Screenwriting

From structure to content to representation to industry trends, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer tips and advice on the craft and business of screenwriting

Rodney Merten
More on OWA

I'm new to Stage 32. I've sent scripts in a couple of times in late December and now in January. So I do not know how quickly I might here back that I have made the cut or not. My question is this: If my submission does not meet the procedures, ie, I forgot to do something, will I be told so I can d...

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CJ Walley

From experience, no. You'll just get an email saying if your script was a finalist or not. It's pretty simple though. As long as your script looks like a script, you should be good.

Some of the rules s...

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Pat Alexander

Rodney Merten as long as you're uploading your script and putting your TITLE and LOGLINE in there, you should be good to go! There's no fancy or tricky rules, outside of just making sure your script i...

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Teaching Creativity

Consider this on the subject of creativity from that great interview by Dan Schneider of screenwriter Lem Dobbs:

Dan Schneider - But, to be a good writer, I think you must learn all the rules until you’ve inculcated. Once that’s done, you have to seriously unlearn them to be truly creative. Creativi...

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The Dan Schneider Interview 21: Lem Dobbs
The Dan Schneider Interview 21: Lem Dobbs
The Dan Schneider Interview 21: Lem Dobbs (first posted 1/25/10) DS:This DSI is with a screenwriter who has participated in some of the best films to be released in the last couple of decades, Lem Dob…
Mark Deuce

That is the question: Can you teach creativity? Do you have it or no? Lee Matthias thanks for this amazing share!!

Dan MaxXx

I guess it is similar theory to "10,000 hours" . 10K just to be average in your field.

One of my guys is a DGA director and this dude can tell you what camera lenses and the key light in a movie scene.

CJ Walley

Apparently there's studies proving that human creativity is a direct result of personal exploration and curiosity. As I understand it, the most impactful thing a person can do is move to another count...

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Pat Alexander
Regular Deadline Today: 2nd Annual Period Piece Screenwriting Contest

Hey friends, today is the Regular Deadline for the 2nd Annual Period Piece Screenwriting Contest. So now is the time to flash back to the past and immerse us in history with your scripts! This year's judges feature execs from CAA and producers on films such as THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, LADY MACBET...

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Mike Childress

Hey Pat Alexander is there a Horror Short contest yet perchance? Apparently I write those now.

Pat Alexander

Hey Mike Childress not yet! I really like that idea though, might have to think about something like that to run in tandem with New Blood this year :)

Tucker Teague
Paul Schrader Says He Asked ChatGPT for Film Ideas and They Were All ‘Original’ and ‘Fleshed Out’

Another AI and filmmaking story in the news, and this time with one of cinema's masters, Paul Schrader.

"Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when AI can provide one in seconds?”

There's a lot of legitimate concern about screenwriting, the use of AI, and a changing landsc...

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Robert Bruinewoud

let's ignore issues like copyright, ethics, what it means to be human etc – that stuff is SO hard – just ask yourself this, next time you're thinking about using genAI:

"Is the task I'm asking the gen...

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Mike Childress

Yeah Robert Bruinewoud by all accounts generative AI is already on par with Bitcoin mining re: power usage, i.e. rivaling a small country.

CJ Walley

That feels like a bit of a reach, especially when you consider that AI can be saving days/weeks/months of combined human and machine effort. It's only going to get more efficient too, as we've seen in...

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Zee Risek

Whether it's a painting, a drawing, a song, a novel, or whatever, the whole point of art is that the artist created it. A person looking at the art could say, "Wow! You did that?! It's amazing." I jus...

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CJ Walley

Zee Risek, yeah the power of sentiment is under-appreciated in discussions like this. There's certain things AI cannot replace, not because it's necessarily bad at them, but because there's something...

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Sydney S
Stage 32 Master Screenwriting Basics Certification: Learn All The Fundamentals Of Screenwriting In 16 Weeks (Jan 2025)

A comprehensive understanding of screenwriting fundamentals will not only improve your writing but will also help you expand your screenwriting career.

In 16 weeks over this 14-session course with 2 creative weeks for your own writing, you will be using a proven technique designed for emerging writer...

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Sydney S

Looking forward to the lab beginning this Sunday, email edu@stage32.com if you have any questions!

Grace Antonina Balistreri

I'm tried to log in for the lab of screenwriting certification AZ but It's not working can someone tell me what to do.

AZ Yeamen

Hi Grace, I'm just seeing this, an email is generally there is a calendar and email invite

with the calendar sent out.

Maurice Vaughan
Just Start

I think the greatest barrier I’ve always faced as a writer is just starting. Like all of us, I can just procrastinate and find some excuse for not actually getting started.” — John August

"I'll do it later" turns into "I'll do it tomorrow," then "I'll do it next week" and so on. Just get started. Yo...

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Michael Dzurak

The Pomodoro Technique works for me or people who (all too often) can't sit with one thing for too long. Have work chunks where you do different things. Today I took a self-study language test (in 3 chunks), wrote a scene (in 3 chunks), and edited previous scenes (when not doing the others).

Maurice Vaughan

I think this is my first time hearing about Pomodoro Technique, Michael Dzurak. I'll have to look into it some more. Thanks.

