needs to be smart. Doesn’t mean it needs to be literature, but it does need to be captivating and not an insult to my intelligence. Second, it needs to be easy to learn. I do not have the time to slog through a 100-page manual or learn a million different attack combinations. The best games have built-in tutorials or are intuitive. Third, they need to be FUN. That means ***Save Anywhere***. Any game that forces you to go back and do the same thing over and over until you execute a certain jump or figure out the trick to defeating the monster, yer outta there! (I’m lookin’ at you, GRAND THEFT AUTO series.) Fourth, we’re talking computer games only, not console, since while yes, GEARS OF WAR kicks serious butt, many console games still can’t Save Anywhere; plus many writers don’t own a console, but we all have a computer. And lastly, they need to be self-contained. I can’t stand massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Too demanding of my time. No offense to all you W.O.W. & STAR WARS GALAXIES fans, but the time commitment necessary to play MMORPGs, not to mention the monthly subscription cost, eliminates them from consideration. The games I return to are single-player only. Plus, as a writer, I like to isolate in my little stalagmite-encrusted cave and play against AI, not against unpredictable and irritating real-life human beings!

As I got to thinking about some current and past favorite time-wasters, I realized they fell into two categories -- big budget A-list titles with a real story and state of the art graphics -- and casual games, suitable for playing just before bed for a half hour to wind down. And so I present a wildly biased and incomplete list of games, my favorites, that could be of interest to fellow writers.

(Oh, and sorry, Mac owners, most of these are not available on the Mac -- which is why I bailed on Apple 4 years ago. OS X is great, but what the heck good is it if you can’t play TITAN QUEST on it?)

8) SCRABBLE by Hasbro Intercative. The classic game with well-executed computer AI. Plus available on Mac! You can pick this up used for about 5 bucks on eBay. You can play against up to 3 other AI opponents and set the skill level for each. Indispensible! No writer should be without this one. Improve your vocabulary; free your mind – the rest will follow.

6 and 7) THE ORANGE BOX by Valve Software. The best deal in PC gaming history, developer Valve includes not one but THREE amazing games in one box—cartoony but fun online role-playing game TEAM FORTRESS, and the real stars of the show -- HALF-LIFE 2 episodes 1 and 2, and PORTAL.

HALF-LIFE is the most successful PC game ever, and HALF-LIFE 2 won more Game of the Year awards than any other game in PC history. The two sequels included in this package are story-driven first person shooters where you play a freedom fighter who teams with a cute AI-controlled female sidekick and a robotic dog to take out an alien invasion. Easy to learn and challenging but not frustrating, the Half-Life series is well-written and about as good as it gets. Even better, the graphics engine delivers fantastic cinematic visuals even on mid-range computers. You ARE playing a movie.

To ice the deal, Valve blew everyone’s minds by including PORTAL as a freebie in The Orange Box. A fiendishly clever and unexpectedly hilarious puzzle game, you play a gal trapped like a rat in a maze, your only tool -- a gun that can shoot dimensional gateways in the walls. This game will change the way you think about space and get you thinking in three dimensions -- a real blast. Pay attention to the snarky and delightfully unhelpful voiceovers throughout. Wonderful!

Oh, did I mention this box also includes the butt-kicking Game of the Year HALF-LIFE 2? Check it out HERE: http://orange.half-life2.com/


5) BOOKWORM by Popcap Games. I have been playing Bookworm for 4 frickin’ years. It is the crown jewel in Popcap’s casual game crown. Gameplay is as simple as it gets. You are presented with a grid of letters. Spell words to get points -- the longer the word, the more points you get. But beware the burning tiles! There is nothing quite like the feeling of spending six bloody months playing the game, building up a score of 28 million or so, only to suddenly have a blizzard or burning Q’s rain down on you and realize that you are done for, your championship game doomed. Yet you will find yourself starting all over again regardless. Curse you, BOOKWORM! Cheap, fun, and can run on any computer. If you’re a writer and don’t have BOOKWORM, you’re missing a great way to build your vocabulary and while away your life. www.popcap.com

4) BIOSHOCK by 2K Games. Gripping and well-written, BIOSHOCK casts you as a survivor of a futuristic art deco underwater city from the ‘50s on its last legs and overrun by splicers -- former humans who have mutated themselves rather unpleasantly through genetic manipulation. BIOSHOCK features an enthralling, twisting, well-written story that sucks you in, but what really gets you about this game is the art direction, about the Best Ever in a game. You WILL believe you really are in this flooding, dying city. It’s creepy and sick and scary. And it has adventure game components that keeps the gameplay interesting -- you’re not just shooting stuff. But you’ll need a pretty beefy computer to run this one will all the visual bells and whistles. http://www.2kgames.com/bioshock/


