Screenwriting : I am so stuck by Tony Sterago

Tony Sterago, the place you’re in right now isn’t a failure, it’s a sign that you jumped into writing without being given the tools first. When a story comes from deep pain, Act 1 often balloons because you’re trying to carry the whole emotional weight before the structure is even built. What you need now isn’t coverage or critique. You need craft education — the kind that gives you a clear map so you can finally see what belongs where.

What will actually help you move forward

• A foundational course on how to write a feature. You need to understand beats, pacing, and why Act 1 is usually 25–30 pages.

• A simple structural guide like Save the Cat. It will show you how to shape your story without losing its heart.

• An outline before rewriting anything. One page. Just the spine. Once you see the shape, the fog lifts.

Where to get that guidance safely

Stage 32 has several beginner‑friendly webinars and classes that walk you step‑by‑step through feature structure, outlining, and rewriting. They’re taught by working professionals, and they’ll give you the clarity you’re missing right now, without scams, without noise, without overwhelm.

You don’t need someone to tell you “you got this.”

You need someone to show you how to get this. I hope this helps.

I'm not a big fan of outlines, but you might want to use one. Do you know your ending? Your character arcs? What are your plot points? If you have too much story (too much back-story) try the narrative route. Does your Act 1 have lots of back-story? Do you really need all of it? A character's entire back-story doesn't need to appear in the script. Drop visual clues or lines of dialogue that suggest where a character has been. The main purpose of the back-story is to serve you, the writer, in establishing character motivation. With your Act 1, where does the plot really begin? What happens that spurs your character into action? Does that happen closer to page 10 or 70? Start your story where there's the most urgency. And by the way, "You got this!"

Sandra Correia you're not wrong on any account. I have been looking for a mentor who can guide my hand but all I have found is people or companies wanting money, I as a working father just don't have. the Webinars are great, but they don't help me with my learning disability, and they leave me more confused or hyper focused on one aspect. I have figured out why page count matters and why act one should be the numbers it should be. I guess, I am having trouble separating the overarching story from the first part.

Erik Gagnon I sort of have all those things but not the understanding of what they are lol. so yes, I know a lot of stuff for my characters and story and all the moving parts. but how to put them all together is a problem

Tony Sterago First take a breath. What you’re describing is not failure. It’s draft chaos. And draft chaos is normal.

An 87-page Act 1 usually means one thing: you’re writing emotion before structure. That’s not wrong — it just means the story hasn’t been shaped yet.

Right now, don’t try to fix scenes. Step back and answer three things:

What changes from beginning to end?

What does the protagonist want?

What is actively stopping them?

If you can’t answer those clearly in 2–3 sentences, that’s where the work starts not on page 42 or page 63.

Also, trying to write a screenplay and a novel at the same time will split your focus. They are structurally different mediums. Pick one format first. Finish it. Then adapt.

And about only seeing the pain that’s important. But contrast creates power. If everything is loss, the audience becomes numb. Even tragedy needs moments of breath. Joy isn’t betrayal of pain it gives pain meaning.

If you want real help: • Write a 1-page summary of the entire story. • No dialogue. • Just plot and emotional shifts.

That will show you where it’s bloated and where it’s missing movement.

You’re not lost. You’re just too close to it right now.

Real work begins when you zoom out.

I agree with Sandra Correia you have probably jumped into this, without really understanding the process of screenwriting. I think that to be writing a screenplay and a novel at the same time simply adds to the confusion. Your 80 page 1st Act, sounds more like the book version of the story, than a screenplay.

I would decide what to do first and leave the other, till after one is finished. It seems to me though, that you need to get the novel down first, to understand what the story is all about. From there, you can write the screenplay.

The screenplay. First things first. From the novel - What’s the premise of the story? And, then what is the logline? (The two sentence distillation of the whole story).

You have here, at Stage32, a great and supportive community, so don’t despair, help is available. You can also dip into the Education section of the site and find a webinar on screenwriting 101. From that, I think clarity will come. Relax and breathe easy, Tony.

I'll read it and give you a screenwriter's perspective.

Geoff Hall yeah, I am just doing the best I can with the little bit time I have. So, I am doing the best I can. So, I don't disagree with her either. Just finding an answer to my timing issues and making this all the best it can be. With my neurodivergent issues splitting my focus has helped but it isn't a long-term solution.

