Authoring & Playwriting

hi there, I'm a little new to this but if I can give you any advice(and hope) it's keep going and never give up.

Andrea Johns This is actually something book agents often help with, connecting their clients with production companies or entertainment reps who might be interested in adaptation opportunities. If you don’t have an agent, Stage 32 also offers Career Development Calls where you can speak directly with industry executives and producers to ask for guidance on how to approach this process as an author. It’s a fantastic way to get personalized advice and make connections that could help bring your story to screen.

I also recommend reaching out to our Stage 32 Success Team at Success@Stage32.com. Let them know more about your book, your goals for adaptation, and where you are in the process. They’ll help you connect with the best execs and producers who are actively looking for compelling IP to adapt.

Register the copyright for the source material and for two treatments you create: one for feature; and one for series. Once those copyrights are registered, pitch to a literary agent that specializes in adaptations.

Hi Andrea Johns -- Ashley has some really good advice. I'd say that having a literary agent would be a good step as the agent can act on your behalf to approach companies looking for material. It can be done by yourself, but it's a lot of work and research. Best of luck!

Ashley is absolutely right Andrea Johns - definitely go through an agent. They can also help with the pitch process and what you need.

Oh my goodness lol My first story was a novel(i'm still working on) about a girl who explores a new world, only to discover she has pyrokinesis lol. Eventually, my passion for it led me to turn that novel into a trilogy and make a full universe out of novels. (and of course, that universe spread to my scripts as I eventually taught myself how to write screenplays lol)

First story I remember I wrote in class in HS as a freshman. I was kind of going through the motions and not trying that hard, but my teacher thought it was hilarious and she showed it to another teacher who also told me she thought it was funny. That was the first time I thought maybe I could write. I really was not looking for any positive feedback, I was just goofing around and trying to finish the assignment, but I was really kind of shook by how much my teacher thought it was a funny story and was very nice about going out of her way to say as much. I guess I've been chasing that high.

One of my first stories was about a lonely knight that travels through the kingdom and helps people along the way like fighting off bandits or hunting down wild animals that attack farmers. I wrote it when I was like 7 or 8 years old. Sometimes I consider to take it and turn it into a good story with the knowledge I have now.

Then when I was 12 years old I wrote my first novel. But I never published it. Because first my writing obviously wasn't polished enough yet at that age and also later I realized it was basically a Merlin fanfiction. It used to be my favorite show and I wanted to turn it into a version of my own. I do still love the Arthurian Legends though and apart from my screenplays I am actually working on a novel around that.

That's very inspiring to hear, Holly Fouche! Maybe I should turn some of my old stories into something strong and good now haha. I love that you turned yours into a fill universe of its own.

What I remember most about my first story was that it was handwritten. I couldn't afford a computer at the time so I wrote it all out in a notebook. I never published it or wrote it as a screenplay but someday I'd love to revisit it. It was called "Fables of Pangaea" and was meant as an anthology. The first story was about the history between the mongoose and serpents and how they became enemies. I recently made a little script poster of it to keep me inspired to revisit it.

That's great to hear. For you I hope you can get your scripts to the screen. Fingers crossed! Gradinariu Petru-pavel

Hi everyone!

Writing wasn’t always the plan. For years, I worked in kitchens around the world after serving in the Army. Food was my art form, it’s where I poured all my creativity. But over time, my military-related injuries got worse, and I had to make the tough call to leave that career behind. That was a rough chapter, losing something you love like that. I didn’t know what came next.

Funny enough, it was my friends who lit the writing spark. For years, they’d joke, “You always figure out movie plots way too fast, you should be writing them.” I heard it a lot growing up, but never thought anything would come of it. Eventually, after enough of their (loving) badgering, I took the leap and enrolled in school for creative writing. And here we are.

Now, writing has become that new outlet I was missing, a way to take all that creative energy I used to put into food and channel it into stories that matter. I’ve always loved layered tales like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where the real battle is internal, and the themes cut deeper than what’s on the surface. That’s the kind of storytelling I want to pursue.

Excited to be on this journey with all of you.

That's awesome Montana Clayton! I can relate to losing something you love and trying to find your new path. I share your talent in "figuring out movie plots way too fast." hahaha. Though I have written some fiction novels, I've never thought about moving into creating movies or TV. Honestly, I look at everything it takes to make something like that, and I'm in awe. Welcome, and thank you for your comment and best of luck to your storytelling career!

My main motivation for writing began with wanting to read my own science fiction stories. Then I transitioned to writing scripts for film and sketch projects I would film on Super 8 and VHS as a teen. I always looked at writing as part of my career along with acting and filmmaking.

