UT Austin Screenwriting 2024

[RandomLurker]

That is so important! I love that your family gets to enjoy this moment with you! Again, nothing's for certain. Besides, when one door shuts, another opens. Another opportunity is on the horizon! Hopefully you can attend a festival this year! They are so inspiring. SXSW is soon, too! I can't wait for October because regardless of this application, I'm going to AFF. I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[Rose]

That is so important! I love that your family gets to enjoy this moment with you! Again, nothing's for certain. Besides, when one door shuts, another opens. Another opportunity is on the horizon! Hopefully you can attend a festival this year! They are so inspiring. SXSW is soon, too! I can't wait for October because regardless of this application, I'm going to AFF. I'm really looking forward to it!

I think you're right. There are other possibilities and who knows? Maybe I'll get a miracle in my inbox this coming week. It's mostly the ego hit that I've got to work past and not let shake me.

I have a couple of half-baked novels that are important to me to finish, so at least I would have more time this year to tackle them. It gives me space to continue Method Writing, too. I've never done anything like it before. Way different techniques than I ever learned in school. Here's some info if any of y'all are ever interested.

Also signed up for a studio crew certification with Austin Film Society. And I'm going to take your idea about entering contests. I need to research and see what's out there. I guess the top ones would garner the most attention and chance of getting representation, but I assume those are also pricey.

I would love to try the festivals! I bet the energy of those is amazing. I'm going to volunteer for one shift with SXSW this year. It won't be enough for a badge, but I'll get my first look! Plus, free t-shirt. haha!

What kind of badge do you do for AFF? It looks like it can get expensive, though it's way better than SXSW and I do see some more reasonably priced options. Since it's not till October, maybe I could save up. I would love a chance to do the pitch competition. Pitching terrifies me, so any practice I can get would be good.

 

[RandomLurker]

Honestly, the Conference, Weekend, and Lone Star (Saturday) badges are all great! With the Producer's badge you get access to all the parties. Saturday is absolutely stacked when it comes to the conference. All the exciting panels are then. The networking parties are exciting enough, but you meet the same people waiting in the lines outside the venues. The highest I would go is Conference. Remember, even if you drive to the festival each day and save on the hotels, you still have to worry about the price for parking, food, gas, etc. You might want merch! The weekend badge is great, the Lone Star is solid. If you have that Friday off, the Conference badge is worth it!

Volunteering for SXSW is such a good idea! It sounds like quite a year you have planned. A couple novels, a studio crew certification, and contests? This year is shaping up to a win for you as a writer! Pitching scares me too

Oh, last thing about festivals. Be careful when submitting. It's easy to get trapped in excitement of earning 25 accolades on your script but these are quite literally money traps. Some competitions are scams, so only submit to a festival you feel has something to offer (reputable judges, valuable feedback, networking opportunities, a deadline, etc).

 

[Rose]

Honestly, the Conference, Weekend, and Lone Star (Saturday) badges are all great! With the Producer's badge you get access to all the parties. Saturday is absolutely stacked when it comes to the conference. All the exciting panels are then. The networking parties are exciting enough, but you meet the same people waiting in the lines outside the venues. The highest I would go is Conference. Remember, even if you drive to the festival each day and save on the hotels, you still have to worry about the price for parking, food, gas, etc. You might want merch! The weekend badge is great, the Lone Star is solid. If you have that Friday off, the Conference badge is worth it!

Volunteering for SXSW is such a good idea! It sounds like quite a year you have planned. A couple novels, a studio crew certification, and contests? This year is shaping up to a win for you as a writer! Pitching scares me too

Oh, last thing about festivals. Be careful when submitting. It's easy to get trapped in excitement of earning 25 accolades on your script but these are quite literally money traps. Some competitions are scams, so only submit to a festival you feel has something to offer (reputable judges, valuable feedback, networking opportunities, a deadline, etc).

Oh my gosh, thank you! Gives me a way better idea of what I would need to budget for AFF. I had not even thought about stuff like parking and merch to factor in, too. The Conference, Weekend, and Lone Star badges are waaaay more in reach than the Producer badge, so it's great to hear they are still well-worth it. Also, I saw on their website they have summer camps for kids! My boys would love this!

I also really appreciate you sharing those considerations for vetting festivals. I had done a Google search to see what was out there and was flooded with hits, so this will help me narrow down and not waste my money on BS ones!

I sure hope it will be a decent writerly year. I've been thinking about how to keep making progress even without an MFA. School would definitely help me make connections, and the other major thing is that it would force me or, often, give me "permission" to fill my time with studying the craft and writing. Without it, I need to find other ways to make connections and then force myself to set aside time on my own to work. I don't know if I want to try again at applying to a film school. Could be the bruised ego talking, but I guess I'll see how much I accomplish on my own to gauge.

