Authoring & Playwriting

ChatGPT gives me a lot of unexpected things, but the one that made me laugh was about *The De-Evolution Game*. It told me "accept that not all your brilliance has to appear on the screen", and then explained that a producer may want to limit the science and the explanations of the parallel universes to keep the world more coherent.

Congratulations again, Lauren Hackney! Family and friends who aren't writers, producers, directors have given me unsuspected feedback.

I suspect everyone's gonna want to improve on my work, the loudest being the ones who ignore my offerings. I'd almost rather get a "This sucks" to let me know they're paying attention.

Now the positive feedback is the vast majority of spoken feedback and I have a whole document of these comments which I've already sent to the ignorers (who still keep on ignoring) so therefore nothing that comes my way is unsuspected, although the request for a pilot and synopsis was the first of its kind but still not unsuspected nor unexpected because I've put in the work and have learned long ago that democracy and freedom comes with the price of ignorance, the wish and willingness to not seek out truth or dialogue with others. It's their right to be scroogelike hermits. The Constitution allows it.

Meriem that's both hilarious and chilling at the same time. Whether it's true or not depends on the imagination of the producer. Are they a Ron Howard (Avatar, Avatar Brave New World--I forgot the name of the sequel) or do they have a binary, linear imagination (the same thing that scares so many cisgenders when gender dissolution enters their world). But at the same time, if you're going to imagine a parallel or skewed universe that's very unlike our own, your imagination needs to still be able to create something coherent enough for viewers to get and the production team to make real. I don't think they'll ever make a movie from Finnegan's Wake for that reason but it's a great book if you can get through Joyce's impossible to follow prose.

Thank you very much Marc Ginsburg

The De-Evolution Game was originally inspired by Mr. Nobody, and since my story also deals with parallel universes, I tried using a similar structure. I noticed how the psychologist in the film guides the narrative—each new question creates a new branch of Nemo’s reality. But that structure didn’t work for my story.

I need to invent another way to present the parallel universes while keeping the whole narrative coherent.

Here are some insights from the story. I’d like to know your point of view.

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/promotion/The-De-Evolution-Game-Paradoxes...

My female protagonist is inspired by a close friend. I am deeply conflicted about it due to the sensitive subject matter. That said the story differs from my friend's and I've been careful to avoid using specific events/dialogue.

Debbie Seagle Have we met?! I am the QUEEN of 'foot in mouth' disease and yes, I have written about family members. Have I regretted it? No. It's interesting how when they read my words, they all seem to think it's about a different family member and not them. Self-reflection isn't my family's strong suit so I think I'm going to get away with this for a few years more. I hope you're OK - you'll always be Stage 32 family to me!

LOL Thank you Lauren Hackney - and everyone who agrees that people usually don't recognize themselves. I'm still going to change him though. Don't want to incite a family feud. Safety.

Why change it? It's YOUR character! Yes, you took elements of people you actually know but it isn't them. Don't change anything IMO.

It might give the person. you wrote about a reality check - if they don't like being represented in that way, that's a clear sign to change their ways... or not, hah.

Besides, Emma Watson recently revealed she wrote a play, mostly about herself (in a non-egotistical way), and gave it to friends and family. When they read it, it was like "I never knew you felt this way at this point in time"... it serves its purpose.

Hi, Mikka Hope. I’m a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. I wanted to let you know I moved your post from the Composing Lounge to the Authoring & Playwriting Lounge since it's about writing a series of books. Let me know if you have any questions.

I read some of what you wrote. You have talent. I can't work on your conversion into a screenplay right now due to personal issues.

yes that's a good theme as well Maurice Vaughan

the persistence of memory

I’ve written 6 stories thinking they were about other things but in the end realised they could all go into a collection by that title

That sounds so good James LO

Even when a story explores many themes at once, there is always one major guiding theme behind it.

meriem, have you written any short story or screenplay about times travel or parallel worlds from the lens of human existence that you would care to share? I’d be happy to swap with one of my unpublished tales revolving around the persistence of memory

I have the idea but it’s not written yet.

It’s called The De-Evolution Game: Paradoxes Unleashed.

You can see some insights about it here James LO

https://stage32.com/post/3920679695024137577

Lauren Hackney, this is such a helpful breakdown. Thank you for laying it out so clearly!

Lauren Hackney I really did! Low key and relaxing. How was yours?

Yikes, even titles? Lol thanks for this post Lauren Hackney, I’ll definitely have to read the hell out a contract and find a good lawyer if I ever release my novels and comics :p

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh I hope for you it's a case of 'when you release' not 'if you release' - you got some good stories going on - they need to be shared with the world!

Thank you Lauren Hackney, it's going to take a while with the way I'm going ^^; but I'll do my best~

Congratulations, Kat Spencer! It is wild how some projects take years before anyone really discovers them. It's happened to me, like producers emailing me about scripts I pitched or posted online years ago.

That's a wonderful delima Kat Spencer and Maurice Vaughan ... I can't say that has happened to me - but you never know the future!

Hi Alex, I very much enjoy adapting novels and short stories and have adapted three novels and one short story. If you're interested in speaking, please let me know.

ALEX - The writers delight, dreaming up new and interesting ways to kill characters.

Yes. Always. My story, my direction - I'm the only one allowed to direct my own works which I've written.

Everyone has a vision of what they want in an adaptation. I always have an editor after I am done to revise things I missed.

