Screenwriting

From structure to content to representation to industry trends, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer tips and advice on the craft and business of screenwriting

Your Stage 32 Success Story Starts Here: Join Our FREE June Community Open House!

Your Stage 32 Success Story Starts Here: Join Our FREE June Community Open House!

Wednesday, June 10th at 12:00 pm PT!

Every success story begins with a first step.

If you’re ready to take yours, join me, Ashley Smith, Head of Community at Stage 32, for our Summer Community Open House Webcast happening Wednesday, June 10th at 12:00 pm PT!

Free Registration: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-june-2026-community-open-house-webcast

Whether you’re chasing representation, looking for collaborators, or simply ready to stop creating in isolation, the Stage 32 Community Open House is your moment to show up, be seen, and start making real progress.

This free live event isn’t a presentation; it’s a fully interactive session led by you and guided by Ashley Smith, Head of Community at Stage 32. You’ll have the opportunity to share your goals, ask questions, and tell us exactly what resources or support you’re looking for right now in your creative journey.

Ashley will walk you through the most powerful tools and features on Stage 32, including how to build a strong profile that acts as your virtual business card—clearly showcasing your skills, interests, and creative voice. You’ll learn how to participate in the free Stage 32 Lounges in a way that positions you as someone others want to collaborate with, including how to make a compelling post, contribute to ongoing conversations, and stay consistently active in a way that builds visibility and trust.

You’ll also learn how to keep up with the latest industry news, platform updates, and community insights through the Stage 32 Blog, and how to access Stage 32 Education, Certification, and Script Services.

This session will close with a live Q&A tailored specifically to your needs—whether you’re a writer, director, producer, actor, editor, or someone who wears multiple hats.

If you can’t attend live, don’t worry, registering ensures you’ll receive the full recording to watch anytime from anywhere!

Wherever you’re starting from, this is your launchpad. Join us and take that first step with intention.


Liked by Mark Films and 5 others

Leonardo Ramirez
What's the Thematic Question of Your Current Screenplay?

While the short version of Sol Rise is in development, I just finished the outline for the feature version.

I've loved making the jump from sci-fi/fantasy into drama. It's pushed me to sharpen my focus on character development, relationships, and thematic clarity.

Speaking of theme...

What's the themat...

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Meriem Bouziani

Yes, exactly — a global crisis of chaos and nonsense. Leonardo Ramirez

Leonardo Ramirez

Ha yes Meriem Bouziani - chaos and nonsense. Great way to put it!

Mike Boas

”What does love require of us when our deepest calling seems to demand the same part of ourselves?”

I had to read this multiple times to parse it. I think I’d present it in a more straightforward manne...

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Mike Boas

“What would happen if humanity lost access to the prefrontal cortex?”

It would be bad!

Not quite a theme. It’s like saying the theme of The Terminator is “What would happen if robots wanted to kill all...

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Meriem Bouziani

Thank you very much for your feedback. I truly appreciate it.

You’re right — this question works as a strong hook for the script. And the question you suggested is powerful as well.

I could also say: Ca...

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Gurpreet Singh
What Azrael Reminded Me About the Power of Atmosphere Over Explanation

Last night I watched Azrael and I’m still thinking about it.

What stayed with me most wasn’t just the horror or the creatures — it was the atmosphere.

The film creates this calm, unsettling, almost dreamlike tension where silence becomes part of the storytelling. There’s very little dialogue, yet the...

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Liked by Ayesha Simra and 16 others

Ashley Renée Smith
What’s one goal you set for yourself this year that you’ve had to shift, adapt, or scrap entirely?

Screenwriters, I’m back!

First, I want to say how excited I am to be diving back into the community and getting caught up with all of you. The past few weeks were a whirlwind between Cannes, travel, and then a head cold that followed me home, so if you’ve been waiting to hear back from me about a mes...

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Ivonne Renteria

Hola

después de algunas pérdidas logre terminar mi primer libro y auto publicarlo en Amazon.

https://a.co/d/0j1UPrS2

Jamie Sutliff

My goal was to make it to Cannes and I did. I won Cannes Best Screenwriter of the Year 2 years in a row 025 and 026. I couldn't afford to go in person and I asked if anyone with Stage 32 would accept...

