Authoring & Playwriting

okay

I write characters with whom I don't share ethnicity (or even gender or sexuality) all the time, I honestly don't care if it's "wrong." For me what's important is that they're human first, everything else is just details.

It is a good movie. Can the movie get green lit.

Anthony McBride Oh no! you've got it all backwards! breaking the story is the FUN part, tearing your hair out is supposed to be scheduled for your writing breaks!

In seriousness, usually the antagonist is defined by their either opposite or extreme stance on the theme when compared to your protagonist, as illustrated by your protagonists hubris- hope that helps!

Jeff Gregory, no, that's not the case. To double-check myself I looked at an intellectual property law outline I edited early last year, when I was doing a lot of editing of educational materials for lawyers and law students. An original work created on or after 1978 has copyright protection for the author's life plus 70 years, even if it wasn't registered (but as I said, your protections are much stronger if it is registered). You can still sue after five years, but without registration your potential victory and damages are much less certain. But the same is true after one year. Registration gives the strongest protection by far, but the five-year thing doesn't exist. Even under the 1909 copyright act, unregistered, published material was protected for 28 years. Registered material's protection could be renewed for a second 28-year stretch. That was extended to 47 years by a much later act of Congress.

Leonardo, there's nobody as big as Diamond now. There are a bunch of smaller distributors vying for retailer dollars, and there is a company that has bought most of Diamond's assets and might become bigger in time. But a lot of the publishers that went with Diamond because they were the biggest have already moved to other outlets. It's really much more work now for retailers to place their monthly orders than it was before Diamond's bankruptcy, and a lot of publishers are still out considerable sums of money that Diamond owed but the company that bought its assets isn't paying.

That makes sense Jeffrey J. Mariotte. I thought Lunar was catching up.

Jeffrey J. Mariotte, I thought one cannot initiate any litigation for copyright infringement until a copyright is registered, pursuant to a summary at https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2019/03/supreme-court-res... (March 4, 2019). Publishing and waiting five years to register the copyright invalidates the ability to launch any copyright infringement litigation.

Jeffrey J. Mariotte thank you so much for all the information. I think you should absolutely share these as lounge posts for the community to see. More information the better. You have so much knowledge and years of experience, so many members would benefit from your wisdom. Thank you for going into so much detail on this post

What a fun little story. It feels very pulpy and adventurous, despite the demon villain. It's not quite there yet but the spine is coming together clearly.

"Dear Langley,

​Thank you very much for your encouraging comment on 'The Curse of the Blue Sapphire.' I am glad you enjoyed the adventurous feel of the story.

​Sir, I am currently working as a manual laborer, but I spend my free time writing and developing these stories. Your feedback that the spine is coming together clearly gives me a lot of hope to keep improving it.

​I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts as I continue to work on it.

Show!!!!

Gihan Asanka I've been there! If you're looking for notes - The way we start with one set of characters then abandon them and move to another following this cursed treasure is very cool, but we really need a protagonist with a unique connection to the gem to tie the whole thing together. I kept waiting for the rightful heir to show up at first. Secondly, I think we need to see a little hubris from that main character that causes them to be the perfect victim for the way this demon tortures people. That way we can see the hero try to purge his inner demons in order to try to defeat the actual demon

Great topic and question, Ashley Renée Smith .

One pitfall I see often is the protagonist becoming too powerful too quickly, which gradually creates an imbalance and makes them less relatable to the audience. When there’s no vulnerability, limitation, or real cost, tension flattens out.

Personally, I tend to build the world first and design the pressures, rules, and conflicts around it. Then I create the protagonist's traits and backstory last, asking who is actually capable of surviving or navigating that specific world, and, more importantly, who would be the most interesting person to attempt the task within those constraints.

I am glad that you like it…i am new at this and still i need a mentor…Soo If you would like to push me up and help me with this kind of job send me Message.

Best regards

Filip

Would love to connect! Let me know how we can best do that!

Registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office at copyright.gov once the manuscript is ready to be given to anyone is your best protection against this from happening.

Great advice Jeff Gregory i forgot that one! Thank you for including that

Greetings Anthony,

My name is Beckham B David, and I represent Luminleaf Books, a growing book club and active reader community made up of readers who love imaginative, character driven, and emotionally engaging stories , especially those centered on underdogs, outsiders, and unconventional heroes.

I recently came across your book, THE REJECTS: A New Kind of Superhero, and shared its overview with our readers. The response was immediate and enthusiastic.

Our members were especially drawn to the originality of the concept, mutant kids labeled as “gross and nasty” who still choose to stand up, fight back, and protect their city. The emotional weight of rejection mixed with humor, courage, and resilience created strong engagement and thoughtful discussion.

