Screenwriting

"…and bring my worlds to life."

Yes! Bring them!

I don’t think there’s a single clear answer to this. A lot of people on this platform — and in the industry in general — are struggling with the same thing. It really is a patience game, and breaking through as a first-time writer is incredibly difficult. I also believe in my own story, just like so many others do. I’ve received tons of strong, 4–5 star feedback myself, yet somehow the process still stalled.

All we can do is keep trying — not just here, but on every platform and through every opportunity we can find. One day our scripts may reach someone who sees what we see in them. And once that first breakthrough happens, everything does get a bit easier. At least that’s what I hold on to — and I think many of us here feel the same.

In my country Macedonia you can't make a living only from screenwriting. You gotta have another job. But screenwriting according to my opinion is a way to honestly express yourself creatively, getting rid of the reality burdened by every day worries. I know writing is a tough job, but with some luck and persistence primarily we can break through with the scripts, making sure that our work can be seen, appreciated and recognised by someone who will decide to make it into a final product.

Fallout, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Yellowjackets, and The Last of Us to name a few, Zarya Rowland Bintz.

I'd toss Beef, Landman, Andor, and Mare of Easttown into the hat as well!

Yay, a whole bunch of shows to get started on! Thanks! I also love Red Dwarf Stefano Pavone and Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul Maurice Vaughan I'm looking forward to the next season of Fallout. Hoping it stays solid.

I favor films over series but Adolescence, Baby Reindeer, All of us are dead, Nobody wants this .

Some more of my favorites for the writing/story, in no particular order, are Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Doctor Who(I'm a longtime Whovian:), Hunter X Hunter, Death Note, Hannibal, Avatar:The Last Air Bender, Mr Robot, Ozark, Supernatural, Dark, Money Heist, and Watchmen.

Hi Maurice, can't wait for football tomorrow, lions are playing first

Hi Maurice, sorry, when I read your message it just said hey Billy kwack. Thanks Maurice, thanks for all the guidance

You're welcome, Billy Kwack. I might watch the game tomorrow.

It's okay. The name tagging doesn't work for me in the web browser on my phone, so I have to tag a person in the Stage 32 phone app. But I can't add anything to my comment after I tag a person in the phone app, so I have to open the web browser and add the rest of my comment.

Same here, I am grateful for all of them too. And that includes you, Maurice Vaughan. And shout out to you as well, Billy Kwack, thank you for helping me navigate Stage 32 when I was getting started.

Maurice Vaughan, this is so beautiful from you my friend. Ashley is a rockstar and I am grateful for her, for you, for Leonardo, my Stage 32 family. Happy Thanksgiving my friend.

Hi, Maurice Vaughan,

oh, thanks for your careful correction.

You're welcome, Ehsan Rahimpour. And it's the last week of Stage 32's November Write Club. It can help you reach a goal, it's a chance to connect with writers, directors, producers, etc., and you can get support for your goal and projects. There's three prizes this week and a grand prize drawing at the end of the month! Week 4's blog came out Monday. www.stage32.com/blog/november-write-club-week-4-the-art-of-the-pitch-wha...

it’s the first element I anticipate when I’m watching a movie or a tv Ehsan Rahimpour series.

Ehsan Rahimpour - very insightful. My entire script is often written from the idea of an inciting incident - then I start at the beginning - incite - and keep going!

Debbie Seagle Totally agree, the inciting incident sets the whole tone. It’s a great starting point for building momentum.

Happy Thanksgiving Jon. I appreciate this opportunity. I've been writing in the dark for years but successfully publishing my first book has given me more confidence and purpose as a writer. I'm finishing up my pitch deck for animated feature that's been close to my heart for years. I have zero screenwriting credits to my name but I know how to tell a story and I know I have a good one. I'm glad I found this community because I feel just being here will answer a lot of my questions, I do have a big one however. With my 5th draft complete and my pitch deck almost done, should I be putting all my focus into finding a manager before approaching studios?

After having sold.true life screenplays, Netflix aired a documentary that I was featured in

on Oct 30th. 2025.

Since I have no representation, but was integral to the Documentary, do you think I could send my newest true story to them?

Or who might wish to assist with my Netflix submission given the aired Documentary I was featured in?

Kindest regards.

