Screenwriting

Hi, Meriem Bouziani. The De-Evolution Game sounds interesting!

"Too global." I would probably pick a main character who has a lot to lose personally, a character who's going through a tough time, or an underdog character. And the main character would be interesting, exciting, or unique.

"Too technical." Outline emotionally impactful scenes based off your characters, their pasts, their relationships, the storylines, and the science. You can also use objects to turn complex science into visual, emotional moment. And study Sci-Fi movies and scripts like Interstellar and The Martian.

"Too many themes." It's ok to have a theme that you focus on and sub-themes. Theme is the basis for characters, scenes, dialogue, etc. in my scripts.

Thank you very much, Maurice, for your help. The main character is Daro, an AI whose journey unfolds across parallel universes. I feel the Mr. Nobody style fits best—Daro reminds me of Nemo—but because the crisis is global, I’m struggling to write it well.

You could have the characters do things like stand up, sit down, pace around the room, throw things, etc. as they talk, Ethan Meadows. That way it doesn't feel like the same beat on repeat.

I feel it really comes down to the actors. If you give a good actor solid writing, they will flip it and do great stuff with it.

I am in a similar boat with my script. I am hoping that my dialogue is enough for an actor to work with.

I use the PASTO system for all scenes. It's a classic structure which goes:

Preparation

Action

Struggle

Turnaround

Outcome

Basically, your characters all go into a scene with an intent and a plan in their head of how to make that intent a reality. They then go into action and meet conflict in various forms, which can be other people, internal issues, or the environment around them. That causes a struggle which they overcome but leads to a turnaround or revelation that creates a new dynamic, usually another obstacle or intrigue, and now the character(s) must face that.

Hey, F.J. Hubert. I do that with my scripts, especially during fast-paced scenes and scary scenes. It makes the script read better in my opinion and saves space.

Here's some of what I wrote during Ashley Smith's weekly writing exercise in Stage 32's Writers' Room Lounge called "Writing with Sound":

INT. MANSION - HALLWAY - NIGHT

Rain beats the weathered windows.

Old, luxury mansion. LONG, empty hall with a row of closed doors on one side. The only light comes from the night sky.

BOOM! Thunder cracks.

The bare feet of a timid WOMAN (20s) enter the hall at the far end and slide across the floor.

Her trembling body -- wrapped in a white lab gown -- makes strange jewelry shake. Earrings, necklace, bracelet on each wrist. The jewelry gives off a loud, eerie sound.

Glancing back every few seconds, she turns the doorknobs, hoping a door is unlocked. None are.

CRACK! The sound of thunder sends her to the floor --

Her body hitting the floor makes the jewelry louder.

She pushes herself off the floor. Stares at the far end of the hall, breathing frantically.

Silence at the far end......

Until a thunderous sound comes from another area of the house. An army of boots marching toward the far end of the hall.

There's a writing exercise every Tuesday if you're interested. You have to be a Writers' Room member to get into the WR Lounge. You can sign up for your first month free here: www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip

Absolutely love it. Too bad I'm so tight riight now.

Great call out. I'll start running my own projects through this process as well. My background is novel writing, so I tend to be longwinded, despite my efforts to the contrary. Even my comment here could be dramatically more concise.

Yeah, I'm with you on the repetition. A producer I work with can't abide by it. Drives him a bit crazy to read if the same word keeps coming up.

I have to say, this is getting really exciting now. I saw the blog post about this the other day. Personally, I think this is a major development within the screenwriting world.

I think Western audiences would love to see exotic cultures and myths, because it's different and unique. Research what you want to show and show it as is.

It all comes down to set up. As long as you set up the stakes and relevant information, the audience can piece together the rest as you take them on the journey.

This is such an important question, and your awareness of the simplification risk already puts you ahead of many writers attempting cross-cultural storytelling.

The core challenge you've identified:

Western audiences often lack cultural context for non-Western folklore, creating pressure to explain, simplify, or domesticate stories in ways that strip their authentic power. The temptation is making everything easily digestible, but that often means losing exactly what makes these stories distinctive and meaningful.

Approaches that tend to work:

Trust your audience's intelligence. Viewers can handle unfamiliar cultural elements when presented with confidence. Shows like Pachinko and films like The Wailing succeed by refusing to over-explain their cultural contexts. Immersion often teaches more effectively than exposition.

Find universal emotional anchors without universalizing the specifics. The feelings driving folklore - fear, desire, community bonds, moral consequences - translate across cultures even when the specific supernatural entities don't. Let audiences connect emotionally while maintaining cultural specificity in the details.

Avoid the "Western guide character" trap. Don't create audience-surrogate characters who need everything explained to them. This device immediately signals you don't trust the material or your viewers.

Consult deeply, not superficially. If you're outside the culture you're adapting, meaningful collaboration with cultural insiders isn't just ethical - it makes the work better. They'll catch simplifications and misreadings you can't see from outside.

Consider what "adaptation" actually means for your project. Are you retelling a specific tale, or using folklore as inspiration for original stories? The latter often gives more creative freedom while respecting source material.

