Screenwriting

Maurice Vaughan I'm quickly finding that some aspiring writers won't follow simple instructions and they are more interested in pushing their projects than addressing the assignment in front of them. I've gotten a few messages from my earlier post that says I need a possible third party to keep writers on task. The only other alternative for me is to contact literary managers or agents and see what non-union writers they have on their rosters.

I meant experienced talented writers without reps, Matthew Gross.

Okay so to be clear, you would not require the written to have representation up front, it rather, you would provide representation for that contract through your company. I feel that this is a really revolutionary model that could work and could give a chance to under-repped writers. Right now I personally have no representation so I would love something like this. Other people's mileage may vary however.

What you are doing is sub-letting any possible hassle with the actor/writer to an agent, at the actor/writers cost. Great for a business model. Most people just want the gig.

David Taylor I'm noticing unprofessional behavior that will potentially interfere with the work. Directions aren't being followed by writers. I asked specific questions with this post, for example, and you'd be amazed at the responses I've received. Having a third party seems essential. Here's the thing, David. I need for you to hear this. I need everyone to hear this. If I refer writers to literary managers or agents, I will pay the manager or agent's commission. It will not be deducted from the writer's pay. This will be stated in the contract that I will upload here on Stage32 for community review.

AI tools give everything a weird plactic-y veneer that just screams inauthentic. I think- and when you have non-filmmakers or people that didn't go to school for camera op or have any idea about aesthetic and ask them to design their own stuff with AI it's just a god damn mess.

Thank you for sharing your experience, Lori! I've been waiting far too long. I will reach out to the Stage 32 today. I've only submitted once so I don't have any other experiences to share. To answer your question, I am okay with waiting a few weeks so the reader can spend time with my work providing solid coverage.

I think the way forward for anyone without a direct tie to a producer or director or money is to associate a an actor with your script with a LETTER OF INTENT then secure a distribution deal and negotiate with a larger production company with that leverage. In so doing I have come up with an experiment where instead of funding a whole movie I want to fund a single actors time with the production in return for a letter of intent. I've put up a kickstarter which goes live on monday and I will test it. I'm trying it on the most popular of my scripts which also happens to be the cheapest and most accessible. Let me know what you think!

Dark Spot

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rooksproductions/dark-spot

Hi Douglas. I have submitted several times with a 2-4 day turn around so waiting almost 6 weeks seemed unprofessional. I decided to stop waiting and cancelled the original submission. The new agent it was submitted to sent it back within days, with well thought out notes. A much better experience that I think all screenwriters deserve.

Agreed. My first and only submission sat idle for 2 months. S32 gave me a resubmission code which I used today. So, we shall see...

Agreed. Time for a whole new set of title pages. Fortunately, my phone is set to blocking all unknown “likely scam” numbers.

Bill Brock , I commented a few hours ago, but my post deleted by accident, but to answer again, yes, it's outdated. Most will reach out by email. Protect your number.

Hey, Bill Brock. Happy New Year! I just put my email.

Nicholas Jonah Greene Agreed, Nick. Gone are the days when one could include a phone number. Looks like Billy’s got a brand new groove.

Maurice Vaughan Man! All these crazy forms of communication! I’ll just make it easy on myself. From now on, I’m putting YOUR email on my scripts. That should cover everything.

If this resonates with you, you can explore the project further on my profile.

https://www.stage32.com/loglines/69770

Really unique concept and visual, Koby Nguyen! I'd watch this movie/show!

This is a great question, and honestly a very real struggle.

One thing that helped me was realizing that “voice” doesn’t need to live in every action line.

I started thinking in terms of contrast: letting most of the action stay clean, simple, almost invisible

, and then allowing the voice to appear only at key emotional or conceptual moments. When voice is constant, it slows the read. When it’s rare, it lands harder.

Another thing that helped was asking myself, line by line: Is this line doing work, or just expressing mood? If it’s mood, I try to translate it into a concrete action, image, or rhythm on the page. That way the voice is felt, not stated.

Finally, I found that trusting the reader matters. Sometimes the most “voicy” choice is restraint, It’s not about stripping identity away, but about placing it with intention, so it becomes a punctuation mark rather than a constant narration.

Koby Nguyen, I appreciate the feedback.

Hey, Nicholas Jonah Greene. I've been there. I suggest checking out this webinar called "How to Write Effective Action Lines in Your Film or TV Script." www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-write-effective-action-lines-i...

Hi, Chris Jennifer Wakefield. Great to meet you. I suggest checking out Stage 32’s feedback services, especially the Feature Script Read + 30 Minute Talk with an Executive (www.stage32.com/scriptservices).

I also suggest using a photo of yourself as your profile picture. People will feel more comfortable networking and collaborating with you if they know what you look like. You can upload a picture by clicking the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner and selecting “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu, then clicking the red button underneath your location and choosing "Update profile picture."

I've written scenes where silence said more than dialogue, Gabrielle Mahrez. Sometimes when describing a location to set the atmosphere, when a character doesn't reply to another character, etc.

David Taylor, I can relate to your comments. I adapted my unpublished novel HELL AT 30 BELOW into a screenplay. A compelling, romantic (60s-70s era) drama based on a true events in my past, in the town of Duluth, Minnesota. A town notorious for its cold winters. It was emotionally hard to expose the truth, but as they say, "The Truth Will Set You Free..."

In the winter of 1972, before there were shelters or support for women in crisis, an emotionally broken, injured, young woman, ROSE, entangled in a turbulent love triangle with two brothers, commits herself to a state mental hospital, to escape her abusive husband, DYLAN. In her bizarre surroundings, she must find the courage to leave her abusive husband and, eventually, find her way back to the man she never stopped loving; Dylan’s older brother, TROY, who holds the key to Rose’s passion, her heart, and the future.

The story centers on an abused woman, but covers a lot of ground, about her life. A story about one woman’s loss of innocence, love and heartbreak, troubled teen years, drug addiction, passion, betrayal, redemption, and the strength to overcome what seems impossible odds, as she bravely faces the ultimate battle for her life and her dangerous escape to freedom.

More information (not the script) on my web page for HELL AT 30 BELOW www.angelfire.com/film2/kinsman

yeah now you literally understand what you meant it has happened to me before I have a script that I wrote I'm falling for you that script in anywhere I was writing it I wasn't writing it for myself but I find myself explaining everything that has happened to me you know this script writing is based on emotion and the guidance of the heart sometimes you plan to write another thing why another comes in so you flow with it you don't stop or pause because you think you're going to value you're getting dark on the way but you just allow it to flow that's the spirit that's what makes you righter righter don't write because you want to create it to you right because is deep than the the character is hidden already like that particular Seems has been there for a long time and once a way out so through your right thing with friends it's way to be actually

When what I create stops feeling fictional... That's when I find the emotional or psychological truth behind the story. And that usually happens before I start drafting. I create my characters and story around that truth, so they feel honest to me from the beginning.

My family loves me. A lot. And my adult children can be very smothering. My grandchildren are absolutely overwhelming. Even the dang dogs. I feel very much like a celebrity when I visit.

I spend 6 hours a day on the phone with my adult kids. Sometimes more.

Even they know it's too much and give not shit one haha. And I honestly couldn't live without it or any of them. I do my best living while being smothered, I guess.

But it's honestly quite funny and yeah, I wrote a show about it. The pilot episode centers around a night I went on a first date a couple years after my late S/O had passed away. My date ran longer than my kids thought it should and I had a cop show up to my date.

I was 40. And my kids have me on life360. Just a touch on the side of crazy to call the cops, I think. I was only gone for 3 hours.

It was hilariously the only date I got with that guy. I never figured out why. Hmm. He probably didn't like the fact that I have cats. That's gotta be it.

But beyond that show, I tend to not write about my own life or experiences. My life is mostly mundane with odd shots of weird. My worlds, characters, and fictional settings are all curated, specifically, to explore one aspect of the mind and human emotion.

Victor John Victor, what you’re describing really resonates with me.

That moment when you realize you’re not “inventing” anymore, but uncovering something that was already there — waiting — is exactly where writing becomes alive.

I agree with you: when emotion takes the lead, stopping to control or censor the flow often feels like a betrayal of the story itself.

Sometimes what comes out is darker than expected, but it’s honest — and honesty is what gives a character depth rather than decoration.

I love the idea that the scene has existed for a long time and simply finds its way out through us. That’s when writing stops being an act of construction and becomes an act of listening.

Elle Bolan Elle, I really love how clearly you distinguish emotional truth from autobiography.

That idea that the story becomes “less fictional” the moment it touches a psychological truth — not necessarily a lived one — feels very accurate to me.

Your example with LOVE HER TO DEATH is fascinating, especially because it shows how comedy can sometimes be the most honest way to process intimacy, grief, and family dynamics.

What strikes me is that even when the material is personal, you’re still using it as a lens to explore something larger — attachment, boundaries, love, identity — rather than simply recounting events.

I think that’s where stories stay alive: when they’re rooted in truth, but shaped with intention.

Great idea, Till Olshausen! Congratulations on two studios requesting your script! I merged three unfinished feature scripts into one script before. I'm glad I did. I didn't have to abandon three projects, and the script is better than the three unfinished scripts.

Maurice Vaughan Yes, well done. It can be hard to sacrifice ideas but it works in the end most of the time. :-)

I love writing Action scripts and writing prompts, Amanda Toney! Thanks.

"Two rival assassins are trapped in an elevator during a city-wide blackout."

I could change the characters and location in that prompt. Maybe the blackout too.

If somebody uploads a list with 100 reversals to use in Act 2, please let me know. Because it is more difficult to create reversals.

I've seen this, and it's quite interesting, although some are better than others, I'm probably gonna use a few myself as the action thriller genre is my specialty, considering I could maybe add a hundred more if asked