Readers loved how the story flips traditional superhero expectations, showing that heroism doesn’t require perfection, beauty, or elite status, only heart, bravery, and determination. Many found the characters relatable, inspiring, and refreshingly authentic, especially for younger readers and anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.

At Luminleaf Books, we spotlight authors whose stories spark excitement, emotional connection, and meaningful conversation. Through our website, reader newsletters, and curated community features, we help introduce standout books to highly engaged readers who actively support indie and emerging authors.

If this resonates with you, kindly reply to this message, and I’d be happy to share how we feature selected authors and their books within our community.

Warm regards,

Beckham B David

Representative, Luminleaf Books

https://www.luminleafbooks.org/

Hi Anthony

As a fellow author, I am sounding the alarm about bookclubs. There is a massive amount of bookclubs springing up in the past year, offering to feature Writers to their vast following.

They are scammers!

The way legitimate book clubs work is the group decide on an author and novel as a group. They may or may not approach the author, but the group each buys your novel. They read it and then discuss the merits of the book together.

As an author, you actually make money on this type of book club. My books have been featured in a few book clubs and I have even met with the clubs via zoom for q & a. It's been fun and interactive.

With the scammers, you pay to be featured. There is no guarantee that anyone will purchase your book nor review your book. The scammers always promise huge numbers. And they do their homework. They use Kindle Unlimited to skim your book for plot and characters and they study your bio, so it sounds like they've read your book, but you'll never see a purchase invoice from the platform that hosts your book.

You get nothing.

And the scammer walks away with your money..

All the major writing groups in North America have put out warnings about these vermin, so please do your homework.

Dave

Hello Dave

I will take your alarming accusation as a direct message to my previous comment. Understanding your concern about scams, and it’s important for authors to be cautious. However, most of the claims in your post are misleading and i might consider libel. Not all book clubs operate in the way you describe, and lumping every new book club under “scammers” is unfair and could damage legitimate groups and authors’ opportunities.

Many book clubs, especially those with representatives or curators, have the right to select and feature books, sometimes even reaching out to authors proactively. In these cases, authors do pay nothing to participate and can benefit from exposure and engagement, including Q&As, discussion, and even increased sales.

Before raising alarms publicly, it’s helpful to verify facts , do your home work properly and distinguish between legitimate book clubs and actual scams. Otherwise, we risk spreading fear and uncertainty, which isn’t productive for the author community.

As authors, we all want to support one another while protecting our work and that includes doing due diligence and sharing accurate information. Thank you!

Beckham David Hi Beckham. Please accept my connection request and send me more information. Thanks

once again Jeff, I’m not impersonating no one. you’d clearly see my profile and my image so what does your accusation really mean? I have authors on here Stage 32 who can vouch for me and my work so far

Thank yo debra That’s great advice. I’m actively working on crafting a strong logline for my novel adaptation and studying the Stage 32 resources to sharpen it. I truly appreciate the guidance.

You're welcome, Saad Hmaidawi. I second what Debra said. Christopher Lockhart has a great webinar on loglines called “How To Make Your Logline Attractive to A-List Actors, Producers, Directors, Managers, Agents, Financiers and Development Execs.” www.stage32.com/webinars/How-To-Make-Your-Logline-Attractive-to-A-List-A...

Thank you, Maurice. I truly appreciate the recommendation. I’ve refined my logline and would love to hear your thoughts:

After escaping a ruthless political regime that destroyed his past, a haunted exile must decide whether to rebuild his life in silence — or risk everything to confront the system that still controls his future.

You're welcome, Saad Hmaidawi. That sounds interesting. The first part of your logline is strong, but I suggest not using "must decide" in a logline. I suggest telling the goal and the stakes instead. I also think "that still controls his future" is vague. How do they control his future?

Register a copyright before sharing, please.

I'm in exactly the same situation right now, except I'm writing a screenplay, not a novel. And here, the third act has no right to be weak.

The climax is the moment the audience endured the first two acts for. If the ending doesn't hit, doesn't make them hold their breath — everything that came before loses its value. You can write brilliant characters, craft sharp dialogue, build atmosphere, but if the third act falls flat, the screenplay becomes just a well-written story that no one will remember.

That's why I'm sitting here obsessively polishing every scene of the finale. Because I know: either it explodes, or it was all for nothing.

---

This is absolutely true. In my actual case, I have so many ideas, and I am still struggling to write the first one. It has been over a year, and it is not finished yet. I’m so exhausted.

Setting a goal and deadline helped me finish my latest script, Kat Spencer.

And “finishing” is a misnomer as the editing process can easily take just as long, if not longer.

After crossing the finish line, register a copyright through copyright.gov before proceeding further.