Screenwriting

You're welcome, Philippe Jeanneteau.

I've been here nearly fifteen years and execs aren't looking at loglines. They are overwhelmed by the pile of scripts in their slush pile already. They are pulling from reps and writers that come recommended to them.

On places like here, you're more likely to get noticed by an actor or director in the early stages of their career, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The pitching is different. With that, you're getting in industry member's faces.

CJ Walley Thanks a lot, CJ. Really appreciate you taking the time to explain this so clearly — it helps a lot.

Just keep grinding Philippe Jeanneteau

Here is CJ's truth- too many scripts in their slush pile already. They are pulling from reps and writers that come recommended to them.

It is a very small club.

Congrats to Tony! I got next…

Congrats!

Congratulations Tony. Onwards and upwards!

That is so awesome!

Congrats to Tony and everyone who made this big event a success.

That’s a good reminder for me.

I’ve had so many epiphanies across my different sci-fi worlds.

The last one, for my script The Silent PFC War, really shocked me and made me realize the idea touches the very foundations of how a civilization is built and developed.

Meriem I did some big fantasy as a kid, so I can relate to the worldbuilding epiphanies. They're so fun to get.

Great idea for a post, Spencer Magnusson. My most recent screenwriting epiphany is the Fantasy Action feature script I'm outlining needs ooze. :D

Yes Spencer Magnusson

fantasy can also have special moments of epiphany.

You made a valid point. If the final scene or ending of a film can bring tears to the audience’s eyes, that film tends to stay in their hearts for a long time.

There's an industry saying, "there's films that need to make money and films that need to cost money".

Sometimes, people know that a film needs to be produced because it provokes something in people. That's when you're creating art for the sake of art rather than the bottom line. Ironically, some of the most financially successful films of all time were made by putting the art first.

You're right, Ashok Varma. When stories move us, they win. I try to make my scenes moving when I outline and write them. I even try to put moving moments in scary scenes, action scenes, and suspenseful scenes sometimes.

My favorite director has always been S. S. Rajamouli. If I ever had the chance, I would love to collaborate with him someday—even though, as a small writer like me, I know it’s almost impossible.

Still, his work inspires me endlessly, and I’m truly excited for his upcoming film Vaanaraashi.

First of all, in this life, nothing is impossible.

Second, what does it even mean to be a “small” writer? There’s no such thing as a small screenwriter. Every screenwriter is a huge, unique personality.

If you want to work with your favorite director, you just need to take action. Understand that, start creating, and the opportunity will come. You will meet the people you admire—just keep moving forward.

Who did the artwork for the poster you used? I need an artist to collaborate on a graphic novel?

You won’t believe it, GPT-Chat…

Hey, Aleksandr Rozhnov. Jordan Peele. He's a master of storytelling and symbolism.

Elle Bolan, welcome back from the land of rewriting. That place has swallowed many of us whole at some point. Your question is such a good one, because balancing revisions with new pages can feel like trying to keep two different creative brains running at the same time. For me, the key has been treating each phase like a different mode of creativity rather than trying to force them to coexist all at once. Rewriting uses a more analytical, structural mindset, while drafting new material feels looser and more exploratory. When I try to bounce between them too quickly, I end up frustrated with both.

What helps is dedicating specific windows of time to each, but not necessarily every single day. Some weeks, I’m all-in on revisions because I have a clarity streak going and don’t want to break it. Other weeks, I give myself permission to focus on new ideas because that momentum feeds my energy. The balance shifts with the project.

I also find that being intentional with my “creative bandwidth” helps. If a rewrite is emotionally or mentally heavy, I don’t expect myself to produce clean new pages that same day. And sometimes networking becomes my lighter creative work, still productive, but not tapping from the same well.

There’s no wrong way to juggle it, but it sounds like you’re already doing the most important part: showing up consistently.

It’s two very different type of tasks requiring a different mindset. I prefer to split them apart. one day I do new pages and the other day, I revise. However it’s important to spend at least two hours per day in your new story to keep your mind thinking about it (so creativity flow more easily).

@Banafsheh the tunnel vision phase is so fun.

@Ashley Renee Smith now that's awesome. It really hard to juggle all the things. I'll adopt that flexibility you talk about in because sometimes I do feel like I'm expecting too much with not enough hours.

I focus on one project and take notes on anything that comes my way.

And because I’m obsessed with my conversations with ChatGPT,

I discuss every new idea with it, develop titles, and even create some visuals.

Here's a post about Scrybe from a month ago, Jim Ramsay: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Scrybe

Thanks, Maurice. Got it.

You're welcome, Jim Ramsay.

Hadn't heard of this site before. I see it's got a limited number of comps listed. Unless there's a cost advantage, I'd be inclined to enter a comp directly or through filmfreeway which has a vast cornucopia of comps.

Thanks for the input Colin.

Yes - and I sometimes unashamedly hide subtle clues as to who they are in my scripts. Actually, I hide lots of things in my scripts.

Martin Scorsese would be top of the list, his enthusiasm for cinema of all kinds is infectous and I would like to talk film with him. He's dead now but Robert Altman would be one as would the also deceased David Lynch. Would love to hang out with Jim Jarmusch as well. These are all directors but I could add more actors, writers etc.