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Haley Mary

Welcome back, Ashley! While my goal was to perform my own comedy show this summer, I still haven't found a venue to do that. Now that we're in June, I feel like I should figure out a venue that I'd be...

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Nicholas P

Get my first story noticed and pitch it to a executive

Joyce Isaacson

One goal I had to change this year was how I approached my writing career.

For a long time, my focus was simply on finishing projects. This year, I realized finishing the work is only part of the jou...

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Liked by Ayesha Simra and 12 others

Contest

I'm thrilled to share that Echo Protocol has been recognized by the World International Movie Awards with both the Award of Merit for Best Narrative Feature and the Jury Award for Best Creator Globe Award.

This screenplay has been months in the making, through countless drafts, rewrites, feedback ses...

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Jaz Lagrimas

Big congratulations Ali Muhana! All of your hard work is worth it. This is proof that if you keep going and keep believing in yourself, the reward will definitely find you.

I hope you will join us at o...

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Ali Muhana

Thank everyone I can't wait to see my script winning the Oscar now hope so

Peter Brabson

Hello from Palm Springs. Congratulations on your success. Keep believing. I'll see you at the Oscars!

Ana Rodrigues

Congratulations, Ali.

It's inspiring to see the dedication and perseverance behind a project being recognized. Wishing you continued success with Echo Protocol and all your future storytelling endeavors.

Ayesha Simra

Congratulations, Ali Muhana.

Liked by Banafsheh Esmailzadeh and 15 others

Aleksandr Rozhnov
How Do You Feel About Outlines?

Hi everyone,

I have a question for my fellow writers.

When you start a new project, do you create an outline first, or do you jump straight into writing the first draft?

I understand the value of outlining. It helps you see the overall structure of the screenplay, identify potential problems early, and...

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Debbie Croysdale

The importance of outlining depends on the project. I always have a rough skeleton that loses limbs along the way, as characters grow & redefine plot points. However with complex scripts Eg; Parallel...

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Sean O’Brien

I tend to start with an outline and get myself going, but no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. When I do a full outline it ends up going out the window about 30%-50% of the way in as the characters start to live and breathe.

Nikita Adams

I believe in a hard, tight outline and I rely on it through the entire writing journey.

Roberto Micheletti

I think I'm much more character-driven than outline-driven.

All three feature scripts I've written so far, I've never really started with a detailed outline.

Usually I start with a...

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Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

I actually really like writing outlines. I’m just hilariously bad at following them after a point ^^; I still say though that my characters often have better ideas…

Liked by Ayesha Simra and one other

Taraf Haydar
A scenario that needs feedback

The Story:

Synopsis: A young astronomer and astronaut, born under the zodiac sign of Scorpio, embarks on a voyage to Titania، Uranus. There, he encounters a cosmic entity and falls deeply in lov...

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Samantha Rivera

The premise of a young astronaut falling in love with a cosmic entity on Titania is a wonderfully strange and visual hook that could lead to something truly unique!

Taraf Haydar

Samantha Rivera thank you I really appreciate it!

Mike Boas

Goal, obstacle, stakes.

What is he trying to accomplish? What stands in his way? what happens if he fails?

I don’t need to know that he’s an astronomer. Astronaut is enough. I don’t need to know his star sign.

Liked by Ayesha Simra and 5 others

Elle Bolan
Shared efforts: adventures in co-writing and collaboration

Good morning screenwriters,

How are you today? How's your projects going? Have any of you collaborated on a screenplay recently?

I'm about to step into two collaborative projects and it's been long enough since I've co-written that I'm realizing how much I've forgotten about what it's like.

For those...

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Leonardo Ramirez

Hey Elle Bolan - great question! I'm kind of in the middle of one right now. I think it all boils down to how much people respect each other. The more mutual respect there is, the easier things flow....

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Seventy

Hi everyone,

Great question... I’ve been thinking about collaboration a lot recently as well.

In my case, I’ve been developing a transmedia sci-fi universe (The Light of Sunless) mostly solo so far, but...

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Elle Bolan

Hey Leonardo! Yes, absolutely, respect has to have a seat at the table. I'm very lucky in having both collaborators be people I have the utmost respect for.

Elle Bolan

@Seventy, division of labor is one of the first things I try to discuss. I'm very, very, veeeery easy going about notes, revisions, changes. I am in no way precious or protective over my written work...

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Seventy

Beautiful insight, Elle.

The more I write, the more I feel that stories don't belong to us... we simply help them take shape. The best collaborations seem to happen when ego steps aside and everyone se...

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Liked by Kenneth Ellis 2 and 3 others

Honorable mention

Happy to share that my feature screenplay Echo Protocol received an Honorable Mention from the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival.

According to the festival, the screenplay finished in the Top 3 of its category, making it one of the highest-rated projects considered during the competition...

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Mone't Weeks

Congratulations! You did it! Keep on doing great things!

Ali Muhana

Thank you and I will not stop until I get my hands on the Oscar

Mone't Weeks

That's it!

Eduardo Escober

Oscars, yeah. Do or die, right? ;-)

Ali Muhana

OH YEAHHH !!

Liked by Matt Brinker and 3 others

Patrick Koepke
Contained Horror Renaissance? (OBSESSION and THE BACKROOMS)

With two low budget horror films doing well in the box office right now, I'm wondering if this will spawn a larger/more urgent call for original IP contained horror scripts. I know that two films aren't a trend, but WEAPONS can also arguably fall into this category, and it does seem like contained h...

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Patrick Koepke

Pat Alexander I submitted THE LINEBREAKERS for that contest the first day it was announced, and very very excited to see how that one turns out. Please know that the contests, pitch availability, scri...

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Patrick Koepke

Lindbergh Hollingsworth A good point. Genres definitely ebb and flow. I am happy to see it ebbing at the moment.

David Taylor

I’m hoping Zombie movies die soon, but they are fun to write. Alternatively Zombies will be a reality we can share very soon and ‘Shaun of the Dead’ will become a daily newsreel rather than fiction. I...

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Patrick Koepke

David Taylor I thought about writing a zombie script a few years ago, but it is difficult to retread it (at least for me) without being derivative. Making a dark comedy in the vein of Shaun of the Dea...

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Matt Brinker

Low risk, possible outsized reward if there's a good enough hook.

Liked by Jaz Lagrimas and 2 others

James Lagrimas
Stage 32 8-Part Screenwriting Lab: Write a Crime Feature Screenplay with Nikita Adams

Crime is one of the most enduring and commercially powerful genres in film and television. If you've ever wanted to break into this genre, you already know the demand is real. But let's be honest — writing a crime feature screenplay is harder than it looks. Many writers come in with a great premise...

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Sydney S

So excited for this lab!! Nikita and I spoke today, and shes really excited to get going!

Nikita Adams

Excited isn't even the word...I can't wait to get started!

Liked by Kenneth Ellis 2 and 5 others

Michael Pelkey
Success without Contests

Hi everyone,

I’m curious to hear from writers and producers who’ve navigated the industry without relying heavily on contests. With the current economy, entering multiple competitions every year just isn’t realistic for me, and I’m wondering how essential they truly are for breaking in.

Do writers sti...

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Michael David

It's just the opposite Michael Pelkey , contests are usually meaningless when dealing with producers. If a screenwriter wants validation, they can be very uplifting, but if you want your movie made, t...

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Austen Lott

It's a different market now than it used to be. I was a quarterfinalist in the Nicholl comp in 2023 and received a couple requests for my screenplay from management companies. Nothing came of them, bu...

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Michael Pelkey

I appreciate the insights Michael David and Austen Lott. I'll just keep grinding away.

Jack Teague
New poster concept for "Chasing Mary" #chasingmary #marywelshhemingway #howitwas #femaledriven #lostlakeproductions

Pleased to present the poster concept for "Chasing Mary" as we ramp up marketing and shopping for 2026

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