Script Frenzy: April is the month to write

Many people say things like "Someday, I'm going to write a movie," but one national organization is challenging writers to turn that "someday" into "today" as The Office of Letters and Light, a non-profit organization dedicated to creative expression through writing, sponsors its fifth annual script-writing event.

April 1 marks the beginning of Script Frenzy, a challenge for writers to write a 100-page film or stage script in 30 days.

100 pages in 30 days amount to roughly three and a half pages per day.

Script Frenzy's website, scriptfrenzy.org, offers participants a simple way to check their writing progress with a program that records the participant's page count each day, measuring progress on a bar graph.

Participants can also have "writing buddies" on the site, allowing them to see one another's progress and keep the challenge competitive.

Writers often use programs such as Scrivener for Mac ($45) or the free and open-source Celtx for their projects, aiding participants towards the goal by properly formatting their scripts.

The first Script Frenzy event took place in 2007, involving almost 8,000 participants and over 1,000 winners that year alone. Last year's Script Frenzy included just over 21,000 participants and more than 2,000 winners, according to the Office of Letters and Light.

The Office of Letters and Light also created a companion event for Script Frenzy called the Young Writers Program.

The program, hosted mainly on the site YWP.scriptfrenzy.org, is a resource for teachers to get their students involved in writing at a younger age.

YWP changes the rules: students from elementary school to high school simply need to complete the Script Frenzy Boot Camp before the challenge begins and finish one script. There is no page requirement for students participating in YWP.

Last year, about 2,900 students participated in YWP through both the free educational materials available to teachers and the online YWP site.

Those age 13 and older can participate in the regular Script Frenzy challenge on the main site, but must adhere to the 100-page requirement.

While the Office of Letters and Light does recognize participants who complete the challenge as "winners," there are no judges and no prizes to be won.

However, the lack of prizes does not deter thousands of writers from participating in Script Frenzy and its sister event National Novel Writing Month in November each year.

Last year, over 373,000 pages were written and counted for Script Frenzy.

Part of the event's success is due to the collaborative nature of the project, which offers the chance for writers to create groups by regions. The Office of Letters and Light lists hundreds of regions, from Cape Town, South Africa to Tiffin, Ohio – the closest regional group to Toledo.

Regional groups organize meet-ups at libraries, coffee shops and other places to share ideas, set aside time to write and even simply provide moral support.

While there is no Toledo regional area on the Script Frenzy website, participants can still create their own "regional groups" by planning writing events with friends and classmates.

Sign up for an account on ScriptFrenzy.org. The account, while active, will be valid for both Script Frenzy (April 1-30) and National Novel Writing Month (November 1-30). Learn more about the Office of Letters and Light at OfficeofLettersandLight.org.