Screenwriting : Ramsay by Jim Ramsay

Hi Jim! Welcome! You're further along than you think. Finals placements and options mean your writing is connecting. Production is often about timing and luck as much as talent. Also, the Lounge isn't about credentials. it's about craft and community. Writers at every level share work, get feedback, and learn from each other. Some of the best notes I've seen come from writers who haven't been produced yet but have sharp instincts.

As for next steps: keep writing, but also start building relationships. Connect with producers, attend pitch sessions, stay visible. Six finished scripts is a powerful arsenal: now it's about getting them in front of the right people at the right time. You're closer than you think. You can also email me and the team for support at anytime: success@stage32.com. We can give you career guidance if you tell us what you're writing.

Well, what sort of scripts do you write? Genre specific? Television or feature film?

I haven't had anything produced either - and that is the whole goal. Hang around, chat with a few people.

Just show up and be you. Talk about yourself, your work, your struggles with pacing, dialogue, software, or your cat writing two paragraphs of Qs while you grabbed a water. Just whatever.

These guys are pretty supportive in here. Passionate and knowledgeable too.

Dive in. You won't regret it.

Hi Jim. I'm in the same boat. Several contest wins, dozens of placements, blah, blah, blah, even a writing assignment, but never had anything "produced". At this point I'm still writing but I'm trying to find an agent or manager, and listing scripts on websites like the blacklist to gain exposure. Never gonna give up because its just in my DNA. That's my advice. Never give up. Good luck.

I certainly need guidance. I also have one-pagers and pitch decks for my projects.

Well, my cat.... I'm an architect turned writer. Envisioning a story and writing a script is very similar to creating architecture. Action/Thriller features are my lane. One feature is based on true stories, and a one-hour drama is based on a true story. All of my scripts are based on or inspired by real events, and mostly feature strong female protagonists.

Also, I am a realist and realize I'm more likely to win the lotto than sell a script.

Congratulations, Jim Ramsay! I agree with what's been said. You could also post your scripts on your profile. Producers search profiles for projects. Click the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner and select “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu. Scroll down to “Loglines” and click “Add/edit loglines” to the right of “Loglines.” You can also post your scripts on your profile this way: www.stage32.com/loglines (near the top where it says “Add a Logline”)

And it's Stage 32's November Write Club. It's a chance to connect with writers, directors, producers, etc., and it could help you reach a goal(s). There's prizes too! If you're interested in joining, Week 2's blog came out yesterday. www.stage32.com/blog/november-write-club-week-2-insights-from-the-stage-...

Hey Jim Ramsay Your credentials—finals placements and options—absolutely qualify you to participate in lounges. Most members haven't had productions yet; they're building toward that goal together. The community values thoughtful engagement over credits. Options prove professionals saw commercial value in your work, which is significant validation. From here: focus on why those options didn't convert to production (script issues? packaging problems? market timing?), get professional coverage on your strongest script to ensure it's truly market-ready, and actively pitch to executives rather than waiting for opportunities to find you.

Thanks, Pat. Someone with an existing relationship and more important than me cut in line and pushed my project aside so theirs could be produced first. I'm sure my projects still need work; our projects are never done until they're in the can. Right?

That's the hard bit, Jim Ramsay. The answer is networking. It's always networking.

Making finals and getting options is a really good start. Very promising. Most people don't get that level of validation.

Try to go outwards from where you are. It takes time. Move on from competitions and look at the tiers of the industry you can make your way into, again slowly and authentically.

Thx CJ....

They've all said it better than me but I have found the community at Stage 32 to be an incredibly important asset. Access is what we all work for and dream of, of course, but the community here is full of experience, wisdom, empathy and encouragement. Soak as much of that in as possible. People here that have reached out to encourage you on this post is just a small but perfect sample of the rounded support Stage 32 seems to offer.

Thanks for the advice, Anthony.

The market is opening up, increasing in volume demand and becoming more accessible. Pitch a lot; see adverts etc. Develop your way of written pitches. Make sure Loglines work, and synopsis are real synopsis, not marketing blurb which doesn't tell all the story with its ins and outs. I'm not a fan of competitions, others are.

