Trending Lounge Discussions

Hi Alex, happy Introduce Yourself Weekend—congrats on your upcoming release and the recent acquisition, that’s remarkable and exciting progress. Folk horror is my favorite! Have you also ventured into dark fantasy or dark sci-fi as well?

So glad to have you here. So excited to see that you novel is gaining so much traction!

Libby Wright thank you!

Dwayne Williams 2 not really. The next one, which is yet to find a home, is period gothic. And I’m polishing something now that’s strange, I’m not sure quite what it is, and I’m here for that!

Hi Bruce Wawrzyniak - wishing you an amazing time at NAB AND an amazing number of new clients :) cheers

Thanks so much, Sebastian Tudores ... Here's hoping!

Hello Bipal Dahal - Happy Introduce Yourself Weekend and welcome to Stage 32! Here’s a great post that will help you navigate Stage 32: https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-p...

Has your series been produced and available for watching?

Hi Bipal Dahal, welcome to Stage 32! I’m Ashley, Head of Community here on the platform. It’s great to meet you, and I really respect the intention behind your series. Building a story that not only explores real-world problems but also imagines solutions is a powerful approach.

You may find it really helpful to reach out to our Success Team at Success@Stage32.com. If you share more about your series, your goals, and what you’re hoping to do next with it, they can help guide you toward resources and opportunities that align with your vision.

Your concept feels very message-driven and expansive. What is the central character or perspective we follow through these different versions of the world?

Ashley Renée Smith

Hi Ashley,

Thank you so much for the welcome — and for right question.

The central character we follow is MARK. President of the most powerful nation in a fictional world. Brilliant. Strategic. Completely certain. He controls governments, manipulates economies, arms both sides of conflicts he quietly designed. He is not a traditional villain — he genuinely believes power and control are the only language the world understands. And for most of his life, he has been right.

The series begins with Mark at the height of that power. And the world starting to burn because of decisions he made in quiet rooms, with clean hands, without ever seeing the people his decisions touched.

But the true engine of the story is not his power. It is the crack in it.

That crack is his seven-year-old daughter LILY.

She does not know what her father has done. She only knows that when she draws the sun, she makes it the biggest thing on the page — because it is. One morning at breakfast she asks him: "Can't everyone just be powerful together?"

Mark cannot answer. He opens his mouth. And closes it.

That question — from a child with crayon on her hands — is what starts everything.

Alongside Mark's arc we follow the people the world forgot.

ADAM — a young soldier who writes everything he witnesses in a notebook that becomes a book published in sixty-four languages.

SARA — a factory worker who loses her job to economic warfare and responds by writing, alone at 2am, the framework that becomes global trade policy.

AMINA — a young woman who starts with a megaphone and thirty people and does not stop.

DANA — a medical student turned soldier who carries traditional healing knowledge across a broken world.

NARA — a six-year-old girl in a displacement camp who gives a soldier a smooth stone, because when something is important, you should have a stone so you remember.

Watching all of it — from the universe itself — is HOPE. A celestial being. Ancient. Patient. Not intervening. Not judging. Just watching. And believing — even when everything he sees says not to.

Two seasons. 18 episodes.

Season 1 — the world breaks.

Season 2 — the long, difficult, deeply human process of healing.

Season 3 — what becomes possible when the right people are finally in the right room. (Yet to complete in co ordination with producing partner)

It ends with a round table. One hundred and eight chairs. No head of table.

I am reaching out to the Success Team at Success@Stage32.com today as you suggested. I would love any guidance on the best next steps from here.

Thank you again, Ashley. This platform feels like exactly the right place for this story.

Warm regards,

Bipal Dahal

Such an interesting concept- and totally blue sky as far as more and more content that could be created!

Libby Wright Thankyou for your you time.

Hi Sydney S, happy IYW! Thank you for everything you do and for the encouragement you bring to the community! Your photo looks fantastic and has a magnetic, mesmerizing feel.

This is a gorgeous photo. So much beautiful light and movement!

My goodness Sydney S - that photo makes me wish I was right there. I SO love the ocean and can't visit the beach enough. Thanks so much for all that you do Sydney. You're fantastic with us humans and do so much to support us.

Working on a spoken word/cinematic music track that describes the cycle of an exploitative record exec versus a newbie hip hop artist. The listener hears only the exec, but based on the content, uses their imagination to pick up the other half of the coversations.

That sounds very interesting David Downes

Hey @Kat Spencer great to hear from you! What inspires you most when creating new music?

The wonderfully talented and most kind Kat Spencer - you are a legend. Hope you're having an amazing IY weekend!

