The Screenwriters Network Podcast: A Screenwriting Podcast for Emerging Writers! - How to Write a Killer Short Screenplay featuring Fred Pelzer (@National2080)

How to Write a Killer Short Screenplay featuring Fred Pelzer (@National2080)

02/21/20 • 64 min

The Screenwriters Network Podcast: A Screenwriting Podcast for Emerging Writers!

A brand spanking new special episode has arrived! In this episode Smish discusses the selection process for the first annual Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition with Fred Pelzer (aka @National2080), a moderator of the Screenwriters Network discord server and a reader for the contest.

They go into great detail about the judgment process for selecting the 100 Quarter-Finalists and let a lot of great screenwriting advice slip along the way. If you want to know what separates a great horror short screenplay from a good one, this episode is for you!

Smish and Fred discuss:

What Separated Certain Scripts (8:54)
Putting in a Twist (12:32)
Location, Location, Location (18:18)
Script Length (21:40)
Great Dialogue (30:55)
Different Styles of Horror (35:09)
Loglines (43:32)
I’ve Never Seen That Before (49:15)

Many thanks to our sponsors, Shudder, Final Draft, WeScreenplay, Script Butcher, Virtual Pitchfest, Screencraft, Oregon Scream Week, Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest, Coverfly and FilmFreeway.
Join the Discord Server
Interact with over 5000 screenwriters around the world, including Alison and Fred!
http://thescreenwritersnetwork.com

Get Exclusive Extras

Did you know that all VIP members Silver and up got one free entry to the Killer Shorts contest? To become a VIP on Patreon and get ad-free monthly episodes 2 weeks before everyone else plus exclusive bonus audio content: http://www.patreon.com/screenwritersnetwork

Did you enjoy the podcast? Let us know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/screenwriters-network-podcast-screenwriting-podcast/id1488865880

Smish and Fred discuss:

What Separated Certain Scripts (8:54)
Putting in a Twist (12:32)
Location, Location, Location (18:18)
Script Length (21:40)
Great Dialogue (30:55)
Different Styles of Horror (35:09)
Loglines (43:32)
I’ve Never Seen That Before (49:15)

Get Exclusive Extras

Did you enjoy the podcast? Let us know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/screenwriters-network-podcast-screenwriting-podcast/id1488865880

Previous Episode

Interview with Black List Screenwriter Logan Martin aka The Meat Guy (@KingDefault)

This month our host Smish meets Screenwriter Logan Martin -- @KingDefault -- the writer of the polarizing script MEAT. Logan talks about getting the coveted impressive rating on review blog site Scriptshadow and how it led to him getting signed by Good Fear and having his script optioned by Assemble Media. He has been featured on the Black List, The Blood List, and his first feature finished in the top 20% of the Nicholl fellowship.

Logan gives great insight on how to block out the haters and to be fearless when sharing your writing! MEAT was a polarizing script, and Logan goes deep into the story and the opportunities it created for him. Then we get his views on breaking the rules of screenwriting and utilizing structure!

Smish and Logan discuss:

The Scriptshadow Review (1:37)
Dealing with Negative Feedback (7:14)
MEAT (17:48)
Breaking Rules in Screenwriting (28:55)
Approach to Structure (34:50)

Sponsored by ScriptUp
ScriptUp provides in depth coverage to help screenwriters improve their work!
Head to https://scriptupstudio.com and enter discount code TSN10 for 10% off today!
Join the Discord Server
Interact with over 5000 screenwriters around the world, including Logan!
http://thescreenwritersnetwork.com

Get Exclusive Extras

VIP members get a bonus 15 minutes of premium content where Smish and Logan get into the good stuff. Logan answers questions from our VIP members and even lets us know his favorite kind of meat! Best of all, Smish finds a typo on page 39.

To become a VIP on Patreon and get ad-free episodes 2 weeks before everyone else plus exclusive bonus audio content: http://www.patreon.com/screenwritersnetwork

More about Logan:

Logan doesn’t have a website or twitter, but his username is @KingDefault in the Discord server. We have him all to ourselves!

Did you enjoy the podcast? Let us know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/screenwriters-network-podcast-screenwriting-podcast/id1488865880

Next Episode

Interview with Comedian, Actress and Screenwriter Andy Erikson (@Gigawatt)

In this episode, smish meets with Andy Erikson -- @Gigawatt -- a real jack of all trades. Andy is known for her recurring role as Marguerite Honeywell on Scream Queens, as well as placing third on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Andy is also a prolific screenwriter who recently placed as finalist in the Walt Disney television writing program. Her screenplays have made it to the second round at the Austin Film Festival and the Sundance episodic lab.

Get Hype! Andy gives the inside scoop about how she got started writing and how she approaches starting a new idea. Andy reveals all about the Walt Disney writing program and how she made it as a finalist. Then she talks about getting heckled as a screenwriter (it’s possible after all) and her own writing projects!

We also get a very special treat, an original song about screenwriting: Cold Openings (26:15).

Smish and Andy discuss:

Stand Up Comedy versus Screenwriting (1:47)
Character Introductions and Descriptions (9:49)
Walt Disney Writing Program (12:26)
Writer’s Rooms (23:11)
#OneMinuteGo (32:03)
Sundance Episodic Lab (34:56)
Networking (39:56)

Sponsored by ScriptUp
ScriptUp provides in depth coverage to help screenwriters improve their work!
Head to https://scriptupstudio.com and enter discount code TSN10 for 10% off today!

Join the Discord Server
Interact with over 5000 screenwriters around the world, including Andy!
http://thescreenwritersnetwork.com

Get Exclusive Extras

Gold Level VIP Members get a bonus 20 minutes of Andy and the origin story of her username, Gigawatt. We find out who would win in a fight between screenwriters and comedians, and then we get Andy’s take on the fight that really matters: unicorns versus squirrels!

And finally, Andy answers questions from our members! And of course unicorns get brought up again! Check out her site where she literally rates pictures of unicorns:

https://unicornratings.tumblr.com/

More about Andy:

Andy is a moderator on our Discord Server. You know her as @Gigawatt !

Twitter: @andyerikson Websites: http://www.andyeriksonwriter.com and http://www.andyerikson.com/

WATCH Andy's comedy special UNICORN STYLE: https://www.vidangel.com/movie/andy-erikson-unicorn-style

Also check out The Stand Up Comedy Journal here: https://thestandupcomedyjournal.com/product/the-stand-up-comedy-journal/

Did you enjoy the podcast? Let us know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/screenwriters-network-podcast-screenwriting-podcast/id1488865880