Jeff James
A nervous young man enters his girlfriend’s pottery studio to have a serious conversation with her, but she reacts in an unexpected way.
This page originated from another One Page Challenge on the Script Hive Discord server.
The prompts were:
My One Page Challenge scripts oftentimes end up with a horror or suspense flavor to them, so when the Killer Shorts contest added a category for one page scripts, I entered several of my favorites.
This one actually advanced to the quarterfinals, which was a nice development for something I wrote quickly as an exercise. I look forward to submitting more of my work in the future!
Title: FMK
Logline: Four girls hang out in an empty house, but their night takes a dark turn when they play a game.
One of my favorite activities on the Script Hive Discord server is the One Page Challenge.
Every week, a new prompt is posted with a call for entries. Anyone can submit as long as their script is no longer than a page. The prizes are generally only the accolades of your peers, but there are occasional guest hosts and more significant prizes.
It’s a great way to keep my writing muscles limber and get immediate feedback. I think it’s helped me improve my writing craft significantly over the past year, and it’s also given me inspiration for a few ideas that I might turn into longer pieces.
Title: Where the Road Curves
Logline: A bus ride on a darkened rural road is all a young woman needs to find supernatural help.
Notes: This is easily my favorite of the OPCs I’ve written so far. It also got the most votes for the week.
Title: The New Queen
Logline: When a king forces his queen to drink a potion to make her young again, there are bloody results.
Notes: I was really happy with how this one turned out and decided to rewrite it as a short story.
Title: A Storm of Wings
Logline: When military men corner a young woman, she calls for supernatural help.
Notes: I really enjoy the gothic fantasy tone I achieved here.
Title: Outer Rim Café
Logline: Two friends catch up at a space station cafe, but things take a strange turn when one notices a bee.
Title: The Bone Forest
Logline: A scout and his talking squirrel friend journey through a forest made of bones.
Notes: This one received the most votes for the week.
Title: Eidolon Vintage
Logline: When a young woman visits a strange vintage shop, the shopkeeper makes it difficult to browse in peace.
Notes: This received the most votes for the week and the guest host picked it as a runner-up.
Title: FMK
Logline: Four girls hang out in an empty house, but their night takes a dark turn when they play a game.
Notes: This script placed as a quarter-finalist in the 2022 Killer Shorts contest. Pretty cool!
Title: The Pool Car
Logline: A private detective searching for a missing girl takes a ride in a strange car.
Notes: This was my first attempt at a one page challenge, but I haven’t shared it until now.
Title: Widdershins
Logline: Two versions of John Goodman, one young and one old, make last-minute plans as they ride in a fairy seed-ship.
Notes: This is the first OPC I actually posted on the server. I fully admit to making it as weird as possible!
Title: Mister Lonestar
Logline: A mysterious trickster tries to convince an angry young man to become his apprentice.
Notes: This won second place in a guest-hosted challenge.
Title: The Fire Remembered
Logline: A young farm girl tussles with a dragon.
Title: Coffee, Interrupted
Logline: A nervous man waits to speak to a woman but is overshadowed by a another, better man.
Title: The Bird-Watchers
Logline: A furtive meeting on a secluded park bench takes a violent turn.
Title: Elizabeth(s)
Logline: Two identical women plan a heist, but when one is caught, a secret about her nature is revealed.
Notes: This was the rare two-page challenge!
Title: Plastic Fangs
Logline: Two college guys attend a Halloween party, but when one suggests a costume change, the other takes offense.
Title: The Case of the Upside-Down Ocean
Logline: A group of kids drive a submarine into an ocean in the sky to try and save their sick friend.
Title: Comfort Zone
Logline: Two friends explore the universe hiding inside a puffy couch.
Title: Scrambled
Logline: When a man finds himself trapped inside a mysterious white void, he tries to convince his captor to let him out.
Title: Doggerel
Logline: A family dog takes issue with the robot dog he suspects is meant to replace him.
Title: Puzzling
Logline: A puzzle-loving man is drawn out of his comfort zone when his neighbor shows him a mysterious artifact.
Title: Crust Punks
Logline: A scrappy punk band realizes that a former member may be taking revenge from beyond the grave.
Title: Out of Body
Logline: A hip young couple shares a relaxing out-of-body experience, but things go badly when the woman jokes around.
Title: The Deeper Cut
Logline: A gravely injured man confers with his bizarre, toothy familiar as they search for a dragon.
Title: Haste, Spice
Logline: A woman on a date in a man’s luxury cabin reveals her ulterior motives when their spaceship’s gravity field abruptly shuts off.
Title: Inheritance
Logline: When a young woman inherits her late uncle’s mansion, she is disturbed to learn about his dying wish.
Notes: Voted favorite of the week by other members of the Discord.
Title: Key Ring
Logline: A woman tries to open a mysterious door in the middle of a forest clearing.
Title: A Conversation Before Dinner
Logline: A woman interrupts her husband’s dinner prep with a nasty fight about a shady deal.
Title: The Enforcer
Logline: A nervous man answers a phone call offered by an intimidating baboon wearing a suit.