That sounds crazy, but I’ll say it anyway:

I want to work with Christopher Nolan. Lol

God no. I don't do this to meet celebrities. There are artists I respect tremendously, and I'd love to chat with them and learn more about their process and thinking, but working with them brings a complicated dynamic, especially if you're coming at it as a sycophant.

I see it on set a lot and it causes me to lose respect for people.

Ooh I don’t have anything like this but I guess an absolute dream person to one day get the chance to be in the presence of would be Viola Davis

For anyone just landing here —

this post is two worlds colliding:

continuation:

I’m a world-builder, a mythology-bender, and a creator who finally watched YEARS of ideas snap into place like destiny clicking its seatbelt.

If imagination had a fuse,

I lit it.

If emotion had an amplifier,

I cranked it.

And if story universes could evolve…

mine just started M.E.W-tating.

If you’re into:

• cosmic-level character work

• mythology with modern teeth

• world-building that feels like a pulse

• stories that punch and hug at the same time

…pull up a chair.

This journey’s only getting louder.

last continuation:

The VS my theory

My interpretation: buckle up. No edits, nothing. Pure adrenaline!!

Title: Boom-Wacha-Lacka! A thud to the door.

Body:

I admit, this will feel crazy at first, but quickly, eloquently, it will turn into understanding. A few speed bumps along the way, that’s not normal in my neighborhood.

Everything is paved, perfectly. Emplaned beautifully. All roads labeled exactly where they bring you. Nothing is hidden, except in plain sight. Watch..(not wach!) my imagination guide yours.

Existence is questioned, but never broken, laws are corrected when crossed, no payment for pleasure, in the sense of simple communication.

Mythology and psychology combined.

Words and realities are formed, and never forgotten!

Best of all! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder !

Imagine galaxies never ending, but ever expanding, in purity! In Harmony.

My screenplay NEON was worthy of winning FIRST PLACE in three contests this year, (2025). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the prize for winning one of the contests was a copy of a live recorded video consultation that I did with the legendary,

Writer/Producer/Director/"showrunner" of many prime time television dramatic series, Robert L. McCullough.

LOGLINE

Spanning decades from the 1950s to the turbulent streets of South Central Los Angeles, Neonfollows the life of Rodney “Neon” Robinson, a young boy raised in a military family whose life takes a dark turn after the loss of his father in the Korean War. As he grows, Neon struggles with identity, violence, and survival, ultimately rising as a leader within the Bloods gang. His journey is one of resilience, loss, and the relentless search for belonging in a world that seems determined to break him.

It’s Nemo from Mr. Nobody.

That movie changed a lot about how I see the world —

the meaning of choice, the butterfly effect, and the theory of parallel universes...

It’s truly a remarkable film and a remarkable character.

And the second reason I love it is because it inspired my best sci-fi idea:

The De-Evolution Game: Paradoxes Unleashed.

That is such a good question lol, mine would probably have to be Goro Majima from the Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza series. He's just so lovably crazy and fun, and best of all, layered.

Hi, Shirley Collier. It's cold and rainy here too. It's hard to pick a favorite, but one of my favorites is Batman. He has cool gadgets and tech, he cares about people/helps people, he's rich, he's a skilled fighter, and he deals with things that real people deal with.

For TV, I always come back to Buffy Summers. She’s the kind of character who evolves with you: every season asks more of her, emotionally and morally, and she keeps showing up anyway. Her strength isn’t just supernatural; it’s the way she carries responsibility even when it costs her.

For film, it’s Miles Morales. His story captures that blend of vulnerability, identity, culture, and rising to a moment you never thought you were ready for. His journey feels grounded and human, even with the multiverse exploding around him.

And for books, it has to be Aelin Galathynius from the Throne of Glass series. Watching her grow from a hardened survivor into someone capable of immense sacrifice and leadership is the kind of arc that stays with you. She’s flawed, fierce, loyal, and so deeply layered.

So impossible for me to stop at one so I hope you'll indulge me haha:

1. Archie Bunker - to me, the most well written sitcom lead ever.

2. Fraiser / Niles Crane - 2 sides of the same coin and some of the best-written characters in comedy TV.

3. Nathan Jessup - perhaps the villain I feel the most empathy for.

4. Marty Byrde - perfect combo of wit, pragmatism, sardonic, sarcastic and heroic traits all wound up in a character you're not entirely sure if you like or not.

5. Fletch - one of the best comedy characters ever written. Chevy Chase may not have been easy to get along with but few match his approach to comedic acting.

100% feeling all of that Juliana Philippi :)

Juliana Philippi What a powerful reflection, and such a beautiful way to close out the year. There’s something really special about that shift from resisting the work to embracing it, and you captured that perfectly. Once you show up consistently, the creative momentum starts to feel like it’s meeting you halfway. I love how intentionally you’re approaching your slate, and I can’t wait to see all the projects you’re lining up come to life.

Ashley Renee Smith Thank you!!! I will always remember your email, or post, asking me what I was doing, and if I would join November Write Club.

Juliana Philippi so well said!

Darrell Pennington Thank you so much: )