@RandomLurker @czu @unwinding-dreams
Do you want an MFA so you'll also have the option to teach at a university? Or is it more about the industry connections you could make? Or something else?

 

[czu]

I feel like it's just the next step for me in a lot of ways. I want to be a better writer, want to be around great writers, want time to write and time to focus on honing my voice and telling fun stories. Also, I worked in film briefly during the pandemic era but everything sorta went haywire and I ended up working a more secure and more chill day job. I've been there multiple years at this point and MFA or not I want to move back into entertainment for my next job. I think an MFA would def help give me a chance to make that pivot. I just want to work telling stories for a living, no matter what role I play in the process.

Also, @Rose, definitely don't give up if it's what you want to do. Last year I applied to one Screenwriting and a bunch of Fiction/Prose MFAs and did not hear anything positive back from a single one. I'm absolutely elated and a little shocked to have made it to any kind of second round this year at all. I keep reminding myself of an interview I saw with someone (I think a past Michener fellow?) where he said he applied 3x before getting in, and as far as I know that is one of the most competitive programs around. I also had a friend from college who applied to a ton of places for Fiction/Prose, got into one school that was her least favorite, applied again the next year and got into Iowa. Like. THE school. Not trying to be preachy but I always try to encourage myself and remind myself that it often takes people more than a year to get into the program they really want.

Also, what do we think of the profile pic lol? I figured I should pick one since I'm on here every single day now hahaha. TEOTFW is my fave show ever - what about you all?

 

[RandomLurker]

You certainly can! Look into competitions and fellowships. If you're still looking into TV writing, eventually you'll want to make that move, right? Your background in playwriting and novels could be the deciding factor in you getting repped. There are labs and workshops you can apply to. Writer retreats! The MFA program just makes sense, but (excluding the credentials to teach), you can manage to do everything else without it 100%. Or so I hear!

I know you said you might not want to apply again, but there are so many options. Low residency programs, fully funded programs, part-time programs, programs with rolling admissions, etc. If you want an MFA, there are absolutely opportunities to get one.

 

[Rose]

I feel like it's just the next step for me in a lot of ways. I want to be a better writer, want to be around great writers, want time to write and time to focus on honing my voice and telling fun stories. Also, I worked in film briefly during the pandemic era but everything sorta went haywire and I ended up working a more secure and more chill day job. I've been there multiple years at this point and MFA or not I want to move back into entertainment for my next job. I think an MFA would def help give me a chance to make that pivot. I just want to work telling stories for a living, no matter what role I play in the process.

Also, @Rose, definitely don't give up if it's what you want to do. Last year I applied to one Screenwriting and a bunch of Fiction/Prose MFAs and did not hear anything positive back from a single one. I'm absolutely elated and a little shocked to have made it to any kind of second round this year at all. I keep reminding myself of an interview I saw with someone (I think a past Michener fellow?) where he said he applied 3x before getting in, and as far as I know that is one of the most competitive programs around. I also had a friend from college who applied to a ton of places for Fiction/Prose, got into one school that was her least favorite, applied again the next year and got into Iowa. Like. THE school. Not trying to be preachy but I always try to encourage myself and remind myself that it often takes people more than a year to get into the program they really want.

Also, what do we think of the profile pic lol? I figured I should pick one since I'm on here every single day now hahaha. TEOTFW is my fave show ever - what about you all?

Oh, I love this! I feel your passion and love for writing coming through my screen. And I totally get wanting to dive deep into the artform, be with other writers, and also, the pivot. God, that is so hard to do. Conversely, it's way easy to get pigeonholed. I'm feeling this in my own life.

So cool that you worked in film. Are you in LA? I don't know that environment is like, of course, but I imagine it is bustling and exciting. Probably stressful too, but it sounds like the pros outweighed the cons!

And not preachy! Inspiring. Really incredible to hear about your experience this year compared to last year. And Iowa OMG! Michener! I would kill to get into either one. It's really motivating to hear stories of people breaking through with some persistence. Maybe it's good practice for making it in the film industry, too.

What do you think is the difference between your applications this year versus last year? Do you feel like your writing skills got more polished, or maybe different people as references helped? I wonder how much genre or theme factors in, or even formatting.

Maybe there's some element of a numbers game to it, but it almost feels like you've got to be professional level just to get in. These past few days, I got a sense that the gap between where I am, and where I need to be and want to be, is a lot wider than what I had hoped, despite all the classes and work done on my own. Alas. Maybe it's the 10,000 hours thing...