Jackie Giroux

Hi Jon, thanks for doing this. What’s the best way to put together a query letter via email and is there a specific day and time you should tsend that out to producers and agents? Thank you so much. Really appreciate this.

Hi Jon, thank you so much for you time offered to everyone.

In your professional opinion, when is the best time to seek out representation? Is there a certain amount of screenplays, concepts/ideas or do you believe a screenwriter needs some credits first?

It is a pretty finicky industry to break in to.

Thanks for your time.

Mick

Hi, Jon. Thank you for conducting this AMA.

What’s the best way for a multi-genre writer to get on the radar of managers who handle both screenplays and books?

By way of context: I write across fiction, nonfiction, and scripted. My flagship project is an action-thriller series, and I have several other screenplays listed on my Stage32 profile. On the nonfiction side, my history manuscript has two publishing offers—one with an advance in the several-thousand-dollar range. Early readers include AC Grayling, Steven Pinker, and Michael Shermer, all of whom have offered endorsements. Despite this traction, the agents I’ve approached haven’t been interested.

I’d truly appreciate any insight on how writers working across formats can get noticed by managers, or whether there are alternative pathways you’d recommend.

I love the first act. My favorite to write is animation. What about as a viewer is seeing characters expressing their emotions on how they feel. My least favorite is dark comedy stories (I.e, Satirical or harsh) and stories about Time Travel, it just doesn't translate well with characters in the present time and interfering with the past event.

ACT II was a challenge for me on my script. Lot of things going on in there.

That’s a good question, honestly. The start is usually where I have the most trouble, but like everyone else I really hit my stride after it. The ending can be another trouble spot because one of the worst things to experience as a viewer is a badly written ending (second only to a great idea that’s poorly executed). So no matter what I like to at least have a slow opening that takes its time hitting its stride and a strong finish that rewards you for sticking with it.

As a viewer I actually love the opening image, becoming totally immersed in that world, as a writer I don't know yet. It's all equally daunting tbh.

I love all of it.

I agree wholeheartedly. It’s why when I write, I make it a point to respect my audience’s intelligence no matter their age (kids especially I don’t believe in talking down to, they’re brilliant). I don’t believe it’s my responsibility to teach but rather communicate, and if I end up teaching that way? Cool. It’s organically done without being preachy, everyone’s happy.

Most of all, though, I want my audience to feel a little less alone in the world.

Maurice Vaughan Thanks for the congrats on the final pass, Maurice!

That's interesting that you rewrite as you go—it definitely sounds like a great way to keep the material tight from the start. I appreciate the link to the plot twist webinar as well!

Cheers!

Sam Rivera I love this approach, it's something I'm trying to mirror within my process! That idea of not killing the creative momentum in the first draft is absolutely key.

I'm considering formalizing my process into structured passes: (not concrete, but something like):

Pass 1: Get the story out there—raw, unfiltered, and unedited.

Pass 2: Address grammar, continuity, and dialogue clean-up.

Pass 3: The dedicated pass for beats and pacing.

It definitely sounds like a lot, but I believe that reviewing with a single, clear intent on each pass will be much more effective than trying to do everything at once.

Thank you so much for sharing your insight and a bit of your personal process—I really appreciate that!

You're welcome, Ryan Wilford. Rewriting as I go helps me come up with ideas. Scene ideas, dialogue, twists, tech for my characters, etc.

John Fife Thanks for the congrats on the final pass, John!

That's really interesting—I've never heard of the "Save the Cat" storyboard program for inputting and arranging beats. It sounds like a powerful way to visually structure the pacing before you commit to the script.

It’s fascinating how, as writers, our processes are so different, and how we find such unique tools that work for our personal way of seeing a story. Thanks so much for sharing your method and taking the time! Good luck on your journey!

You're welcome Ryan. Great program and has helped me a lot with my writing. There is a great book out there called "Save the Cat, The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need" By Blake Snyder. Short book but really lays out a template how a screenplay should be structured and organized so it flows the Hollywood way,

Happy Thanksgiving, E Langley!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanks for this reminder E. Langley. Frank Capra’s masterpiece, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” is the gift of community. Our fellow creatives are our guardian angels, here to help us grow and succeed, especially after receiving a rejection. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving.