Trending Lounge Discussions

Congrats, everyone~

Well Done!

Congratulations Lori Peters!

Congrats on the Selection!

Lori Peters That’s amazing, congratulations!

First selections always hit differently and it only gets better from here. Wishing you many more to come!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Damilola Jabita I really like the space you’re exploring here — that feeling of a story pushing back and revealing something deeper as you write it. My process is almost the opposite, but I think it comes from the same place of vulnerability.

Because of my background, I tend to backwards‑plan everything. I don’t usually start unless I already know the concept, the emotional spine, and the direction I’m heading. The details shift, sure, but the core is pretty locked in before I ever type page one.

And for me, the vulnerability isn’t in discovering something new mid‑draft — it’s in deciding which part of myself I’m willing to put on the page. I joke that I don’t write about things that would send me to therapy; I write about the things I’m already in therapy for. That’s the string I tug on.

So even though our processes are different, I connect with what you’re saying about the fear. Writing the thing that feels closest to the bone — whether you discover it or plan it — is always the thing worth finishing.

Honestly this is every script I write lol, try as I might to hold back when I know someone will read my words... my subconscious says "screw that" and I end up spilling some dark secrets.

It's why admittedly I am absolutely terrified of Lunar Window in particular getting sold. I didn't mean to put so much of myself into it, including my own personal experience of what I called "nunhood;" the desire to purify and abstain in the name of something higher, when in reality it was glorified punishment. And now I'm about to do the same with Niveous Reverie, where I attempt to concentrate a lifetime of impossible, maddening love for someone into something readable (and dare I say, one day, observable).

Therapists have nothing on me lol

Sounds fun. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks John Porter - we're dancing and swaying to this music in the office today! Great video. Love the song's film references.

Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty is one of my favorite depictions of God in cinema. It's a light-hearted representation.

Aleksandr Rozhnov Really interesting question. I’ve been working on a project that brushes up against some of these ideas, and what’s helped me is approaching God less as an abstract force and more as a character whose nature explains why we’re ‘made in His image.’ Not in the literal sense, but in the emotional and moral sense — curiosity, compassion, stubbornness, the need to create, the need to protect, the need to believe in something bigger than ourselves.

Faith becomes less about blind obedience and more about trust — the kind of trust a child has when they can’t see the whole picture yet. That’s where the comfort comes from.

For eternal life, heaven, hell — I’ve found it useful to think of them not as punishments or rewards, but as consequences of connection or separation. What we cling to, what we let go of, what we carry forward.

And when you look at the biblical stories through that lens — creation, the flood, the exodus, the fall — they start to read like human attempts to make sense of something that was both inevitable and deeply personal. That’s the space I’m exploring: not fear, but inevitability, and how that can actually be comforting when you see the bigger pattern.

I’m an independent script editor and translator, and I work closely with writers who want their scripts to feel right, not just corrected, but truly refined and ready to be read, pitched, or produced.

I agree with you. Yes, in films God is almost always portrayed as a human, because it’s very difficult to represent Him in any other form.

But to be honest, I want to create another project later — I already have it in mind, with the working title “Disappointed.” It will be a drama with elements of horror about God and the Devil. I want to do what I love most — to show the other side of the coin, and that things are not so simple or one-sided. Hell, too, has its own laws and order, and while the Devil is seen as evil, I want to explore his motivation.

In this film, I’m thinking of portraying God as water. I’ve been following a scientist from Japan who studies water, and it seems that no other substance on Earth has properties quite like it — in a way, it stands above everything else. And interestingly, if God created humans in His image, and the human body is about 80% water, that opens up an interesting perspective I’d like to explore.

What do you think about this idea?

I think it’s all open to interpretation, and that’s what makes mythology such a rich playground. If you can see the connection and express it in a way that feels true to the story you’re telling, then it works.

The water concept is definitely interesting — especially the research angle. It does make me wonder, purely from a thematic standpoint, how you’d frame ‘in His image’ if God is represented as a substance rather than something organic. Water shows up everywhere in the universe, so it opens up some cool questions about what part of humanity you’re tying that metaphor to.

Not a critique — just the kind of thing I love thinking about when someone is building a mythology from scratch.Aleksandr Rozhnov

It's sadly quite normal, I know I'm feeling it pretty often in particular these days. Like Geoffroy Faugerolas and Michael David said, you basically have to rediscover what gave you that initial spark and remind yourself why you're doing this. I've found every time this slump happens, I come back with even stronger motivation than before.

Sorry you're feeling that way. we all get like that sometimes. I've been trying a new thing to keep my spirits up. I listen to positive affirmation videos from YouTube as I sleep. they supposedly tap into the subconscious mind and rewire your thinking to manifest good things in life.

Indeed, the motivation follows the work and not the other way around. Well said, Geoffroy Faugerolas!

Anthony McBride I get this more than I’d like to admit. I dealt with imposter syndrome every single day on the teams — and the wild part is, most of us did. You’re surrounded by high performers, constant criticism, and zero room for error, so you learn to live with that voice in your head telling you you’re not enough.

Then I jumped into writing, which is the complete opposite: almost no feedback, no immediate read on whether you’re doing anything right, just you and the page. And that same voice shows up again, just in a different uniform.

But here’s the thing I’ve learned in both worlds: the only thing that cuts through imposter syndrome is showing up. One foot in front of the other. Doing the work even when your brain is screaming “what the hell am I doing.”