Stefano Pavone I'd happily let my stuff go! To the right person, that is.

Thanks, Ingrid — that’s really interesting to read.

I realize we work in a very similar way, just from opposite starting points.

You begin with the character and let the world reveal who they truly are…

I tend to start by designing the mechanics of the world, and then I watch how those rules push or shape the character’s choices.

But in the end, it’s the same goal: the moment where a character finally goes against the “logic” of their environment and reveals something deeply human. I love that overlap in our approaches.

I agree with Fran and Ingrid comments above - also, in addition to the world driven conflicts, ground them, give them little unimportant things but that actually annoy them. Give them a longing for something they love - like chocolate, or a Gibson Martini with two of those delicious little silver-skin pickled onions, with a sprinkle of salt and a dash of the pickle juice, into the vermouth - obviously which has to be French. Then a partner who hates pickled onions, so they argue about it, and it ruins romantic moments as they blame pickled onions for their worldly trouble. You get the idea. I love Gibsons.

David Taylor I get what you mean — those small daily irritations really do bring something genuine to a relationship.

For me, tension often comes from something a bit deeper: the way people are, their temperament, how they move through life.

It’s simply another way of keeping things human, I think.

Personally, I think emotional depth and worldbuilding in sci-fi are two important aspects in the said genre but the former is the engine that drives the story forward.

In all movies, your emotional depth enables your audience to relate to your onscreen characters. Blissful or sad emotions our characters experience as the movies unfolds should resonate with our audience's experiential learning.

Any writer who glorifies worldbuilding at the expense of emotional depth is definitely skating on quicksand.

WH?

Answer: Human beings are social animals that have emotions. Emotional attachment is key. Conversely, worldbuilding , as far as I'm concerned, is largely drawn from reasoning or logic but its end product is steeped in emotional depth. While creating this unique world , you're tactfully appealing to the emotions of your audiences. In a way , I subscribe to the idea that the screenwriter should build their world ( with its own rules ---- dos and don'ts) largely from the emotional depth they intend to.create.

Worldbuilding should enhance the thematic flow of the writer's storyline. Worldbuilding, if expertly handled, has an astounding capacity to shape character dialogue. Dialogue should in turn explore the flowing:

1. What's at stake

2. The fears of characters

3. Expectations

4. Themes

5. Motifs

6. Etc

In short, the better approach between the two is the EMOTIONAL DEPTH TO WORLDBUILDING APPROACH and not the other way round.

Jabulani Pongolani Thanks, Jabulani — that idea really resonates with me.

I often start from a simple question: what does the system expect from people, and how do those expectations quietly shape the way they see themselves?

That kind of soft, well-intentioned pressure can become its own form of constraint.

And when a character finally wants something the system doesn’t consider “useful,” that tension naturally creates emotion — almost like a small rebellion just to feel something real again.

For me, that’s exactly where worldbuilding and emotional depth meet: the mechanics of the world explain why the characters feel the way they do.

Telling a story set against a historical backdrop is quite complex and requires a lot of patience and thorough research. Even a small mistake can draw criticism from the audience.

Reading your post, I can see that you’re aiming to tell a story on a really grand canvas. Wishing you all the best with it!

Thank you very much for sharing this video with us.

I’ll watch it to learn more.

I was trying to understand my own pattern of sci-fi writing and I realized I usually follow the same structure, which I call “the triangle creative theory,” because it consists of three elements: Earth, Planet X, and ISS astronauts.

I’m happy to understand my own pattern, but I’m also trying to break it to explore new perspectives in sci-fi world-building.

Hey, Ashley Renee Smith! Thanks for sharing the video. One key takeaway is when Brandon talked about exploring with your style. I used to outline and write scripts differently when I started writing scripts, but I've tried different things over the years, and my style is way different now.

I'll watch that, thanks, love your precis. In truth, I'm very disciplined, but one can always change the way one uses that discipline.

Kat Spencer I'm yet to have designated writing hours and have much ground to make up so I'll be writing through the holidays to stay on track.

So...I have a (relatively) unique tradition lol I have a special set of Christmas/winter-themed scripts I work on every December(helps me get into the mood of the holidays) while I take a break from whatever stories or ideas I've been working on throughout the year.

I’d probably take a break too… if my brain ever stopped thinking and overanalyzing everything! :)

Kat Spencer, I love this question. This time of year affects everyone so differently.

For me, this holiday season is going to be a creative pause, but in the best possible way. My husband and I are moving in a few weeks, so every bit of “free time” is being poured into packing, organizing, and preparing for the new space. I know I won’t get much actual writing done, but I’ve decided to be okay with that.

What I do love is how creatively fueling the pause can be. While packing, I’ve unearthed old journals, half-finished stories, abandoned outlines, and ideas I forgot I even had. Skimming through those things has given me a surprising shot of inspiration, almost like reconnecting with earlier versions of myself as a writer.

So even though I’m not drafting right now, I feel like I’m quietly refilling the well. And once I’m settled into the new place and have a fresh, organized space to create in, I know I’ll be ready to dive back in with renewed energy.

Love that Ashley Renee Smith! And it points to the fact that you don't have to be sitting down to be writing. Inspiration comes from so many places. Good luck with the move! I bet you're excited to be in your new place. And WOW to everyone else's responses here. So great to hear from all of you! Happy writing and pausing. It is all valuable.