3) SAM & MAX SEASON ONE by Telltale Games. An old school Lucas Arts-style graphic adventure game. Sam is a gumshoe private eye dog, and Max is his insane rabbitty-thing companion. Both are packin’. Do you like wacky cartoon humor with a slight infusion of implied (but not actually seen) extreme violence? (Fear not -- the game stays solidly in the PG realm. Mostly.) The colorful, cartoony graphics and bizarre logic percolating here make this series a hilarious choice suitable for (almost) the whole family. Sort of. Don’t be put off and think this one’s a kiddie game. There’s fantastically funny, demented writing at work and some fiendish puzzles. Play an entire episode for free here: http://www.telltalegames.com/community/blogs/id-268

2) BOOKWORM ADVENTURES by Popcap Games. The people behind the insanely addictive BOOKWORM strike back with a game that in many ways improves on the original by adding an adventure game component and a silly (but very amusing) story. As Lex the Bookworm, you go on a series of quests fighting mythological creatures by spelling words. As in BOOKWORM, the bigger the word, the more powerful your fu. A truly great game for writers, the only letdown here is the actual game is kinda short. You can finish it in about 15-20 hours. But there is replay value here, because you unlock minigames (one of which is just like GSN’s “Lingo”) and you’ll likely finding yourself playing through the whole thing again from scratch when you complete it. www.popcap.com

1)PUZZLE QUEST by Infinite Interactive. Greatest game ever? Probably not, but certainly the greatest match-3 game ever. Just try to stop playing. The execution of PUZZLE QUEST is genius. On the surface, it’s a simple match-3 game. We’ve all played these to death (you probably have BEJEWELED on your cell phone.) But unlike BEJEWELED, which quickly gets L-A-M-E, this one leaves the ‘suck’ out in the mudroom by implementing an actual storyline and mini quests in a fantasy role playing game context. All the combat in the game is done by matching 3 or more tokens on the battle grid, but you win gold and experience points from your battles which you can use to buy spells, weapons, fortresses and level up your character. A match-3 game where you can siege enemy cities? Believe it. Best of all, the depth is amazing. I’ve been playing it for 2 months now and there’s no end in sight. At $20 and playable on even the puniest PC, this one is a solid choice for pretty much anyone. www.bigfishgames.com

Last but not least, here are 9 Honorable mentions.

BIG KAHUNA REEF and BIG KAHUNA WORDS. BIG KAHUNA REEF is another match-3 game but is notable for its co-op mode and virtual fishtank. Plug in a second mouse and have at it with a friend. BIG KAHUNA WORDS is the word game version. Fun but not as compelling as either BOOKWORM or BOOKWORM DELUXE. http://www.reflexive.com/BigKahunaReef.html

WORD WHOMP. A fairly weak entry but fun for word puzzle enthusiasts. You’re given 6 letters and have to spell as many words from them as you can before you run out of time. More addictive than it should be and great if you only have 5 minutes. www.bigfishgames.com

PREY. A big-budget shooter now available as a download on Steam.com for $20, this game features great dialogue, a Native American protagonist and some of the creepiest alien environments I’ve ever seen. But the game’s real special sauce is your ability to walk up walls and on ceilings, which is a trip and a half. http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=3970

SYSTEM SHOCK 2. The original bad-ass sci-fi horror role-playing game. The graphics are kind of dated now, but this one set the standard few have lived up to. Truly creepy and addictive. BIOSHOCK is a “spiritual sequel” to this one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock_2

DREAMFALL. A wonderful time-traveling adventure with a female protagonist. Great graphics and a compelling story. A great entree into gaming especially for ass-kicking adventure-loving gals. www.dreamfall.com

THE INDIGO PROPHECY (FAHRENHEIT in Europe.) Notable for voice work by our pal David Gasman, star of SHOWDOWN OF THE GODZ, this is a cinematic action game unfairly overlooked by many but remains a gripping and well-written action/adventure story worth your time. You can find this one for 10 bucks on Amazon. http://www.atari.com/indigo/

POSTAL 2. Most Messed-Up Game Ever. This game infamously received a 0 Stars rating from Computer Gaming World magazine, who completely missed the point. This game features sick, dark, laugh-out-loud humor and completely over-the-top violence. If the idea of trampling Gary Coleman to death with a herd of elephants and attacking innocent people with a diseased cow’s head is not your idea of fun, stay away! All others, check your ethics at the door and have a blast. www.runningwithscissors.com

TITAN QUEST by THQ. Notable for its script written by none other than BRAVEHEART writer Randall Wallace, TITAN QUEST casts you as a male or female warrior or magic user in ancient Greece and sets you off on a series of, well, quests, to save the world from the scourge of the Gods. While the story and mythology are well-handled, this one’s all about the action. Huge battles, great graphics and easy point & click gameplay make this a wonderfully fun black hole which dutifully sucks your life away. Make sure you buy TQ packaged with the Immortal Throne expansion pack, which fixes some of the niggles from the original game and adds a ton of cool new features. www.titanquestgame.com