Eastern European and rural folklore actually has growing market interest, particularly in horror and fantasy genres. Properties like The Witcher (Polish folklore foundations) and interest in Slavic mythology demonstrate audience appetite for non-Western supernatural traditions. Your concern about "Western audiences" may be less limiting than you fear - global streaming has expanded what's commercially viable.

Your instinct to preserve complexity rather than simplify is exactly right. Audiences are increasingly sophisticated about global storytelling - trust both your material and your viewers.

Audiences suspend their disbelief in new, fantasy and previously unknown world’s if the story is executed well. There is no one formula to appease Western viewers. Geographic boundaries & old cultures can be shown visually over expletives. Novel to script, thoughts & feelings are replaced by dialogue & action. Characters “show” the rules of their world, instead of tell. Research is key but tell the history in your own unique way. Study different structure frameworks Eg The Hero’s journey, it covers folklore & its archetypes such as The Herald, Trickster & Sage. Bold, & memorable characters with a concept that rocks & good plot, makes modification unnecessary.

Western audience is quite the generalisation. I'm guessing you mean the mainstream western audience? It's important to remember that there are various demographics within that. At the end of the day, you should be writing what you are passionate about in the most passionate way. Chasing an audience never works.

Hey, I wrote a screenplay; definitely faith based. I wrote it as a tribute to my Mom after she past away. If you would like to read it, let me know.

@Maurice Yes, I take screenshots of hand written notes & drawings. Also back up all laptop files on USB stick. May use coloured index cards for double journeys or one protagonist solving two equally important cases. (Separate stories overlap) Yellow for Timelines, Blue for Relationship lines, Pink for Main/Subplots, Lime for Key Sequence Endings. There’s no “one right way” to use cards, I know some writers who use many more, even for each beat etc. I prefer the minimum. Once the main puzzle yields, on how to best execute a parallel narrative or Tandem, I prefer spontaneous free flow of the rest. Too many “tangible” pieces of card at play, diverts from organic inner speak of characters who drive my plots. Years back I experimented with a lot of cards & the process for myself, became clinical over creative.

Backing up files on a USB stick is a great idea, Debbie Croysdale! I need to get another one. I have a USB cord that goes from my laptop to my phone though.

I'm old school as well- paper first last and always- then screen!

Maurice Vaughan 5 Yes many lol. I knew the first draft protagonist more but neither are speaking for themselves, great indicator they developmental work is needed .

Valerie J Runyan Yes! I feel like I think better on paper.

I saw a movie a little while ago where the secondary antagonist had a character arc, Mone't Weeks, and he was more developed than the main antagonist. I don’t usually see secondary antagonists with character arcs.

I have experienced it as well. Perhaps it's the equivalent of a screenwriter rushing through the story and trying to get where they think is the most important part of the script, but they leave out all the great elements that took place prior. I believe viewers want to go on a journey and the wonderful thing about screenwriting is we that can allow them to go on the journey with our characters. It’s important to invest in building these characters. Creating believable characters and believable dialogue. When you think about it if the screenwriter doesn’t care enough about their characters, why should the viewers who are watching care?

Great points, Mone't Weeks! What's one way you make a character or dialogue believable?

It depends on what I’m writing. But most of the time I use characters based on the people that I know or have encountered and some of the things that I’ve heard over the years. But I also free up my mind, allow myself to enter into the world of “creative licensing”, and I somehow end up on the road that leads to the nether regions of my mind. It is there in my writing where all of the new characters emerge. I begin to develop new narratives featuring characters and concepts that are entirely new to me, representing work I have not previously encountered. If I am writing Comedy, which is my absolute favorite to write, I measure the authenticity of the characters and dialogue if it makes me laugh while I’m writing. I of course also write Drama as well and because it is far more intense, I allow myself the same freedoms. I’ve found out that when we are patient with ourselves and the screenwriting process, the buried treasures that lie dormant within us will come to the surface. Many times characters have also emerged from my personal experiences and pain. After all, some of the greatest freedoms that we will ever have in this life is as an artist of any caliber and especially and actor or screenwriter. You can be whoever you want to be as well as your characters, live vicariously through them, and even create the world that you want to live in. Or you can rewrite the past or propel your characters into the future. Either way you are creating these dynamic characters and producers and viewers want to get to know these characters. Why recycle the same characters or the same tropes when you can create brand new characters and introduce a world that has never been seen before.

Those are great ways to make characters and dialogue believable, Mone't Weeks! Thanks for the ideas! Something I do to make characters believable is give them personalities, flaws, strengths, story goals, life goals, secrets, etc.

Great news! Its exciting to see the landscape of Entertainment evolving and especially in Comedy. I absolutely love writing comedy.

Nice one. You guys are killing it at the mo.

Thanks CJ Walley!

Mone't Weeks Absolutely. Great opportunity for both TV and feature writers.

@Sydney, with jingle-bells on.

Incredible webinar! It's a must-watch! Thanks for putting this webinar together, Stage 32! Thanks for teaching it, Carley! Thanks for moderating, Anthony!

Yes, very insightful. Carley is terrific!

Hey, where's the link to Carley's 8 Week Screenwriting Lab?

A good holiday movie can be larger than just a movie. It can become a family tradition and stand the test of time. Good stuff!