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
Happy Monday, creative family.
I wanted to start the week with a question: What was one goal you had at the very beginning of your journey, and where are you with that goal now?
I find it’s so important to reflect on our progress and validate ourselves from within based on how far we’ve come. I’ll go...
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Hey, everyone. Yes, I know Google exists, but I wanted to throw out this question to the community here. I'm working on a new comedy pilot that I want to set in Nashville, but I have no personal experience with the city. Do any of you know the names of some of the popular neighborhoods in the city w...
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Finding the right executive for your project is half of the job. This is why the success team at Stage 32 (that's me and the team!) curated a list of 15 executives currently looking for female-driven pitches. This is a great opportunity to get your female-driven script into the hands of executives o...
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id love to submit my female script writer and producer to this send me an email darkziperoxgmail.com
Hey screenwriters,
How are y'all doing this week? How are your projects going?
It's safe to say that I really struggle working up the nerve to pitch or do zoom meets. I never feel "ready" and the end result is usually me pushing it off till some indeterminate "next time".
It seems I can't gather eno...
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Bonjour à tous,
J’échange actuellement avec plusieurs cinéastes afin de mieux comprendre les difficultés concrètes qu’ils rencontrent aujourd’hui dans le développement de leurs projets.
Par curiosité, j’aimerais vous poser une question simple :
Quelle est actuellement votre plus grande difficulté ?...
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On the March 4 Chicago franchise crossover—“Reckoning” (Fire S14E13 – I, Med S11E13 – II, P.D. S13E13 – III)—a subtle homage to the 1987 film The Untouchables was inserted.
In Med, CPD officers are discussing the suspect’s location when one mentions “1634 Racine.” Jason Beghe’s character immediately...
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Hi! I think it’s very important for stories to feel realistic. In the first version of my screenplay, a producer even pointed out a small detail: why Mason, who is a world-famous star, is the one pick...
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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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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.
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...
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Thanks. I see what email she is using now.
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?
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I'll admit when I started I never thought about seriously pursuing screenwriting as a career; I'm still primarily a novelist but I wanted to see how I do. I wrote my first screenplay back in 2022/2023...
Expand commentI'll admit when I started I never thought about seriously pursuing screenwriting as a career; I'm still primarily a novelist but I wanted to see how I do. I wrote my first screenplay back in 2022/2023 and found it's actually lots of fun (if difficult), and then I happened to write the first of my sixth life's work series Finding Elpis (that I'm currently writing as a feature heptalogy to eventually retool into a TV series; it's just easier to write it this way so each entry is an arc).
Now, in 2026... I've decided that screenwriting is part of who I am, in addition to novelist and comic creator/artist. I'll admit now my biggest challenge is pursuing all of those things as careers because at first my barrier was nerves, and now it's impostor syndrome in addition to the state of all industries lol. But God knows I've worked too hard on everything for them all to be hobby projects so let's see what happens in the days to come :)
1 person likes this
Hi! Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Thank you for sharing and being so open about your journey. I really appreciate it. I love hearing from other creators because we often find we share so many similar mileston...
Expand commentHi! Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Thank you for sharing and being so open about your journey. I really appreciate it. I love hearing from other creators because we often find we share so many similar milestones in our "becoming."
Even though my academic background is in arts and design, and I've been storytelling as long as I can remember, I didn't specifically sit down and decide to pursue screenwriting as a career until 2023. It looks like we have that year in common! It’s fascinating how our journeys always lead us back to what we’re meant to do if we just keep following those "nudges."
I completely relate to the challenge of having multiple passions. Between my writing, fitness, fashion, and mental health advocacy, I know what it’s like to want to do it all. Imposter syndrome is definitely real—especially when you’re transitioning from dreaming about these things to actually pursuing them in real life. It can be daunting, but it sounds like you have a clear grasp of what brings you joy.
I wish you so much luck on this path. Trust in who you are and the work you’re building.