RISK vs. REWARD looks awesome!! I checked it out on your profile - you did a great job of building the tension for the game show and it's clear on whether or not your contestant is a gambler willing to risk it all. I also like the concept of the do over. Really solid reel Eddie.

Hi Eddie Lawhorn - loved it! Just initial thoughts:

- on Reel, I did end up watching it again to get the min/max win/loss primarily because those graphics went a little too fast for me, Si=o maybe either slower pacing on that portion or spelling the risk/probability piece out a tad more?? thinking out loud.

- I also love the Do-Over feature; can only imagine what a sudden personal risk profile readjustment that can be for some! awesome

- also love that the categories go away as you pick and answer them - was not happy about that at all! haha

congrats!

First off, thank you for your service. As an AF brat, I know just how long and hard that road can be. I wouldlove to hear more about what you're doing!

Are you doing college football picks again this season Lorenzo Fleming ??

Hello Darrell and I did some prediction episodes this past season and will continue next season.

Hello Libby and you’re welcome and nice to meet you. I’ll be glad to share what I am working on as well as my future projects. Have a great weekend. Lorenzo

Hello Dwayne and the top three genres that I like are drama, comedy and sci-fi. Have a great weekend and glad to hear from you. Lorenzo

Nicely done Ryan Vallo onwards and upwards!

Congratulations Ryan! Are you working on any new stories?

Congratulations Ryan and nice to meet you!

Congratulations!

Pat, Amanda, Vital, Laura, thanks kindly for your messages. Pleased to e-meet you.

Yes Amanda, in fact I have a full slate of projects I’m working, some of which you can read about on my website, www.ryanvallo.com under "Writing".

Again much gratitude, Amanda, Pat & Laura. The work of you and your colleagues at Stage 32 is most appreciated!

Hey Douglas Parker great to meet you.

Great to meet you Douglas Parker I hope you enjoy this amazing network of creatives!

Ashley Renée Smith Hi Ashley, thank you for the warm welcome and thoughtful message. I really appreciate you taking the time to reach out.

What best represents my voice right now is a screenplay I’m developing called War of Divine Son. It’s a high-concept sci-fi/action epic centered on identity, sacrifice, destiny, and the emotional weight of power. At its core, it’s about a man caught between extraordinary responsibility and the life he truly wants, while facing forces much bigger than himself.

What drives me as a writer is combining cinematic scale, tension, and spectacle with grounded human emotion and character choices. I want audiences to feel the action, but also connect deeply with the people inside it.

I’m excited to keep building within the Stage 32 community, connecting with other creatives, and continuing to sharpen my craft. Thanks again for the encouragement.

Marie Hatten nice to meet you as well thanks for the warm welcome!

Lauren Hackney hello I’m excited to start networking and seeing people progress on there ideas thanks for the warm welcome I appreciate it !

To Bill Brock: Thank you for the video of Johnny Cash, a storyteller who puts most other musicians and creative artists to shame.

Robert D. Carver Agreed, and you’re welcome, Rob. Cash = LEGEND!!!! His rendition of “HURT” is Phenomenal. And his talent was the muse I needed to create a very complex character.

May John Cash ALWAYS Rest In Peace.

A number of people in this thread have hit on this already, but, following advice from a writer on YouTube, I listen to music that is related to what I'm writing. When writing my medieval epic, I listened to medieval music. When writing my mummy films, I listened to Ancient Egyptian-style music.

Now if there isn't a clear music-style choice for what I'm writing, I'll usually listen to some form of relaxing music (either lo-fi, classical, light jazz, or weather channel).

But one thing that is consistent in my music choices is no lyrics because lyrics will distract me.

I usually turn to YouTube as I have a Premium subscription to remove ads, so I'll usually pull up multi-hour-long videos with music that runs continuously.

Hey Ashley Renée Smith I can be a very nervous writer so I used to listen to Insight timer calming music now I'm wanting to emulate Ryan Coogler and listen to a mix of First Nations / Irish music to get into the headspace of my two female leads.

1000% yes, music has always transported me out of the tangible world and into the universe I created and need to inhabit fully when I write. We all know the power of music as a viewer of film-- it signals us when to cry or fully feel the appropriate emotion for what we see. Even more so during the creative process!

hi Banafsheh Esmailzadeh ! great to 'see' you - what are you working on currently? cheers

Hi Sebastian Tudores, nice to see you too~ right now I'm actually working on two projects, my social satires Metal Garden and Niveous Reverie, and both of them are pwning me lol (albeit for different reasons). How about you?