CJ Walley

Mike Childress, when you start combining it with producing and you get to be on set, it's a right hoot. Nothing like it.

Ewan Dunbar

a good one I’ve always liked is “you can always edit a terrible page, but not a blank one”.

Mike Childress

Ewan Dunbar That's a good one. Write every day, even if you only have five minutes of free time.

Maurice Vaughan
Ways to Think of/Find Script Ideas

Watch movies, shows, etc.

Mash two movies together (like DIE HARD x BRIDESMAIDS)

Scroll social media

Look at photos

Think about your past

Go outside/go to events and observe things

Watch/read the news

Read magazines

Watch interviews

Think “what if” (like “what if all the superheroes were captured and th...

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Göran Johansson

Just sent you the collection. 6 megabytes. So I hope it doesn't get stuck somewhere en route..

Rutger Oosterhoff

"Scary Movie 8; A Superheroes' Nightmare."

After partying thru the night, Robin finds out that -- in the same nightmare -- all superheroes and their sidekicks are captured by Freddy Krueger and impriso...

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Maurice Vaughan

I got your email, Göran Johansson. Thank you.

Maurice Vaughan

A superhero Scary Movie. Sounds interesting, Rutger Oosterhoff. What happened to Scary Movie 7?

Rutger Oosterhoff

The crew was killed off by Freddy before it went into production.

Tucker Teague
Consciousness & Creativity: Does Meditation Help You?

I'm putting this in the screenwriting lounge but it would easily fit in other lounges. With David Lynch's recent passing, I've been thinking about him a lot. I re-watched MULHOLLAND DRIVE and was once again shook to my core. I watched his Masterclass and was greatly encouraged. I also have been thin...

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Tucker Teague

Jack Vincent this makes sense and is similar to my own experience. There needs to be a mind-active period followed by a mind-passive period where the mind is relaxed and has let go, at least at the co...

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Dan MaxXx

Nope, never done meditation but I met peers & "heroes" in all different occupations who do meditation, plus booze, drugs, sex. Succesful/powerful functional Addicts.

CJ Walley

It's music for me. That's my meditation. When I listen to music, my imagination goes into overdrive.

I used to have a lot of ideas when going to sleep or napping, but that seems to have faded for me. G...

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Tucker Teague

CJ Walley similar for me. Music often helps me a lot.

Göran Johansson

An alternative to meditation is to go to the gym. Besides, our bodies are such that we should use our muscles. I have myself had ideas when riding the bicycle. Then there is the sauna.

Tom Batha
The one thing...

Does anyone pay attention to “concept” anymore? Like, the kind of thing where an exec can read the script and say “You know, this is crap writing, but that idea, that idea has legs.”

Or do execs prioritize other features of the script above “concept”?

Just wondering...

Pamela Jaye Smith

Good points above. And yet -- we humans do keep telling the same concepts over and over with different takes for different times. Researching my book and presentations on: "BEYOND THE HERO'S JOURNEY -...

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Kerson Raymond

I'd say don't worry about what an exec feels, wants, believes, and seeks. I believe every writer is different in the way they approach a subject, whether identical or not; just like we're all equipped...

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Todd Fabyanic

First, Nice post! In my opinion (if I may) I do not focus on anything industry when I write. My focus is on the Story/Script/Piece itself. I do not worry about opinions (That creates writer's block and disturbs the flow). In my opinion.

CJ Walley

Matthew Kelcourse, that's what reading the biographies really teaches you. What's revered now was typically rejected early on. The last chapter of my book is dedicated to critics that slammed the most popular films in movie making history.

Dan MaxXx

If you've been around this game long enough, you worked on duds, for whatever reasons.

Im old and I remember when Bonfire of the Vanities was considered the greatest novel of the 20th century. The writ...

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Maurice Vaughan
Coffee & Content: Mastering Visual Storytelling & The Multi-Hyphenate Mindset

Stage 32’s founder and CEO, Richard “RB” Botto, shares two videos in today’s blog.

In the first video, Every Frame a Painting explores the critical thought process behind camera placement.

In the second video, RB breaks down why embracing a multi-hyphenate mindset can be your greatest asset, how to...

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Maurice Vaughan
FREE Awards Season Script Giveaway!

Stage 32 is giving away 55 FREE scripts from this year’s top nominated movies for The Oscars, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and BAFTAs for you to read and study! Get the scripts here: https://mailchi.mp/stage32/oscarscripts...

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Awards Season 2025: Awards-Nominated Scripts
Awards Season 2025: Awards-Nominated Scripts
Hollywood "Awards Season" is one of the most exciting times of the year! The world's best actors and filmmakers step out in their finest fines to strut the red carpet amid the flashing lights and ador…
Laurie Ashbourne
A character study from Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

For 13 years she has served as Washington D.C’s first female diocesan bishop. She is the Bishop of Washington’s National Cathedral and as part of her dominion tradition, she held a service for the incoming President. No matter your faith or what country you live in, her words and request of that ser...

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Colin Mummery

Mariann Edgar Budde showed us what true moral courage looks like.

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