Skip to main content

The Story of a Nicholl Semi Finalist



“Writing is a lonely art. You tend to sit on your own in a room without a whole lot of feedback, and frankly, your mother’s feedback, your dad’s feedback is not really what you want because they love and adore you. You actually want to read the tough feedback from professional readers or from the agents or managers that you submit your material to in your great quest to get representation.” – Peter Samuelson, screenwriter.

Contests are a great way to get feedback that every writer needs—to understand what is working in the script and what’s not. I chose to enter my drama screenplay, Coaching Class in the Finish Line Competition in 2016 because they promised to give me feedback for my script. What’s more, based on the evaluation, I could re-submit a revised draft. This enabled me to improve my script taking it to the top of the contest table and winning a first runner-up place. 

While a contest win can be a great ego boost, it actually is much more than that. It enhances a writer’s credentials. Being ranked among the winners of credible contest improves your chances of getting a foot in the door and having your work read by people who make films and are on the lookout for great scripts. 

The Finish Line competition gave me the confidence to approach a number of top production companies, both in India and in Hollywood as well as agents. Meanwhile, the most prestigious screenwriting contest – the Academy Nicholl Fellowships – which is organised by the same people who run the Oscar Awards came up. And I decided to enter Coaching Class in Nicholl’s. If it ranked well,  the chances of it being read by industry professionals across the world would improve manifold. If not, I had nothing to lose!  

In July, results season rolled in. And to my great surprise—and delight—Coaching Class had made it to the Quarter Finals. It was one of 361 (out of a total number of 7100 entries) to have made the cut. Excitement kicked in even though I knew the next leg of the contest would be much tougher. By August, I was informed that my script was only one of 151 scripts to advance to the Semi Finals round. I was well and truly stunned and super happy, once it began to sink in. 

The feedback from the judges was also sent to me.  One judge said, “This drama, set in India, has an interesting, involving story that is full of tension and conflict. Careful attention has been paid to structure and both the main plot and the subplots have strong development.” 

Another remarked, “The characters are richly detailed and their goals and dreams feel appropriate and unique to each of their character arcs. Even the ancillary characters…have interesting backstories.”
More importantly, they pointed out what needed work in the story. Unlike Finish Line though, I did not have the chance to submit a revised version. But reaching the Semi Finals of Nicholl’s has boosted my confidence and given me the calling card I need for future interactions with film industry professionals. 

Even though the script did not make it to the Finals, I feel immensely proud to be walking in the footsteps of two-time Nicholl Semi Finalist Michael Arndt (among many other prominent screenwriters) who went on to win the Best Screenplay Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine.

Samuelson puts it succinctly: "There is no great victory in writing a script that isn't produced unless it was a stepping stone while you were perfecting your craft in order to be able to write a script that did get made into a film. You just need to do it."












Comments

  1. Congratulations.You are walking the right path. I am sure thinga will get even better

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Amrita for your encouragement and support. :)

      Delete
  2. Congrats Adite! From 7100 to 151 is a huge confirmation of your writing skills, not to mention morale boosting. I am sure your writing will be made into a film. Wish you all the best!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your kind wishes. The journey continues! :)

      Delete
  3. Congratulations. It's a great inspiration for me to read about your experience. That shows that we should just keep trying without undermining our own abilities. Thank you for such a detailed insight. Best wishes to you for your future projects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Richa. What you say is true. As a writer, one can only keep writing! :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree - Review of the International Booker Prize Winner

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree My rating: 5 of 5 stars Geetanjali Shree's original book in Hindi is called Ret Samadhi and the translated version by Daisy Rockwell is Tomb of Sand. The writer's style is lyrical and captures the essence of an Indian family completely and evocatively. In fact the amazing thing about the author's style is that it goes above and beyond the cast of characters, roping in inanimate objects (like the door, for instance), the natural elements, crows and invisible things like borders. The story lies not so much in the plotline of an old woman and her journey to find the house and man she has left behind as in highlighting the nuances of families, countries, borders, neighbourhoods, galis and mohallas , the environment, the smells, sounds and landscape, the past and present and everything in between (including a delightful treatise on the silk sari as narrated from the point of view of a crow!) that makes up the heart and soul of India. The writi

Bombay Heights: The perfect Diwali read is now available in paperback

Reading romance during the festive season adds to the fun and sparkle, doesn't it? So, for Diwali 2021, I decided to bring out a Paperback edition of my rom-com Bombay Heights: Sleepless in the City of Dreams .  The best part is that the story takes place during the festive season. What's not to love! So, get ready to be immersed in the spirit of the festival of lights!  Blurb: Small town girl Sanjana Kale wants a fresh start in Mumbai. A challenging job and some much needed distance from her ludicrously over-protective family could get her life under control. Forced to team up with video game designer Ashwin Deo, who is too attractive for his own good, she finds life becoming a whole lot more complicated when he turns out to be her new neighbour. How can she maintain a professional distance with this charming troublemaker who believes in getting up close and personal? To make matters worse, her ex tries to manipulate her loved ones to work his way back into her life

Book Review of Where Did You Go? by P.L. Jonas

  The popularity of novels like Gone Girl and T he Girl on the Train with an intriguing premise, unreliable narrators and plot twists, has put the spotlight on psychological suspense stories. Such stories have a thriller like urgency about them and yet are rooted in familiar, real life situations. A well crafted, edgy psychological suspense can keep the reader hooked till the very last page.  The novella Where Did You Go ? by debut author P.L. Jonas begins with an intriguing set up. Sammy, a successful but reclusive ghostwriter, is offered a chance of a life time. The project involves completing a half-finished manuscript by her favourite writer, Margaret Mitchell, the celebrated author of  the all-time classic Gone with the Wind . Her brief is simple: she needs to follow the outline that the author has left behind and submit a draft within a tight deadline.  Her publisher, James, is confident that Sammy has what it takes to finish the novel. The chance of having her name on the book