Your Stage : Hi there - I'm an ex BBC producer and I'm building a platform to connect screenwriters and development pros by Richard Edwards

What a maverick approach, and fresh idea. I will certainly be looking into this at some stage Richard. Thanks.

Cheers Debbie - hope you like it and please do sign up if you'd like to take part. Or shoot me some questions - I'm more than happy to talk more about Writemash.

Sounds like a good idea, if development pros are interested in looking at work not represented by agents. And if they have any ability to option or produce if they favor the work.

Great idea!! I'll pop over now and have a look see!! My two cents: for my own rewrites it is the 'change one part, change many' aspect that gets me. When you do too much to change a scene it can affect the whole script. Just because it's necessary doesn't mean we have to enjoy it... Having done consultancies and readings, the main beefs are formatting and dialogue. I've read scripts that just don't read well but I suppose this is just an experience thing in most cases - a product of being a new screewriter maybe. However, dialogue... well, a lot of the time I just tell people to read it out loud to see if it sound natural and the response is usually "yeah, I see what you mean"; it's when people use the dialogue to explain what is happening in the scene, like a character is narrating their own life (e.g. a character collapses and another character says out loud "Oh no, Charles, are you ok? I should call an ambulance. Don't worry Charles, you've collapsed and I'm phoning an ambulance!" - pretty much a real example). Anyway, rant over :-p

Richard, this site looks interesting. Will it focus on script theory only? If it offers professional services by writers and editors, would those be limited to the U.K. participants? Thanks for giving us a look at this.

My writing pain points are more that I never know how good my English writing is. Sometimes I get a feedback from readers who wonder what I'm asking for because they thought I was a native English and others come along with remarks like "English isn't your first language, isn't it?" with such a undertone that I get insecure. Hence, it would be helpful to have people who really help with this without changing the whole script if you know what I mean. Some want to be helpful and smarter than smart and begin to rewrite every sentence by which they change the sense and meaning completely. I hope you understand what I mean. :)

Elisabeth, I've helped various non-English speakers with their writing. I've always found it reasonably easy to spot those whose first language isn't English; just certain translational, grammar or syntax issues give it away. It may sound like I'm a bit of an ass but I've even given unsolicited advice to some writers; I've never had a complaint though, help is help. However, if you're upfront about it then you may find some readers/writers/consultants more receptive to helping and make it easier for them to help. The trouble is that a word here that throws a sentence there that ruins a page or scene will work its way up to spoiling your screenplay and in an industry that demands perfection, that just won't do. In saying that, I don't like when consultants are condescending or patronising; there's no need for being mean, criticism should be constructive or left unsaid.

Hi Richard. Sounds like a great idea. Have signed up and looking forward to when you're ready.

Ross, yes I totally agree and think it would be helpful if Richard Edwards offers an online service on www.writemash.com because I don't want to ask my American private friends for help always. What do you charge for checking the language?

Hi everyone - thanks for all the comments and questions! I'll try to answer them here, but let me know if I need to give more info. Okay here goes... Eric - it's not just script theory, but a range of services. And it's not limited to the UK, but global (English language) - i.e. US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ... Elisabeth - I see what you mean. I can see how having English as a a second language and that being picked upon in feedback is frustrating / demeaning, when you are looking for more constructive notes to make the piece as a whole stronger. Also, I'm inclined to agree with Ross; great dialogue / natural dialogue, rhythm and flow are such important things in a script and, as an ex-reader myself, it is hard to avoid being negatively influenced by turns of phrase that seem unusual. That being said, what I think you need is a service like that Ross is offering. Focused feedback on dialogue to identify anything that doesn't feel right. OR, a service which focuses on other aspects of the script, leaving dialogue to be addressed in another read. I think these are services which could both be offered through www.writemash.com Ross - if you'd like to offer them there, please do go and sign up. :) Elisabeth - As for the price, these are set by the readers. It's a buyer's marketplace, so you can pick and choose who you would like to work with based on their particular service, skills, costs etc. You have control! Susan - regarding optioning interesting work: Writemash offers some services for producers and publishers. I can't say much more than that here, but it's not far off what you're thinking :) Hope that helps. Shoot me some more questions if you like and I'd be happy to answer. R

Thank you Richard, that sounds great! I thought your site is still under creation, but your comment now sounds as if it's already very active... ?

The website is asking for a password in order to enter?????

Hey there Leona - thanks for checking back in. It seems a bug triggered our dev password protect page to appear. It should be working again now for you. Pls do let me know if there are any more problems. ;)

Cheers Richard for your speedy reply. See that it's still not ready, but I've already signed up to be alerted when it is.

Hey Richard, nice to see you again. What's the latest from your site? It still says "under development". When will you launch it? As a screenwriter hope you won't offer only advice, support and coaching, but also SELLING our stories.

Joined the site to receive notifications when it's up and running etc., only to find it's a site providing services for a fee. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have signed up.

Good to know, thanks David!

Hi David, Elisabeth - Writemash is at its heart a marketplace, with a range of development and reading services on offer. Many are by vetted development professionals, whilst we are looking at allowing passionate 'non professional' readers to offer their services too. We considering this as it has been a regular request from the writing community - who are an awesomely passionate and supportive bunch. As for the fee part, yes there are costs for the services, and development pros and non-pros are free to set their own rates. This means there may even be some services that are free, if not quite low cost. Certainly some of those people interested in being a 'non pro' reader have said they'd be interested to offer their services for a token amount, so hopefully that's of interest. Regardless, thanks for checking out the site. If you'd like to be removed from any emails announcing its launch, just let me know and I'll remove you from the list. I hope you'd still check back from time to time anyway, just to see what's on offer. :)

Oh and Elisabeth - yep, still under development. Please do watch this space for more info!