IT'S ALL IN A SONG

Write a 2-5 page script based on a song title. It can be a literal adaptation of the song's meaning or just based on how the song makes you feel or if it triggers a memory or something.

The Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh - A man reminisces about a girl he went to school with.  Short

Freshbloom by Sundara Karma - In a park filled with joy and laughter, strangers bond over their shared fate.  Short, Drama

Crazy Train by A Model Railroad Enthusiast - An attempted theft of a model train set goes off the rails.  Short

Call Me The Breeze by Beans on Toast - An aging hitman picks an unusual way to remember his last job.  Short, Crime

Falling by Guy Little - A daredevil ventriloquist throws more than his voice to prove his love to a special woman  Short

The Gambler by Kenny Rogers - A man diagnosed with a terminal illness makes a drastic choice.  Short, Drama

Am I The Same Girl by Teddy Boys - A man haunted by the murder of a childhood friend, undergoes hypnotherapy to recall the girl’s face. As well as the killer’s.  Short, Psychological Thriller

The Great Pretender by Sybil Dulcet - A man struggles to get a grip with who he in the real world and who he is online.  Short, Action, Comedy

A Little Bit of Sunshine by Ray - A lonely prisoner has a special responsibility.  Short

I Will Always Love You by Songbird - Across four decades, a devoted nurse secretly pines for a brilliant but emotionally distant doctor.  Short, Romance

The Medication Is Wearing Off by Spoon & Rafter - After the death of his father, a small business owner comes to a crossroads about what to do next.  Short, Drama

We Will Meet by Your Secret Admirer - We will meet, someday soon. It will terrify you.  Short, Horror

Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton - Sometimes anguish is too much to bear.  Short, Drama

Call Me Al by blank - Conflict Diamonds are stolen to prop up a coup d'etat, but there is a price to pay.  Short, Adventure, Crime

Mexican Radio by Tom Tomali - The cool one of two best buds finds his acolyte is really on the cutting edge as they travel to the mall for some bitchin' pizza!  Short, Adventure

Thank You by Just About Anybody - A man entering his golden years feels a need to be needed.  Short, Drama

Stacy's Mom by Wayne Fontaine - Stacy's mom has got something going on...something terrifying.  Short, Horror, Comedy

Sympathy for the Devil by Can't get the song out of my head. - Satan has a new directive from above... and he doesn't like it.  Short, Comedy

Oh wait, there's a challenge going?!
I didn't know.

Great theme, really nice turn out and good luck to all!!

Much bigger turnout than I was expecting. Some great songs in there too

Thrilled to see such a great turnout!
Thank you, Arundel and Don.

Kham, we've missed you. Hopefully you'll  be on it for Halloween.

God, nearly Halloween!

Time to get the twenty boxes of decorations out

Fantastic turnout just like the old days! Good job, Arundel!

Really impressive turnout. Lots of titles I don't recognize. Should be fun reading.

Not complaining, but having read a handful of these I'm quite surprised how the actual song lyrics have little bearing on the written scripts other than to inspire a story that goes with a song title.

Just saying...
This was an open challenge.

I wonder if there are multiple submissions from writers.

So far the quality on display is fantastic.

Quoted from Matthew Taylor I wonder if there are multiple submissions from writers. So far the quality on display is fantastic.

My thoughts exactly on the quality!  I've only had a chance to read a handful, but wow!  What great stories/writing.  Hope to get some reviews up soon.  How fun to read everyone's take on this challenge and the variety of song titles.  

Can anyone comment on these OWC submissions, or is for members that have not submitted to the challenge?

Quoted from Stoneyscripts Can anyone comment on these OWC submissions, or is for members that have not submitted to the challenge?

Of course, you can comment.

Quoted from Stoneyscripts Can anyone comment on these OWC submissions, or is for members that have not submitted to the challenge?

Not only can you comment, but if you read enough of them you can also request a ballot so you can vote, as well.

Quoted from Stoneyscripts Can anyone comment on these OWC submissions, or is for members that have not submitted to the challenge?

If you have entered a script then you should deffo comment on entries if you can.

I've read a good chunk and wow, the average quality is really high. Nice work SSers.

Cool challenge that yielded a ton of variety. Makes the reading fun.

Like LC, I've enjoyed most the ones that tried to engage heavily with the tone/style/content of the source songs, even if that wasn't a direct requirement.

A handful still left to read (which I will get to today), and to echo some of the other comments, quality is strong on this OWC, no mean feat given the relatively short page count - well done all who entered.

I think I've finally got through all the submissions.  What variety and what great writing skills were on display here!  Congrats to everyone who "bellied up to the bar", picked a favorite song and let your imagination soar.  Enjoyed each of these entries!  Good luck to all - I won't be surprised to hear that more than one of these is filmed.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for my favs  

Read all, commented on all and voted, great to see so many entries in an OWC again!

Finished with all my reviews.  Now on to the vote.  I willl say for the record, that I really enjoyed this challenge because of the open-ended nature of the parameters and it was the reason I finally entered something for the first time in a couple of years.  I think that’s what appeared to a lot of other people as well.