I like the updated profile pic. And what a freaking awesome concept for a show! I hadn't heard of it before, but it sounds absolutely hilarious.
Tough to pick a favorite show. Most of mine are the (now) classics, like The Sopranos, and narrowing them down feels like a Sophie's choice LOL. It's been a long time since I've fallen hard for something, but my most recent fave is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

 

[Rose]

You certainly can! Look into competitions and fellowships. If you're still looking into TV writing, eventually you'll want to make that move, right? Your background in playwriting and novels could be the deciding factor in you getting repped. There are labs and workshops you can apply to. Writer retreats! The MFA program just makes sense, but (excluding the credentials to teach), you can manage to do everything else without it 100%. Or so I hear!

I know you said you might not want to apply again, but there are so many options. Low residency programs, fully funded programs, part-time programs, programs with rolling admissions, etc. If you want an MFA, there are absolutely opportunities to get one.

Very encouraging to hear your take! Made the mistake of stepping into screenwriting Reddit yesterday to read through posts around this topic. OMG. Such negativity. Exactly the kind of perspective that kept me from really going after any of this earlier in life. Like, maybe the consensus is you don't have to have an MFA, but the rest of the chorus is also going on about how meaningless everything else is, too, and how your chances of making any money, ever, in film/TV are worse than a lightning strike, etc. etc.

I don't know what the answer is for truly getting into this career, but I think you are so right - there many pathways to learn and network. And outside of getting as good as possible and as many connections as you can, maybe the rest boils down to fate or luck...

Except that, I'm somewhat hopeful for the ability to make our own success. I don't think the industry is doing particularly well right now and I'm disturbed by the huge acquisitions and mergers we're seeing. The book industry is eating itself, too, and definitely newspapers went that way. Cannibalism of unchecked capitalism, but maybe an artistic renaissance on the other side? Seems the narrowing of the industry will worsen, continue to decrease risk taking/creativity. Especially with ads on streaming platforms now, I think they will start to play it safer in their content. Alongside technology, maybe that's a bigger opening for indie creators flourish. From what I've heard within authors, self-published ones tend to make more than those who sign with publishers. And they have the benefits of owning the full rights to their work and full creative control.

 

[Rose]

But then there's AI.

That one keeps me awake some nights.

Moving on from the depressing, hope everyone's getting through the butterflies of your impending interviews.

 

[czu]

So cool that you worked in film. Are you in LA? I don't know that environment is like, of course, but I imagine it is bustling and exciting. Probably stressful too, but it sounds like the pros outweighed the cons!

I'm outside of DC and worked remotely for an LA indie film producer (she worked on I, Tonya!!! soooo cool!!!) as a kind of development intern (super fun, she is amazing, we still keep in touch). Then I worked full-time remotely on a doc research team based out of Boston and it was a special kind of hell hahahahaha. At that job, cons absolutely started to outweigh the pros. When things went back in person as covid started to become more normalized, they asked me to move to Boston and I was like ?! and work seven days a week for people who never think anything I do is good enough?! Uhhhh... no. Really tough decision because I knew how hard it would be to break back in if I ever tried again, but that was just absolutely not for me and them asking me to move away from family during covid was one of the things that made me feel like. Nah. Thank god I can leave now lol.

What do you think is the difference between your applications this year versus last year? Do you feel like your writing skills got more polished, or maybe different people as references helped? I wonder how much genre or theme factors in, or even formatting.

Okay so I wrote a whole extremely lengthy and overly detailed response to this part but I feel like it got 102398325789324 words long lol. I can post it in another post if you or others would like to hear the ins and outs or feel free to DM me!! I just didn't want to completely clog up this chat hahahaha!

 

[unwinding-dreams]

Sorry I've been a little out of touch on this thread, but how did everyone's interviews go? I was pretty nervous but I feel okay about it. I asked them what they thought of my sample and they gave very thoughtful, specific comments. I'm really crossing my fingers; I can't help but worry that the writing is good and I'm blowing it in the interview stage. But 10 minutes is like nothing! How am I supposed to impress people in 10 minutes!

 

[unwinding-dreams]

Oh my gosh, thank you! Gives me a way better idea of what I would need to budget for AFF. I had not even thought about stuff like parking and merch to factor in, too. The Conference, Weekend, and Lone Star badges are waaaay more in reach than the Producer badge, so it's great to hear they are still well-worth it. Also, I saw on their website they have summer camps for kids! My boys would love this!

I also really appreciate you sharing those considerations for vetting festivals. I had done a Google search to see what was out there and was flooded with hits, so this will help me narrow down and not waste my money on BS ones!

