Update: Screenwriting Challenge

In the last challenge, I placed third in my group. That gives me a total of 45 out of a possible 50 points so far.
Top ten in each group moved on to the next round.

My screenplay for this round is posted below.

genre: Historical Fiction
location: Fallout Shelter
object: cactus


I struggled hard to come up with an actual story. I had an immediate impression of an innocent, a young woman standing barfoot in the midst of cacti - as so many young people in the 60s stood innocent in the midst of the dangers of the time.

I imagined her making out in the backyard bomb shelter, a protest of the culture of life against the culture of death, and then hearing about one of the events of the era on the radio - Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy Assassination, Che's killing... but that still wasn't a story, more like a snippet.

But, after reading about events of the 60s, I finally came up with something, an historic meeting of sorts. I re-located it from a beach into the shelter. It's a direction I didn't expect to go, but once I thought of it, it really hooked me.

It's the meeting of Charlie Manson and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme.

Several hours of research went into getting this initial exchange right, so I hope it works

She just seemed to really fit that opening image, the initial impression I had, of an innocent among the thorns.