Screenwriting Blog
Posted on by Courtney Meznarich

Kaylord J. Hill Takes the Win in SoCreate’s Screenwriter Stimulus

Screenwriter Kaylord Hill

SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus Winner Kaylord Hill

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

The motto is paying dividends (literally!) for screenwriter Kaylord J. Hill, who we’re proud to announce as SoCreate’s Screenwriter Stimulus winner. For the grand prize, we’re paying Kaylord $4,000 over four weeks this December to help support him while he writes a feature-length screenplay in 30 days. The best part? He’s taking you along for the ride with twice-weekly vlogs so you can see his progress, challenges, and successes.

We first met Kaylord in 2019 when he applied to win SoCreate’s “So, Write Your Bills Away” Sweepstakes. Entrants could earn bonus entries by spreading the word about the competition, and Kaylord blew us away with his enthusiasm for our company, our contest, and the writing community. It was amazing to watch him cheer on other writers and encourage them to do just that – get writing! He earned enough bonus entries to move into our semifinalist round but was beat out for the win by screenwriter Zachary Rowell.

“This is it. This is the stuff. This feeling, this reverberating question of what do I write next? How do I rebound and plow forward? Remember, nothing succeeds like failure. Welcome to writing, Kaylord.”

“For my close friends that sacrificed their couches these last two years, my mentors that kept the faith in me when I lacked it, my parents for the unconditional love, and my superhero siblings for their inspiration, this is for y’all.”
Kaylord J. Hill
SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus Winner

Those were the wise words Kaylord’s mentor, Byron Williams, gave him after learning he did not win the contest. And clearly, Kaylord took the message to heart. He told us that he switched off his social media and got down to business, honing his craft.

And it shows.

Kaylord’s writing sample this year demonstrated immense improvement in style, tone, and technicality. We can’t wait to see what he does in an entirely new genre this December. He plans to write a refreshing romantic comedy centered on black stories, inspired by the classic scenes in “Roman Holiday” (Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton), “Sleepless in Seattle” (Nora Ephron, Jeff Arch, David S. Ward), and “Love & Basketball” (Gina Prince-Bythewood).

“I want wider audiences to feel those same vibrations, to observe and appreciate the universality in both,” Kaylord told us.

“For the past three years, I have observed as Mr. Hill dealt with personal and professional disappointment, only to come out on the other side better,” said Williams in a letter to SoCreate recommending Kaylord for the win. “It is this disappointment that ultimately becomes critical to the writer’s toolkit.  It is what strengthens his or her voice; it’s the intangible that makes one a writer. Mr. Kaylord Hill is a writer.”

Those are words we can all take seriously, especially our semifinalists who did not win the contest this year. We had the most diverse writing pool we’ve ever seen in one of our screenwriting competitions, and with that, an incredible level of talent and unique, untold stories. Over 1,000 writers entered, and every person is deserving, but we could only choose one.

“For my close friends that sacrificed their couches these last two years, my mentors that kept the faith in me when I lacked it, my parents for the unconditional love, and my superhero siblings for their inspiration, this is for y’all,” Kaylord said.

Kaylord approaches his craft with extreme discipline and focus, which should serve him well when he takes off on his 30-day journey to finish a feature-length script next month. We hope you’ll follow along on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and right here on this blog.

Time to get to work, Kaylord!

Courtney Meznarich, Director of Community Outreach
Courtney Meznarich Director of Community Outreach
@courtonthecoast