I sure hope it will be a decent writerly year. I've been thinking about how to keep making progress even without an MFA. School would definitely help me make connections, and the other major thing is that it would force me or, often, give me "permission" to fill my time with studying the craft and writing. Without it, I need to find other ways to make connections and then force myself to set aside time on my own to work. I don't know if I want to try again at applying to a film school. Could be the bruised ego talking, but I guess I'll see how much I accomplish on my own to gauge.

@RandomLurker @czu @unwinding-dreams
Do you want an MFA so you'll also have the option to teach at a university? Or is it more about the industry connections you could make? Or something else?

Also, in response to this thread, there are honestly a lot of reasons I'm applying to graduate school, but the main one is that I feel academically ready. I know a lot of grad students in M.F.A.s at my college and it seems like something I would love doing. Focusing on my writing, teaching, digging deeper into your passions...I think I would really thrive, especially right now. My professors have been very supportive of my pursuit of grad applications even though an M.F.A. straight out of college is pretty difficult to get, which I think is a good sign.

 

[Chris W]

Okay so I wrote a whole extremely lengthy and overly detailed response to this part but I feel like it got 102398325789324 words long lol. I can post it in another post if you or others would like to hear the ins and outs or feel free to DM me!! I just didn't want to completely clog up this chat hahahaha!

Feel free to clog up the chat. It's all good.

 

[czu]

Sorry I've been a little out of touch on this thread, but how did everyone's interviews go? I was pretty nervous but I feel okay about it. I asked them what they thought of my sample and they gave very thoughtful, specific comments. I'm really crossing my fingers; I can't help but worry that the writing is good and I'm blowing it in the interview stage. But 10 minutes is like nothing! How am I supposed to impress people in 10 minutes!

I have mine on Thursday and I am TERRIFIED! lol. I'm sure you were great, though!

 

[czu]

What do you think is the difference between your applications this year versus last year? Do you feel like your writing skills got more polished, or maybe different people as references helped? I wonder how much genre or theme factors in, or even formatting.

Alright, back to blow up the chat lol. There are so many differences between this year and last year for me, number one being that I switched from applying mostly to Fiction to applying only to Screenwriting. All I did over the past year was write a screenplay - hardly wrote any prose, so it just made sense. I changed one recommender to a more screenwriting focused prof and kept the other 2 (screenwriting prof and English thesis prof) the same.

I also used new SOPs that I think were probably more to the point as to what is really important to me and what I really want to write. I feel like I started to figure this out toward the end of last year's applications. After writing so many SOPs I finally got an inkling of a compelling story that actually makes sense with what I'm writing and want to write - what actually ties them all together. Last year I feel like I would say I wanted to write one thing in my SOP and my actual writing would sometimes say something... slightly different, I think probably because I wasn't quite there yet with bringing those plans of what to write to fruition and I didn't have as good a sense of my own voice or brand or what I really was setting out to say. I would just kind of have an odd idea and write it (which is what so much literary fiction seems like to me. HA!).

I think I also was able to do a better SOP because I've just written more and have a better idea of what ties my screenwriting work together. The new screenplay I wrote is super focused on things I'm really passionate about. I really, really did the autofiction/write what you know thing, and I think it absolutely showed in my personal statements. I think I actually got less feedback on this screenplay, just from 2 really really intent readers, my best friend and a past professor, and they were both absolutely invaluable in helping me bring my idea to life.

I think for UTA in particular, since you can send 2 screenplays, I also probably showed some range in emotion and dialogue and both scripts were very easy to tie to my overarching goals, life experiences, etc. Like, I submitted a religious trauma college relationship drama (the one I wrote this year) and then a vulgar teenage runaways rom-com-dram road trip... with mind reading... and also lots of trauma (this was the screenplay I submitted to Michener last year). Lot of things going on there and I really hope it showed range, growth from one script to another, and a running thread between them.

Also, this probably sounds kinda weird, but I think I'm finally accepting that I'm just way better at screenwriting than fiction/prose writing. I took equal amounts of classes in Fiction and Screenwriting while at school, and it's a major no-brainer to me which one I feel more confident in. I LOVE DIALOGUE and write it down everywhere I go, every day, basically any time I hear somebody say something funny. When I would write prose, it was so hard for me to discipline myself to write basically anything but dialogue and inner monologue, and I feel like sticking so hard to dialogue/monologue can be a limiting thing in that medium. Hilarious, but I remember being in a fiction writing class in college (which I had eked into off the waitlist) and literally having another student tell me to try screenwriting - I always laugh about that because I think it was meant to be a compliment and a genuine suggestion but it could totally be taken as a quick way to say "wtf are you doing in this class" lol.

