Authoring & Playwriting

As writers and readers, we all have tropes that make us light up when we spot them in a story and others that might feel overdone. Tropes are part of the storytelling toolkit, but how they’re used can make all the difference.

Some of the most popular and enduring examples include:

• The Chosen One (Harry Potter, The Matrix)

• Found Family (Six of Crows, Guardians of the Galaxy)

• Enemies to Lovers (a staple of romance novels everywhere)

• The Mentor Figure (The Hunger Games, Star Wars)

• The Reluctant Hero (The Hobbit, Dune)

• Redemption Arcs (Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Severus Snape in Harry Potter)

• Time Loops (Groundhog Day, The Midnight Library)

• Rags to Riches (Cinderella, Slumdog Millionaire)

Some people groan when they see them, others can’t get enough. For many, the key is how they’re subverted or given a fresh perspective.

So let’s talk tropes:

What’s your favorite trope to read or write? Do you love it played straight, or do you enjoy it more when an author turns it on its head?

Navigating the world of book marketing can be overwhelming, but you don't have to do it alone. With the right support, your book can reach new heights and captivate readers everywhere.

Are you ready to bring your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry out to people who would take an interest in it and organically spread the word through traditional and social media? We'll help you find your audience where they already gather and reach them how they already communicate. Our services are extremely affordable, and part of the cash we bring in supports our social enterprise venture where we provide work opportunities and cash for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.

At Authors, Large and Small, we treat our clients like family. We specialize in author and book marketing services that will elevate your literary brand and expand your audience.

Common Challenges Authors Face & How We Solve Them:

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Solution: We craft SEO-optimized, engaging marketing content that highlights your book’s unique appeal, ensuring it stands out and attracts the right readers.

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Our author & book marketing services are designed to turn these challenges into opportunities for success. By partnering with us, you'll receive personalized, high-quality marketing strategies that reflect your unique voice and vision. Our team of experts is committed to helping you achieve extraordinary results and ensuring your book thrives in today’s competitive market.

Take the first step towards sharing your words on a larger scale with people who would appreciate and learn from them.

Check out Authors, Large And Small Publicity Services for custom solutions, questions, or to learn more and get started today! Please visit us at authorslargeandsmall.com or email us at authorslargeandsmall@gmail.com Let’s elevate your book together. When you succeed, we succeed!

Cristina Deptula, Owner & Publicist, Authors Large And Small authorslargeandsmall@gmail.com

Hello, any authors in New York?

The opportunities keep coming! We've just added a fresh batch of Open Writing Assignments (OWAs), featuring specific requests from producers and executives at major companies. This is your chance to get your work directly to the decision-makers who are actively building their slates.

NEW BATCH JUST ADDED:

- Low-Budget Features & Pilots ($1-3M): A Head of Development is actively seeking both Horror/Psychological Thriller and Rom-Com/Comedy feature and pilot scripts tailored for this budget range.

- Drama Features for Southern Shoots: A Producer is looking for Drama feature film scripts budgeted at approximately $1 million, with a planned shoot in the American South. All locations, casts, and script types are welcome.

- Movies of the Week & Pilots: An Award-Winning Producer and Manager is seeking:

- Movies of the Week in the Thriller and/or Holiday genres for any budget.

- Pilot scripts of all genres and for any budget.

STILL ACTIVE FROM OUR LAST BATCH:

- Prestige Sci-Fi: A Producer seeks feature screenplays (Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi Romance, Space Thriller) with a clear male lead (30-40) and no dense ensembles.

- High-Concept Studio Horror: An SVP at a Paramount-based horror banner is looking for feature-length horror scripts with a clear, scary concept for the $10-20M budget range.

- TV Pilots: A Director of Development is prioritizing procedurals with a "case open, case closed" structure, and is also seeking grounded sci-fi and half-hour comedies.

- Feature Thrillers: The same Director of Development is searching for fast-paced thriller features.

- Elevated Genre: A Development Coordinator at an established production company seeks elevated horror, horror-comedy, thrillers, action, and broad comedy, especially projects with social commentary or based on IP.