So maybe there’s a lesson there.  Let’s not make these challenges so dang limited with special things that have to be done (“a person travels three days into the future to change the course of destiny for everyone — but you have to incorporate a baseball bat into the story”).  Make the challenges open to any genre and have the prompts simple so that the greatest variety of stories can be told.

I know October is traditional for horror, e.g., but maybe allow any genre to fit the bill (I hate horror and am no good at writing it). And keep the prompt simple enough that we don’t get 15 slasher tales, because those become monotonous to read as well.

Just my two pesos.

Quoted from Gary in Houston Finished with all my reviews.  Now on to the vote.  I willl say for the record, that I really enjoyed this challenge because of the open-ended nature of the parameters and it was the reason I finally entered something for the first time in a couple of years.  I think that�s what appeared to a lot of other people as well. So maybe there�s a lesson there.  Let�s not make these challenges so dang limited with special things that have to be done (�a person travels three days into the future to change the course of destiny for everyone � but you have to incorporate a baseball bat into the story�).  Make the challenges open to any genre and have the prompts simple so that the greatest variety of stories can be told. I know October is traditional for horror, e.g., but maybe allow any genre to fit the bill (I hate horror and am no good at writing it). And keep the prompt simple enough that we don�t get 15 slasher tales, because those become monotonous to read as well. Just my two pesos.

I agree with you. I found the last couple to be far too restrictive but I like to have something in there that makes my brain work trying to think of creative ways to fit the challenge. Makes me come up with stories I never would have imagined otherwise.

I deffo prefer open genres.

Should we not comment on all the entries before voting? Or is that not a requirement? Just asking.

Quoted from Stoneyscripts Should we not comment on all the entries before voting? Or is that not a requirement? Just asking.

Yes, if you have time to comment on all the entries that would be preferable.  I think I read and commented on all entries to date.  Some people don't get a chance to hit them all -- those that don't read and comment on each one should only vote on the ones that they read and click on N/A or Did Not Read on the voting page.

Quoted from Gary in Houston So maybe there’s a lesson there.  Let’s not make these challenges so dang limited with special things that have to be done (“a person travels three days into the future to change the course of destiny for everyone — but you have to incorporate a baseball bat into the story”).  Make the challenges open to any genre and have the prompts simple so that the greatest variety of stories can be told. Just my two pesos.

I’m still laughing about this because you know someone will post that they have a great idea with just these elements and they’ve been dying to write it  

The only thing I miss was when we did make it a specific genre! That really forced me to write out of my zone, and I think my scripts were better for it. Just my opinion, of course.

Quoted from Gary in Houston Finished with all my reviews.  Now on to the vote.  I willl say for the record, that I really enjoyed this challenge because of the open-ended nature of the parameters and it was the reason I finally entered something for the first time in a couple of years.  I think that’s what appeared to a lot of other people as well. So maybe there’s a lesson there.  Let’s not make these challenges so dang limited with special things that have to be done (“a person travels three days into the future to change the course of destiny for everyone — but you have to incorporate a baseball bat into the story”).  Make the challenges open to any genre and have the prompts simple so that the greatest variety of stories can be told. I know October is traditional for horror, e.g., but maybe allow any genre to fit the bill (I hate horror and am no good at writing it). And keep the prompt simple enough that we don’t get 15 slasher tales, because those become monotonous to read as well. Just my two pesos.

I think the narrow parameters where you get strict guidelines e.g. location, object, genre are good for things like the SS Mini
Tournaments that we've had in the past.
https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-0521/

Based on this type of thing:
https://www.nycmidnight.com/

And I agree with you Gary that challenges like this one probably attract more takers cause of their open nature and 5 page max. Universal themes are key - everyone loves music so picking that topic and keeping it open and also not stipulating you had to keep to the idea in the song, but just use it as inspiration was a canny idea.

Reading and reviewing shorter page counts is more manageable too.

FYI:
Feel free to bump this whenever you want to add to your two pesos. Or anyone else for that matter.
https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-News/m-1616348723/s-0/

If anyone wants the link to the Voting Ballot just let me know via PM.

This includes those of you who don't have an entry but gave your time voluntarily to reviewing.

When can we start guessing who wrote what?

I've read and scored all but a few of them. Would have liked to have gone through the lot but it's time for me to put the kids to bed which 9 times out of 10 means I'll be sleeping too, and would mean I'd miss the deadline to get any scores in for.

Good luck to all who entered. Really impressed by the quality and variety of all the scripts.


Cheers

Who has a crystal ball?

Ok, all done, Phew! Can't believe we got to them all. Nope, we have no dog in this fight but hats off to all those you do and those who commented. Fabulous job everyone. Our schedules are crazy, we'll try to find the time to vote. If we can't, don't hold it against us.

Thanks a bunch to Don and Arundel - a great challenge. _ghostie gal

Quoted from Gary in Houston When can we start guessing who wrote what?

Hopefully this goes up soon.

I’ve no idea who wrote what as usual.