So that's how I ended up switching from fiction to screenwriting and what I did differently this year. Sorry for the ESSAY!!! lol

 

[RandomLurker]

I have mine on Thursday and I am TERRIFIED! lol. I'm sure you were great, though!

I have mine on Thursday too. I'm sure you did great too! Again, it's only 10 minutes. There's no way not to overthink it afterwards.

 

[blakeboyb]

Hey everyone!

I want to say first off that I am jealous of your bravery towards venturing into such a competitive program. I applied to UT Austin for film studies rather than production. Despite that, I am an inspiring screenwriter with a passion for cinema. I was originally going to apply to this program, but I was discouraged by a screenwriting professor who’d told me I’d fail. Yes, she literally told me not to apply. I was devastated and it took me more than a year to recover from the trauma of her crushing my dreams. I’m still hopeful that I can pursue my M.A. and PhD at a school as prestigious as UT. My dreams of becoming the next Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach may have died, but I still believe in your futures.

Good luck! And do not give up, like I did.

 

[RandomLurker]

I was originally going to apply to this program, but I was discouraged by a screenwriting professor who’d told me I’d fail. Yes, she literally told me not to apply. I was devastated and it took me more than a year to recover from the trauma of her crushing my dreams.

It sounds like she was projecting. I hear this so often (professors telling their students they can't be writers). I'm sorry you had that experience. On the bright side, by calling yourself an aspiring screenwriter, you haven't given up on your dreams so keep it up. And what if you did? It builds character. Use this professor's words as fuel for your success story.
We are all peers here. We all have dreams of making it in this industry. You shouldn't get shot down before even trying. A degree in film studies is just as useful! Make sure to collaborate. We are all bound to become some kind of multi-hyphenate creative at some point.

Thank you for you support! We got this. Good luck!

 

[Rose]

I'm outside of DC and worked remotely for an LA indie film producer (she worked on I, Tonya!!! soooo cool!!!) as a kind of development intern (super fun, she is amazing, we still keep in touch). Then I worked full-time remotely on a doc research team based out of Boston and it was a special kind of hell hahahahaha. At that job, cons absolutely started to outweigh the pros. When things went back in person as covid started to become more normalized, they asked me to move to Boston and I was like ?! and work seven days a week for people who never think anything I do is good enough?! Uhhhh... no. Really tough decision because I knew how hard it would be to break back in if I ever tried again, but that was just absolutely not for me and them asking me to move away from family during covid was one of the things that made me feel like. Nah. Thank god I can leave now lol.

@czu That tells me that not only did you get bitten by the film bug and it confirmed this direction for you, you ALSO have amazing boundaries and strength to not let at come at the cost of you wellbeing. I think you're going to do so well in this career path.

 

[Rose]

Sorry I've been a little out of touch on this thread, but how did everyone's interviews go? I was pretty nervous but I feel okay about it. I asked them what they thought of my sample and they gave very thoughtful, specific comments. I'm really crossing my fingers; I can't help but worry that the writing is good and I'm blowing it in the interview stage. But 10 minutes is like nothing! How am I supposed to impress people in 10 minutes!

@unwinding-dreams That's so cool you got their feedback on your script! I love that you thought to ask them for that! That's one thing I wish I could get. I paid my application fee, so even if you reject me, at least give me some basic coverage on my script! LOL.

I feel you on the interview. It sucks to think that nervousness, or intangible, not super controllable aspects of someone's personality, or initial presentation, could cause them to lose out on admission when their writing was strong. Like, I'm assuming an extrovert would do better at this stage. Unconscious biases of the interviewers could factor in, too.

Also, in response to this thread, there are honestly a lot of reasons I'm applying to graduate school, but the main one is that I feel academically ready. I know a lot of grad students in M.F.A.s at my college and it seems like something I would love doing. Focusing on my writing, teaching, digging deeper into your passions...I think I would really thrive, especially right now. My professors have been very supportive of my pursuit of grad applications even though an M.F.A. straight out of college is pretty difficult to get, which I think is a good sign.

That's awesome! I'm glad your professors have been supportive of heading toward the MFA. I think there's some pros to going straight to undergrad. At least in my experience, there's a lot more friction trying to go back after you've been out for a while, started a career, had kids, etc. I'm glad you're not limiting yourself and you're going for it! If the timing feels right to you, it's good to trust that. The teaching possibility sounds exciting in addition to the writing. I did a brief stint as an adjunct instructor and it was challenging, but along with it, it's so rewarding to be in that mentor/teacher role and I still am in contact with some of my former students. I hope you will get a chance to TA and see how you like it!