- Gen Z/Millennial Stories: A Production Company is seeking Comedy, Rom-Com, Thriller, Horror, and Action features that feel grounded and relatable to these audiences.

- A-List Talent Vehicle: An A-list actor's company is searching for a powerful, character-driven, dark drama for them to star in.

The OWA program is your most direct path to getting your work on the right desk. With new opportunities posted regularly, your perfect match could be just one submission away.

New to Stage 32? You can join the Writers' Room for a FREE month and apply to all of these OWAs immediately: https://www.stage32.com/writers-room

Your next big break is waiting. Happy writing!

Broadway is having a strong September! According to Deadline, total grosses were up 7% last week, topping $32.2 million across 28 shows.

The biggest highlights:

• Hamilton soared to the top with $3.6 million, boosted by Leslie Odom Jr.’s return as Aaron Burr.

• Waiting for Godot, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in previews at the Hudson, landed in the #3 spot with $1.82 million, an impressive feat for a play competing against musicals.

• Other sellouts included The Outsiders, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, and Oh, Mary!.

Meanwhile, The Lion King celebrated its 11,000th Broadway performance, and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club wrapped its run just shy of recouping capitalization despite near-full houses.

Read the full breakdown here: https://deadline.com/2025/09/broadway-box-office-godot-keanu-reeves-alex...

This raises some interesting points:

• Waiting for Godot shows how a revival with star power can still make major waves at the box office. Do you think star casting should play a bigger role in getting plays produced, or does it take focus away from the work itself?

• With musicals often dominating Broadway grosses, how do you see plays carving out a stronger foothold?

What are your thoughts? Would you rather see an iconic play reinvented with big names, or do you think Broadway should focus more on developing and elevating new works?

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.

2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “more people died,” don’t say “mortality rose.”

4. In writing, don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”: make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words, (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”: otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

As I write scenes – and even dialogue, I’m picturing the film – filming of the film. The lighting, the background, and the music or noise surrounding my characters. I’ve recently realized (beat) I want to direct my indie! I have no idea how to be a DIRECTOR, but get this… my producer/director is entertaining the idea of helping me become a first-time director.

So, I signed up for classes on Stage 32. There are plenty to chose from.

If I were to direct the film – there will be more room in the budget for a known actor (since I’m all-in without compensation up front) – and I’m excited to learn something new.

Check out the plethora of courses on Stage 32 (there’s also one about being a Multi-Hyphenite (doing more than one job).

Please share your secret desire to direct, produce, edit, or be more than the writer of your film. Or are you purely a writer? I love that everyone is different.

The 2025 Emmy Awards just wrapped, and now is the perfect time to study the scripts behind the wins.

Whether you’re a writer, actor, filmmaker, composer, producer, or post-pro, reading award-winning scripts is one of the most powerful ways to sharpen your craft and understand what’s resonating in the industry right now.

Stage 32 are giving away 40+ Emmy-nominated scripts from shows that defined this year’s landscape.

https://mailchi.mp/stage32/oci8olyvsh

Download and read a few scripts! See what you get out of them!

Hey Stage 32'ers!

I absolutely loved this week's 'Coffee and Content' blog by RB - check out the link and let me know what you think... and check out my comment about making burgers. Trust me. It'll make sense in the end....

https://www.stage32.com/blog/coffee-content-from-feedback-to-authenticit...

Enjoy!

Today I received an update from Europe Books: my rock-novel Demiurg. I-Deal Way successfully passed the first stage of their editorial review and now moves into the detailed assessment phase.

For me, these 10–14 days of waiting are not a reason to sit back. On the contrary, it’s the perfect time to keep building the Universe — I’m already working on the continuation of the story, expanding characters, and exploring new media formats around it.

At the same time, I’ve just submitted Demiurg. I-Deal Way to the Filmmatic Sci-Fi/Fantasy Awards (another “waiting window” till November 15) — and I want to highlight that this was possible thanks to Stage32, where I first learned about the contest. I’m really grateful to the platform and the community for constantly opening doors and opportunities like this.

Every step forward with publishers and festivals is important, but the real fuel comes from the creative process itself.

How do you use your own “waiting windows” in projects? Do you pause, or keep creating?