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
Are you a writer with a great idea for a female-driven television series?
Then it's time to wrote the pilot and bring your unique voice to the industry. Executives, agents, and managers are hungry for pilots that center on complicated and diverse women. But for your script to stand out, you need to k...
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For the past 15 years I've been religiously sifting and sieving the laborious task of writing a Hollywood style screenplay , I've come to the realization that TEXTURE is the exacting mother of every memorable blockbuster screenplay. Texture, no doubt, is a screenplay's marrow. Texture gives a screen...
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Texture is a team sport. If you put too much into the screenplay itself, it may distract from the storytelling. It's a question of balance and the screenwriter does not control the texture in toto - but I do like what you did, as it sounds balanced.
Thank you, David Taylor, for your priceless advice. In using your diction, let me say the art of screenwriting is "a team sport" that goes on ad infinitum until a screenwriter breathes their last.
I have this overarching story and tried to get it done in one feature-length film, but my act 1 turned into 87 pages and now I am sitting here wondering if this should be a series. How do I make that change? There are currently a few folks helping already, but they are involved in the feature-length...
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Tony, this is such a common dilemma! We actually have a really awesome webinar that I know you will find helpful: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-determine-if-your-story-should-be-a-...
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Hi everyone, what is everyone working on??
I’m all right, still suffering though Lunar Window’s final ending xD so many bottlenecks @.@
I’m doing dishes and fixing electric fans.
Shayla Anne, I'm working on an "outline/scene list" for a dramedy about two modern-day preteen musicians who decide to form an act...despite their four feuding parents, one a record producer and anoth...
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It's fine how are ??
Loving reading what everyone’s working on!
From breakout cultural phenomena like Stranger Things and Wednesday to emotionally grounded coming-of-age dramas like The Summer I Turned Pretty and Euphoria, Young Adult television continues to dominate both networks and streamers. YA isn’t just a genre — it’s a global audience driver. These series...
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So excited for this class :) I'm still in awe we have someone who worked on my favorite show Gossip Girl guiding us!
Well, I'm working on another script for the year and just realized that I don't have a clear antagonist. So here I am going through my scene list to figure out what the antagonist wants and what is their "villainy" plan. Arrggghhh!!!
Has any one ever been through this?
What's your writing process?
If you're working to get your story working like a well oiled machine and you keep hitting road blocks, it might be because you're focused on your concept over your core. If you've spoken to me here on stage32 about your story, I've probably mentioned a refocus onto your character's internal struggl...
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There's a lot of new movies and series where the 'internal struggle' is being beaten to death and distracting or disrupting the story. In some recent movies it's making the piece 30 mins too long for the story being told.
David Taylor That's definitely also true. One of the silver linings about the streaming age is it does seem to be allowing stories to be told more often at whatever their natural length happens to be...
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Looking for a script swap. I have a crime/thriller TV pilot (52 pages) set in North Philadelphia.
Happy to read another pilot or feature in the thriller/crime/mystery space and give thoughtful notes.
DM if interested.
As a literary manager who also does consultations, one of the most common questions I get asked is “will you be my agent?” It’s a weird question (because I’m a manager) but I get what people mean. I thought I’d share some of the things I look for when signing a new writer.
First off, the majority of...
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Spencer Robinson I meant a good amount to start showing around. If it's at least 2, then I am well pass that mark. Thanks.
Thanks for the clarity on this Spencer Robinson
Sanna Peth Red flag
Brett Wickman Yep, that “one script” prob won’t sell when you first take it out, so you have to have more.
Spencer Robinson Thank you very much for your help! You saved me from wasting about $3200. It turned out that the profile was indeed fake. I’m really grateful that you let me know....
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Finishing a draft is super exciting, however... we all know the editing process looms just around the corner. And the most annoying thing about this: typos.
I found that I finish a draft. Come back to it the next day so the first edit pass specifically to check for typos. I do major editing passes la...
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We are all Achilles here, Michael (Especially non-native English speakers like me!)
Thanks for all of your perspectives, everyone.
David Taylor that's a great way to edit. It forced me to focus on the words/grammar instead of going with the flow of the story and missing typos.
I love that, David Taylor. I will try :))
Los Angeles filmmakers, actors, and creatives,
We’re opening enrollment for the first Los Angeles cycle of Cohort’s Film Lab, a collaborative two-week sprint where small teams come together to write, shoot, and screen a short film!
If you’ve been saying “I want to make something, but I don’t know wh...
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https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting/home
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The sight has the pilots for Russian Doll, Dying for Sex, Hacks, Insecure, Yellowjackets, Killing Eve, Glow, Queen’s Bandit, Nobody Wants this. It also has no pilot episodes for I May Destroy You, Serpent Queen and the Penguin though I don’t know how much help they’d be.
Where do we send out one-pager? I don't see Colleen's email anywhere.
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We don,t send out the one pager, we’re just bringing it to class. Colleen’s email is colleenstage32@gmail.com. She sent us an email with a list of pilots to look at, so if you didn’t get it you may wa...
Expand commentWe don,t send out the one pager, we’re just bringing it to class. Colleen’s email is colleenstage32@gmail.com. She sent us an email with a list of pilots to look at, so if you didn’t get it you may want to check that she has the right email address for you.
Thanks. I see what email she is using now.