Give Your Writing a Swift Kick

Writers on the Storm partner Writers Boot Camp is currently accepting applicants for their Spring/Summer Sessions. We recommend WBC to our clients all the time for one very simple reason: it is the fastest and most effective way to improve your screenwriting craft. Period. Here's a few of the 2007 releases written by WBC grads: BLADES OF GLORY, OCEAN'S THIRTEEN, THE OFFICE, WHO'S YOUR CADDY?, THE STARTER WIFE, GREY'S ANATOMY... Are you getting the picture? We knew that you would.

The next Basic Training Session begins April 24th. In Basic, you try to hammer out a single rough draft, with notes for further development. This is for people who don't want to dive too deeply into the process -- a great start for novices.

The next Think Tank Session begins Thursday, May 1st and it is already filling up. Think Tank is a lifetime professional membership with a one-time cost that begins with 24 months of part-time coursework in which we arm the writer with an initial arsenal of 3 to 5 FULLY DEVELOPED projects and provide ongoing benefits with continuity. In Think Tank, the focus is on Full Development and an empowered rewrite process.

Think Tank (or Professional) Membership has a lot of exclusive benefits, including parties, readings and Speaker Events. Just in the past year we've had Barry Levinson, Nancy Meyers and Paul Haggis speak to our Membership. We have speaker events for our members already scheduled this month, if you enroll for the May 1st session, you can attend those events and get started with immediate preclass creative support.

We find it helpful for writers to revisit these two links on our website. One explains, in detail: the distinctions of Writers Boot Camp, and the other deals with common misconceptions about the screenwriting business that many people have -- including industry professionals.

Sessions are filling up -- don't let another year go by without getting the Tools of Full Development so you can confidently practice the science of screenwriting.

Please contact Robert at 310/998-1199 ext. 310 (rfisher@writersbootcamp.com) for more details and to discuss eligibility requirements. Check out the WBC website for details on our success stories. You can also submit a Career Survey (http://www.writersbootcamp.com/eligibility_form.asp). Make sure you mention that you heard about them from Coverage, Ink!

THE STORM IS ABOUT TO HIT

WRITERS ON THE STORM 3
call for submissions
Regular entry: 4/21-7/11/08

Batton down the hatches--the STORM is about to hit! Writers on the Storm Screenplay Competition is back for its third year and is bigger and badder than ever. WOTS is run by #1 independent screenplay analysis service Coverage, Ink -- by writers, for writers. And this year we're pulling out ALL the stops to make WOTS one of the top 5 screenwriting contests.

*** $10,000 CASH GRAND PRIZE ***
Over $20,000 value cash and prizes for our top ten
Top ten screenplays developed by Coverage, Ink
Top Ten loglines submitted to 140+ companies
Every submission receives feedback
$40 entry fee OR...
FREE entry with any Coverage, Ink screenplay analysis

But that's not all. Entries are $40, or submit TWO copies of the same script--which will be evaluated by two different readers--for $75 (only the higher score will count.) Plus WOTS is the ONLY screenplay competition that gives your a second -- or third or fourth -- chance!

Here's how it works: any script submitted to CI for analysis during the contest period is automatically entered into the contest. Scripts that receive a consider with reservations or better for script (roughly top 10%) advance to the quarterfinals. Writer has the option of polishing the script and resubmitting the new draft--theoretically upping you chances--either to CI (as many times as you want) or to WOTS until the end of the contest. No other contest gives you this opportunity!

And our prize package has to be seen to be believed, with sponsors including Writers Boot Camp, Starbucks, trackingB.com, inkTip, David S. Freeman Seminars, Jim Mercurio's Killer Screenwriting, Blake Snyder's Save the Cat!, The Writers Store, Screenwriters Initial Draft Pad, Scriptblaster, Coverage, Ink, Creative Screenwriting, Great American Pitchfest, Alameda Writers Group and more, NO other contest offers such a development-heavy prize package!

"I appreciate how professionally Writers on the Storm was run, the seriousness of their feedback, and the level of involvement of the contest organizer. Great communication between the Contest and participants. My emails were always responded and deadlines well-met... something very rare with screenwriting competitions." -- Juan Sebastian Jacome, 2007 Runner-Up, Algo Por Mi

"I just wanted to thank you for the extensive notes on the AAA Grand Prize winning script Felix the Flyer. I was so impressed that I contacted several writers who have asked me to recommend a coverage service to say you are the tops." -- Chris Canole, AAA winner
ENTER ONLINE at www.coverageink.com or www.writerstorm.com