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9. Changing the Script on Scriptwriting: Organizing a Virtual Community Around an Event to Maximize Participation

Script Frenzy is a one-month writing blitz that takes place in April every year. The keys are the deadline—one month of writing—and the encouragement gained from the online community of writers. Volunteer chapters in 100 cities across the world organize kickoff parties, laptop meetings in coffee shops, and staged readings of completed scripts. Founder and executive director, Chris Baty, says that combining a deadline with encouragement and an online community can create miracles. Script Frenzy started in 2004 as an outgrowth of the National Novel Writing month that was launched in 1999 and grew to more than 70,000 participants in 50 countries. After seven years a formal structure was needed, so a nonprofit organization called the Office of Letters and Light was established.

Script Frenzy is their initiative dedicated to scriptwriting. “The idea is that if you love movies, then write one,” says Baty.

Why It Works

Many budding writers love the idea of writing for the movies or television but get bogged down because they are not familiar with what a script should look like. Script Frenzy provides the format for scriptwriting and gets writers thinking in traditional scriptwriting terms. The online forums and e-mail communication from volunteer coordinators spur on the participants. ...