Write, direct, produce one yourself. It can be zero budget but still be great.

Jon, I'll ask Jack Binder about it. I wouldn't know how to create a zero-budget project.

David, Yes, loglines. Who knew you could spend so much time writing a sentence or two.... jim

Self produce / self finance your first project. Build some pedigree and go from there.

Thanks, Stephen. jim

You have 6 completed scripts and you've made the finals in several competitions yet you're reluctant to participate in the lounge? As far as advice is concerned, surely you just keep plugging away... says someone who only has one (series) script currently and is unlikely to enter any competitions.If I was younger I might, but I feel more inclined (at my age and stage in my writing career) to hope that strenuous pitching is the best route to production.

Some shorts have 20 million plus views on youtube. That writer/ director will then make a full feature, and distributors will grab him.

Make your own film; write, direct, produce SOMETHING. Prior to SETESH 2025 I had never directed or produced a film. It is a full feature. With a great phone , today, you can make a film. People want to SEE your words on a screen.

If you say you never did it before, I can tell you what to do.

while you await assistance don't be standing still...push forward

Billy Cox - "... Visibility is currency "full quote:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DxcGqYWsn/

Thanks, Tom. I'm not a great promoter. In my business, I've never had to promote or advertise because word of mouth always kept me busy. I'm an introvert and wouldn't mind being left alone to play with my horses, dogs, and cars. But I love to write and would like to make films (and maybe TV), so I need to become (as you say) visible. I need a plan to create visibility. Any thoughts? jim

Michael, Pitching? Where do I begin? If I'm not formally pitching, I do a pretty good job, but I'm given 3 or 5 minutes and told "GO". It doesn't come out so well. I'm terrible at self-promotion, but have done well in meetings with producers and actors. jim

Hi, Jim Ramsay. Check out my comment on this post: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Where-do-I-start-4

Being a semi-retired web marketing guy, I always recommend getting your project a Facebook Page, and a separate website.

Websites in today's markets are now the new brochure and sales engine for whatever you're selling.

Websites have a different value now than they did before AI.Before AI, "search engine" traffic was what drove people to a site. While that still has some merit, the search engines are now all AI.

Now, the meatier you make that website, with very dense information - the more you can be found. No need to trim everything down, now you can pump up the volume (great movie) and be found in ways not previous possible.

I started searching for my projects within AI, and it exposed a huge number of weak spots - and instead of waiting weeks for search engines to figure out my updates - within a day AI had already revised its findings on my project. It's not just dumping quoted information - it's summarizing what it finds.

It actually had attributed another author to my work because of me not formatting the text properly. Fixed it and now it's correct - all within a day.

THEN -

BONUS ROUND - I stumbled into the amazing reach of Podcasts. (WTF?)

A lot of people think I'm nuts until they see the numbers. ("they laughed when I sat down to play").

Yep RSS feeds of your audio episodes automatically siphoned up by Apple and YT and Amazon - all automatically siphoning your latest episodes, and folks find them on Amazon, YT, and Apple Podcasts.

What was once a dead means of internet radio broadcasting has made this GIGANTIC RESURGENCE. Those of us in the web business thought podcasting was dead around 2003.

YouTube just this year launched a podcast section to all YT channels. Amazon Music has a huge Podcasts section ... you have 3 GIANT platforms that will come and get your content automatically.

Why the resurgence? I think it's headphones and treadmills. Folks are retreating into their headphones.So what do you podcast about? Well you can use your own voice, radio style and begin to talk about your work, or perhaps you create episodes using AI audio podcasting tools which are fantastic, and I have I setup some test sites with some sampler podcasts generated by NotebookLM. (https://notebooklm.google.com). I have the NotebookLM AI people "review my work", or they will debate the topic.

Here's the punchline ... of the test sites that have a few as 3 or 4 episodes, the ORGANIC search engine value of the websites that have podcasts is dramatic.

Screenshot of my project Mayorga website, and its podcast download numbers ...

https://mayorga.pro/page.php?p=podcasts