David Taylor I use Writer duet if you would care to send me an email address I can add you to the list and you can read what I have there? it will not cost you anything to use the free version to read my stuff

Hello Tony, I saw your post, and I was the same way for a long time. Let's start with finding your voice. Telling a story should have fundamental significance and impact from beginning to end. It needs to captivate; this is essential in both novel and screenwriting.

Learning the difference is also important so you don't burn out and gridlock your processes with too much at one time. In other words, pick your battle and tackle one at a time.

You mentioned an 80-page first-act screenplay and that ProWritingAid is what led you to dip your feet into the novel journey path. So it is important to remember formatting is different between a novel and a screenplay, as well as the dialogue format. One is past tense and the other present tense.

An 80-page first act is already leaning heavily toward a novel, but a key is to know the difference between pages and words. In screenwriting, one page equals one minute of screen time, so 80 pages for the first act is almost an hour and a half. An average screenplay for the entire film can be around 90 pages alone.

In novel writing, pages aren't counted the same as in screenplays. In novel writing, the word count is what is used to determine which category of writing it falls under.

ProWritingAid is a good tool for emails, business, and a few other things it offers, but its creative writing functions can leave works feeling flat in key moments. Not a bad tool, but I would highly recommend AutoCrit novel writing program, it is designed with fiction and non-fiction writers in mind.

Feel free to reach out with any other questions about novel vs screenwriting to clear up the confusion.

Assess what you want your different acts to achieve and see how it is currently going about it. Do you have scenes that exist to serve a single purpose instead of multiple purposes (a scene should ideally be doing at least 3 things; advancing the narrative, developing character, developing inter-character dynamics), is there exposition that isn't needed, is this better off as a TV show and not a movie, and so on.

David K. Knight David yes I appreciate all the feedback it's really good stuff my biggest problem is I feel like I'm the morse code of writing I know simple things like one page one minute but other things I don't I'm really learning as I go but my learning as I go is chaotic because I'm learning certain things out of order. that said the thing I struggle with the most is I have this overarching story and breaking it down into 90 to 120 pages is where I went wrong I just started writing what I understood about the characters and the story and ended up with the First Act that's way too big. this would probably be better as a TV series but I have no idea what the difference is with that so I quite literally am just writing and delivering the information in the best way I can. people keep telling me I just need a mentor but nobody trustworthy seems to be willing to be mentor but there are plenty of scammers who want to be the mentor and I can't trust them and then people that do mentorships as a job want $10,000 so I just feel like I'm stuck

Ewan Dunbar yeah I'm doing the best to figure those things out and answer those questions but when you don't understand the questions you're asking it's kind of hard to find out if those are the right answers that you're finding. but you're not wrong about the advice and I do appreciate it greatly

Tony Sterago, I get it. There are a lot of people who tend to want to mentor for a lot of money or scam people without offering any value. I don't do that. If you want, feel free to send a private message with any questions you have, and I will offer free feedback and advice. I am off the clock today, but will be available tomorrow.

Hi Tony! I'd be glad to help!

Aris and John would love to get any help at this point David Taylor has also just started helping me so I'll take all the help I can get to make sure this is everything it can be if you send me an email ill add you to my writeduet and you can read what i have so far

Hi Tony Sterago I totally understand your frustration. You are not alone; this happens to a lot of people. What I would say to you is that perhaps you have a series on your hand and not a feature. Or maybe you are writing a novel and don't realise that your film does not need to have everything the novel has in it. Whichever it is, it sounds like you need a mentor or professional guidance for sure.

I get that there can be trust issues when it comes to getting coverage. I have experienced the good the bad and the ugly myself. Good feedback with useful direction. Horrible feedback where you can tell the reader was probably watching TV while reading and not fully paying attention or feedback that rips everything apart with no mercy and no direction.

With that said, coverage has been very useful in general. I would seriously consider some of Stage32's script coverage services https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage

Or their script consulting services https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/consulting

If you do not want to take that route, you can either join the writer's room https://www.stage32.com/writers-room where you have a community to share with or take up @Aris and John on their offer to help first. See if that fixes your problem before you spend any money, and after, if you feel you need more help, check out the services I mentioned above.

Kevin Jackson I did use one of there coverages one time in the early stages and it was helpful and then i also used greenlight coverage and it has been helpful. thank you for your insight and i did take aris and john up on there offer so att he moment just waiting to here back

Good to hear that Tony Sterago I hope you get your script where you want it. Have you contemplated any contests?

Kevin Jackson no not as of yet. I wanted to finish it first.