I was inspired by everything that Stanley Kubrick's films conveyed to me, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, 2001, but my biggest idol in this profession is Vince Gilligan, with his masterpieces, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, my greatest motivation is to write a story that touches the hearts of the people who read it, that like Kubrick, explores the duality of human nature, that shows and transmits all the advice that I could give about love, and that explores the corruption of people and shows the reality of human beings.

That’s understandable. I’m aspiring to be an author and also director at the same time, so I was hoping to turn my novels into films or tv shows. I’ve only just started learning how to write screenplays. The novel I would like to adapt I’ve only just started writing as well, so I was hoping to do some of my own short films etc whilst writing this novel to get experience in screenwriting as well. Is this realistic or am I overshooting?

I am working on a gripping memoir I hope to adapt into a limited series. The story follows my descent into a nightmare when my fiancée vanishes without a trace, only for me to be arrested two weeks later—framed for her murder. As I endure a relentless interrogation, police deception, and the chaos of the Los Angeles County Jail, I uncover a web of lies and conspiracies designed to keep me imprisoned. The shocking truth? My fiancée orchestrated the entire ordeal, faking her own death to have me convicted—so we could secretly marry in a prison hospital and “live off the grid.”

I have written a novel ( SHALOHA GEMS) and paid for a series bible, i would like to collaborate with an established screen writer with a track record before i attempt to pitch it to a producer or a studio, make sense?

Hey Terry Chodosh , what makes the most sense is to make sure you're marketing the heck out of your book and racking up sales. The cruel fact of the industry is that they aren't much going to care about the quality of a book more than the marketability. There's a reason that "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets made into a major motion picture but a Pulitzer Prize-winning title like "The Orphan Master" still hasn't been adapted. If you want Hollywood's attention, it's not to spend your time and money on a screenwriter yet, but to give it your all to market the book.

These are great questions Ashley Renee Smith. I've done this with two of my books and have loved the journey. Moving forward, I plan on focusing on screenplays and using them as an outline for the books. I agree with Dawn in that the pacing was the biggest issue I had to overcome. But the journey has been worth the struggle.

Hey, Leonardo Ramirez. I'm looking forward to this AMA!

Maurice Vaughan Same here my friend! I’d love to go at some point.

I would too, Leonardo Ramirez. For the networking and hanging out with everyone from Stage 32.

Yes, that would be a blast.

Chiara Torrisi, I’m definitely someone who creates a new file for every major revision. I like to track the evolution of the story, and sometimes I’ll even go back and pull a line or scene from an earlier draft that hits differently after some time away. For me, it’s part of the process of seeing how the story matures. I also love that Scrivener makes that organization easier! It’s such a helpful tool for managing multiple versions! Curious to hear how others tackle this too.

No on Scrivener. Tools are interesting. I used to be a graphic designer, for 30 years, and the newest software, or it's latest version, was always replaceable every year. Adobe drove us crazy in that regard. Just pencil, paper, and Fade In. The searching, saving and such are built into the Mac software. I very glad Scrivener is working for you, as we all have to find our working environments and tools.

Having the chance to go back to the old drafts and see how much the writing has improved gives a lot of satisfaction, doesn't it Ashley Renee Smith

I probably keep waaaayy too many drafts LOL but it makes me feel better having them on hand. That way if I make a change and want to go back to something I had before, I can dig around and get it without having to remember everything.

Chiara, nice post to bring up. I usually average anywhere from 15 to 20 revisions on all my screenplays. It’s a habit I found helpful and learning but it also opened up my eyes as to how important revising is. I never discard my old drafts. I keep them in individual folders as a reference and reminder of how my growth has developed. Never hesitate in entering your earliest material into competitions. You’d be amazed how well you might finish regardless of the standing.

Hi, Kat Spencer. I read the blog. It's a great Q&A! And like you said, truly inspiring!

Thank you for sharing, Kat Spencer!

Erin Leigh, thanks for including some prompts here, great post. I do Not have any interest in including AI of any kind into my creative process and am not following through with any suggestions whatsoever. But it certainly doesn't mean I'm not interested in this technology, as it has been useful in some (totally unrelated to this subject matter) contexts; and since as you said, it is not going away, I do want to stay informed on its evolution over time.

Helene Leff -- I've been hearing a lot about Greenlight! A playwright/screenwriter recently showed me the breakdown and analysis it provided for a piece of hers that I know well. It was very interesting and I'm considering it with my writing partner. Personally, however, I'm a little derisive of the listing of actors/actresses that Greenlight suggests. To me it is silly -- how many incredible freaking actors are out there but who, for one reason or another, are not "A-listers" that Greenlight would utilize in the list -- hahaha, you can see I've got an attitude here.

