Get Involved > Contest Page for Teens
What do I win?
Contest winners turn their story into a film with a Hollywood director; will be trained in public speaking and advocacy; and will receive $500.
Resources
Script Frenzy - Young Writers Program
This resource page presents writing Boot Camps and Work Books to detailed instructions for formatting scripts for different types of media (TV, Film, Theatre), Script Frenzy offers a wealth of know-how and how-to.Making Movies: A Guide for Young Filmmakers
This manual explains the basics of making a movie for the young filmmaker. It covers all of the nuts and bolts, from how to tell a story to the final edit of the film. The Storytelling and Scriptwriting Chapters are excellent resources for educators integrating the Contest into the classroom. Created by The Film Foundation in partnership with the Director's Guild of America.
- Intro and Table of Contents (PDF)
- Storytelling: The Basics (PDF)
- Scriptwriting: From Story to Screenplay (PDF)
- Directing (PDF)
- Art Production (PDF)
- Editing (PDF)
- Making Your Movie (PDF)
- Glossary and Credits (PDF)
More Resources
Check out our comprehensive list of sexual health and youth media resources from a variety of sources to help you educate yourself -- or even make a difference in your community.
REAL DEAL Contest
We are pleased to announce the 2010 FINALISTS in the What's the REAL DEAL? contest!
Click here to view the FinalistsWhat do I do now?
If you wrote for the contest, your story doesn’t stop here. There are countless ways you can continue to be a writer and an advocate for change.
Publish your work online:
- Teen Ink offers teenagers the opportunity to publish their creative work and opinions on the issues that affect their lives - everything from love and family to teen smoking and community service. Hundreds of thousands of students have submitted their work to them and they have published more than 25,000 teens since 1989. www.teenink.com
- Merlyn’s Pen has produced and supported school programs that promote creativity, critical thinking and writing, and self-acceptance. The New Library of Young Adult Writing showcases compelling works of fiction and nonfiction authored by America's teens, grades 6-12. To advanced teen writers, the Library is an online resource of successful models to explore, engage, and emulate. www.merlynspen.org
- Teen Voices Online is the original magazine written by, for and about teen women. Get published! If you’re a girl between the ages of 13-19, you can submit your writing, your art, or a description of your activism for publication in Teen Voices. www.teenvoices.com
Enter other contests:
- Script Frenzy's Young Writers Program hosts an annual writing contest that helps participants create scripts for Movies, Plays, TV shows and Graphic Novels. Check out the general info and resources pages for great information!
Young Writers Program - The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers hosts The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These awards offer early recognition of creative teenagers and scholarship opportunities for graduating high-school seniors. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards offer creative teenagers:
- Recognition by local and national professionals in the arts
- Exhibition and publication opportunities for regional and national audiences; and
- Scholarships for graduating seniors who present portfolios of art, photography and/or writing.
- Next Step Teen Shout Out Writing Contest: Enter the Shout Out teen writing contest, and you could win $100 and have your writing published in an issue of Next Step Magazine! nextstepmagazine.com
- Staples Teen Poetry Contest: If you are a teenager who enjoys writing poetry share it with Staples. Submit your best poem to express what you are thinking about and what issues are important to you. www.poetryamerica.com/teen-poetry-contest.asp
If you have any other links or resources you think we should post on this page, let us know at Ernestine@scenariosusa.org or call Ernestine at (866) 414-1044.
Featured Writer
Laina Kemp
MANchild
Cleveland, OH
REAL DEAL writer
Featured Partner
Sex Education by Teens, for Teens!
Promote Your Writing
Submit your story to the school newspaper for publication.
Send your story to your local newspaper for publication.
Bring your play or script to your local playhouse or theater for consideration
Find out if your school or local community organization has a video camera that you can borrow to shoot your own script
Build on your story to create a longer story- think about developing the characters, adding more detail to the descriptions, expanding the story line, for example
Get together with other REAL DEAL participants from your school and publish or perform your writing to another class or a community group. Find out if you can put all your writing together into a magazine or journal about masculinity. You might need to do some fundraising-ask a teacher to help!
Research more about gender and masculinity, and use your new knowledge to improve your story, for yourself, for publication or for another contest
Get together with other students who are interested in gender issues and figure out what issues are important to you, for example teen pregnancy and teen fatherhood.
Research the facts and develop a strategy to make changes in your school or community, by campaigning and educating others.Explore your community, library, school and the Internet- look for resources on adolescent health and let your friends and peers know what’s out there for teens.