Post by Siana Blackwood on Jun 28, 2012 23:02:51 GMT -5
I just found this on the WriYe site:
I have to say, I'm not sure what they're thinking. A 'mere' 16,500 script writers took part this year? That still makes it one of the biggest wrimo-style events on the calendar, doesn't it? Maybe they would have been better off looking at the services they really need to offer and changing rather than cutting the event entirely.
As a year-round wrimo participant, I'd say that the most important thing to offer is the community. The non-OLL wrimos do all right with no sponsorship, no prizes and often nothing but a thread where you can report wordcount. It's the ability to chat with other writers that seems most important to me.
So, what do you guys think?
Dear beloved citizens of NaNoLand,
Since 2007, NaNoWriMo has had a sister event in Script Frenzy, along with Script Frenzy's Young Writers Program.
This week, the staff at the Office of Letters and Light has been reaching out to our valued stakeholders in these events—donors, Municipal Liaisons, educators, and participants—with some very important organizational news.
In Script Frenzy's five years, 85,000 participants of all ages around the world took on the 30-day, 100-page scriptwriting challenge. Together, they wrote nearly 1.4 million pages and discovered the many and varied joys of writing original plays, TV shows, movies, and graphic novels. This is a remarkable feat of frenzied creativity by any measure.
Although those who have participated in Script Frenzy did so with dedication and enthusiasm, Script Frenzy's participant numbers haven't grown as they did with our other programs. In fact, they have trended downward in the last two years despite OLL's efforts to engage new and returning writers and build the steadily growing audience we hoped for. After peaking in 2010 at 21,000 scribes, 16,500 writers took part in 2012.
As a result of the decreasing turnout and the corresponding decline in fundraising, the OLL Board of Directors voted last month to end Script Frenzy. This decision wasn't based solely on Script Frenzy's financial considerations, but on the resources that OLL requires to host and improve this and our other annual programs.
By devoting full-time staff power and funds to National Novel Writing Month, its Young Writers Program, and Camp NaNoWriMo—which together serve approximately 350,000 participants—we have the opportunity to grow and expand these flourishing programs and reach even more aspiring novelists around the world.
In the coming months, we'll create a Script Frenzy forum on the NaNoWriMo site to host all things scripty, and help participants stay in touch. We are also working on a way to archive the Script Frenzy resources so they are still accessible to participants.
Kudos to the heroic team who made Script Frenzy such a walloping and wonderful creative adventure these many years: Founder Chris Baty; Program Director Sandra Salas; past Directors Jen Arzt and Kristina Malsberger; the OLL board; our greathearted Script Frenzy Municipal Liaisons; and of course, the intrepid scriptwriters themselves.
I look forward to the opportunities and surprises this new chapter holds for OLL. And to discovering them together with you!
Lindsey
NaNoWriMo Program Director
Since 2007, NaNoWriMo has had a sister event in Script Frenzy, along with Script Frenzy's Young Writers Program.
This week, the staff at the Office of Letters and Light has been reaching out to our valued stakeholders in these events—donors, Municipal Liaisons, educators, and participants—with some very important organizational news.
In Script Frenzy's five years, 85,000 participants of all ages around the world took on the 30-day, 100-page scriptwriting challenge. Together, they wrote nearly 1.4 million pages and discovered the many and varied joys of writing original plays, TV shows, movies, and graphic novels. This is a remarkable feat of frenzied creativity by any measure.
Although those who have participated in Script Frenzy did so with dedication and enthusiasm, Script Frenzy's participant numbers haven't grown as they did with our other programs. In fact, they have trended downward in the last two years despite OLL's efforts to engage new and returning writers and build the steadily growing audience we hoped for. After peaking in 2010 at 21,000 scribes, 16,500 writers took part in 2012.
As a result of the decreasing turnout and the corresponding decline in fundraising, the OLL Board of Directors voted last month to end Script Frenzy. This decision wasn't based solely on Script Frenzy's financial considerations, but on the resources that OLL requires to host and improve this and our other annual programs.
By devoting full-time staff power and funds to National Novel Writing Month, its Young Writers Program, and Camp NaNoWriMo—which together serve approximately 350,000 participants—we have the opportunity to grow and expand these flourishing programs and reach even more aspiring novelists around the world.
In the coming months, we'll create a Script Frenzy forum on the NaNoWriMo site to host all things scripty, and help participants stay in touch. We are also working on a way to archive the Script Frenzy resources so they are still accessible to participants.
Kudos to the heroic team who made Script Frenzy such a walloping and wonderful creative adventure these many years: Founder Chris Baty; Program Director Sandra Salas; past Directors Jen Arzt and Kristina Malsberger; the OLL board; our greathearted Script Frenzy Municipal Liaisons; and of course, the intrepid scriptwriters themselves.
I look forward to the opportunities and surprises this new chapter holds for OLL. And to discovering them together with you!
Lindsey
NaNoWriMo Program Director
I have to say, I'm not sure what they're thinking. A 'mere' 16,500 script writers took part this year? That still makes it one of the biggest wrimo-style events on the calendar, doesn't it? Maybe they would have been better off looking at the services they really need to offer and changing rather than cutting the event entirely.
As a year-round wrimo participant, I'd say that the most important thing to offer is the community. The non-OLL wrimos do all right with no sponsorship, no prizes and often nothing but a thread where you can report wordcount. It's the ability to chat with other writers that seems most important to me.
So, what do you guys think?