Lynelle Paulick and to all the people reading this blog. Based on my experience as a screenwriter and AI user, I can say that the future won’t be about creativity but about speed. In the sense that, given equal creative ability among screenwriters (with or without AI), the one who meets deadlines the fastest will be chosen. And when it comes to speed, artificial intelligence is truly an accelerator.

I was able to turn a 60-page film treatment into a 20-page screenplay outline in just half a day by using AI to condense the scenes. Of course, human supervision is and, in my opinion, will always remain essential.

Lynelle Paulick that's exactly where AI helps screenwriters as an assitant in timesavings with labor-intensive manual tasks.

I've saved hundreds of hours of manual effort in usng Text-to-Speech AI in turning already completed original screenplays into recorded drama podcasts, to test drive scripts on an audience as "table reads," with https://youtu.be/hSFJDAxJYXU if you're interested.

Greg, I'll check this out! Will let you know. Thanks.

Hi Kat Spencer - thanks for asking! It's definitely a scheduled spare-time thing for both of us. Our day jobs take up a majority of our time, I have a few other projects I'm either collaborating on or being paid to write, and she loves physical activity and prioritizes spending time with her partner. So, while it's not quite a hobby/for fun thing we're doing, it's more of a, "we want to pursuse this as professionally as possible but recognize we have limited time" thing :) So far, we've been pretty good at sticking to meeting via Zoom once/week and meeting in person on a weekend day, so we're trucking along slowly but surely haha.

@Banafsheh and @Leonardo, congratulations to you both as well! Everyone here is doing amazing, and I love that we're acknowledging personal/physical/non-writing-related goals as well - balance is so, so hard to manage sometimes, but we're all trying :)

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Have a great Sunday too, Dawn Prato!

Dawn Prato Thank you for your answer! I wish you the best with it and congrats on keeping it in your mix. I am an advocate for a balanced life. What is the novel about? (If you don't mind sharing)

Kat Spencer I'm so sorry I missed this! I haven't been able to pop on here as often as I'd like (or should) lately.

The novel is about a girl caught by Fae, the changeling who replaced her, and the Unseelie squire sent to try and bring the girl back when she escapes :) They have to figure out how to work together (and figure out where they belong) while navigating two Faerie courts, internal politics, and little things like how to get along so they don't get killed.

Dawn Prato Only a few things to figure out. hahaha. Sounds like a fun read!

Debra Holland Well, I already have the feature film script done at 100 pages. The script has won awards, so I anticipate it will have a following. Therefore, all of the structure and character work is done. I may want to adda few scenes here and there to get to know more about the characters. After that, I simply put each script scene into AI and told it to transcribe it into a manuscript scene, no adverbs, use present tense and overwrite with vivid imagery. The result was fantastic. Also, I make sure it keeps my dialogue as it's not the greatest dialogue writer. In one hour I can put out 30 pages where it took me 1 week to do the same. BAM!

Anthony McBride, I think it’s really interesting that you used AI as a tool with your original material, not in place of it. That distinction is so important, and I appreciate the transparency. It sounds like you found a workflow that not only sped things up but also helped you sharpen your writing skills in a different format. I’m curious: did the process of turning the script into a novel reveal anything new to you about the story or characters?

Ashley Renee Smith Well, when I started writing the manuscript, I did realize I needed more scenes. That was the big difference. One hundred pages of script may only be 120-130 pages of manuscript with AI. You do have the chance to go deeper into character with the novel that you don't have with a feature which is a common note I get on my scripts. Let me know if you need help.

Mark Deuce I owe everything to you Mark!! I'm now ready to go to my fourth manuscirpt because of AI. This is a game changer.

That is amazing Anthony McBride and best of luck!!

Beautifully said. I couldn’t agree more, Emanuele Vergari. There’s a certain magic that comes from instinct, imagination, and emotional rhythm that can’t be taught or boxed into formulas.

Debra Holland, I totally agree that too many cliffhangers can feel forced or even exhausting. Do you have a favorite type of hook or a technique you like to use that keeps the momentum going without relying on a traditional cliffhanger?

That's a great question, for me I just write what I wanna write and trust that whoever likes it will come back haha. It's like real life for me; I've been told that I'm a lot of fun to be around and even though I don't personally get it I know that that means I'm doing something right haha. So I figure in most cases the best way to do it is to just be yourself. I don't imagine readers like to read something they know is fake, just like they don't like dealing with people they know are fake in real life.

I agree completely Banafsheh Esmailzadeh! That is a wonderful mindset to have. Especially for the creative process.

Thanks, Kat Spencer! Yeah my sense of self is tied quite closely to my creativity so it makes sense that there's overlap :) plus, y'know, as artists I do believe we're all still kids at heart and it's never a bad move to keep that in mind haha