If you’re still writing — even slowly, even reluctantly — you’re not an imposter. You’re a writer. The doubt is part of the job, not a sign you don’t belong.

Anthony McBride I'm in a constant state of doom and gloom. Maybe it comes from being too self-aware of ourselves. I know I may never be great. I know I may not WOW someone in a pitch. But, I keep trying to be really good at it. The hope is that effort is recognized. We just need one person to believe and hopefully tell another. Then another. Until then, try to be a little better today than you were yesterday.

Paulina Wróbel I really connect with what you’re describing. For me, everything I write comes from a personal place — sometimes directly, sometimes filtered through genre, but always rooted in something real. Writing was a 180° shift from my previous life in Special Forces. It forced me to do something that was completely uncharacteristic of who I’d been for years: put experiences, thoughts, and fears on the page and let myself be vulnerable.

I’m working on a miniseries right now that pulls heavily from that lived experience, and even the sci‑fi and horror projects in my slate are shaped through that same personal lens — the things I’ve seen, the things that stayed with me, the things I’m still trying to understand. I’ve even been encouraging my wife to take on an episode I couldn’t authentically speak to myself, because some perspectives deserve their own voice.

So I guess for me, the personal instinct is the compass. I protect it, but I also shape it — not to dilute it, but to give it structure so the story can actually land with someone else. That balance is where the good stuff lives.

Jason Green Thank you so much for sharing this — I really appreciate your perspective.

For me, the personal point of view has always been essential in my writing as well, but with this project in particular it feels even more important.

There’s something about telling a story that comes directly from lived experience that just hits differently, and I’m still figuring out how to balance protecting that instinct while giving it the right structure.

Your insight about using the personal instinct as a compass really resonated with me.

Paulina Wróbel This is a really honest and relatable place to be creatively.

I think when something comes from a personal space like that, it’s important to protect it in the early stages and not rush to structure it too quickly. Sometimes those quieter, more internal stories need time to reveal what they actually are.

At the same time, once the core emotion is clear, shaping it with structure can help it connect more strongly with others.

Feels like you’re onto something meaningful here.

I've had it both ways. An idea that's been fermenting in my head for a while with it being an aggregate of many things I find interesting.

And then, a gut feeling that I just knew I had to write down. Many of these are just blurbs in my idea pool, but I did write one out and refine and it's the one that has gotten me my first shopping agreement.

A good story can come to you in any number of ways.

For me, I can see THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, BEN HUR, and MAMA MIA over and over.

Strictly Ballroom

There are a lot of movies that I feel are timeless. The Back To The Future franchise are movies that I can always watch over and over. I liked part 1 and part 3 the best, though. Part 2 was a little all over the place, first in 2015, then an alternate 1985 and then 1955. I think it would've been better if they had stuck to one timeline. I can also watch E.T. over and over and it never loses its' appeal. Also some Christmas classics like It's a Wonderful Life, Prancer and Miracle On 34th Street (the Mara Wilson version). While there are lots of Christmas movies that I enjoy watching, those three tend to be movies that I never tire of watching year to year.

My personally favorite films would be Interstellar, Schindler's List and Hangover Part 1, 2 and 3. I love those films.

The movie that is truly timeless for me and brings me to tears every time I watch it, is "Resurrection" (1980). It is a film that was lost in the distribution shuffle, that should be seen by millions of people around the world.

Congrats on the placement!

Great job, Leonardo! Here's wishing you more and more success with "18!"

Congrats!

This is great news, congrats

Congratulations Leonardo Warner! Wishing you more success ahead!

Andrew Crutcher Thank you, I really appreciate it.

Still refining and learning through the process, but it means a lot to hear that.

Abidoye Ezekiel Hey, thank you — I really appreciate that.

I’m glad it connected with you. Still shaping the project, but feedback like this definitely keeps me going.

What kind of projects are you working on?

Natalie Brooks I really appreciate this — you captured that stage perfectly.

It’s exactly where things become both clearer and more fragile at the same time. Like you said, the story is already there, but it’s the rhythm, the phrasing, the subtle shifts that determine whether it truly lands or not.

And I’ve been realizing that those small adjustments are not really “small” at all — they’re what define how the audience experiences the story emotionally, especially with themes like power and control.

I’m glad that came through. It means a lot.

Would love to stay connected as well and follow your work too — what kind of stories are you developing?

Tomás Daniel This sounds like a strong and timely concept the blend of political themes with psychological and sci-fi elements is very compelling.

I like that you’re focusing on the emotional core and character arcs, especially for a story dealing with power and control that’s what really makes these ideas resonate.

Wishing you the best as you move into the next stage, it definitely sounds like a project with solid potential.

Abhijeet Aade Thank you, I really appreciate that.

For me, grounding the story in the emotional experience of the characters was essential — especially in a narrative that deals with systems and power, where it’s easy to lose the human perspective.

I’m glad that aspect comes through.

Wishing you the best with your projects as well.

Great question, Naveen. It's hard for projects to cut through the noise. Everyone's distracted. Audiences are tightening their belt. Free platforms like Tubi are rapidly growing. I don't think quality is an issue -- look at the success of vertical dramas. I think it's an issue of relevance.

Hello Geoffroy Faugerolas , Thanks for the response. I totally agree that vertical dramas are getting bigger and better these days. Also I just want to add one point here, i think there are no new stories around the globe maybe perspectives exists. If we show a regular story in a different perspective and scale, movies are working at some points. For that we need Screenplay skill and vision of the Director. We experienced it in few cases in India. I hope you understand my point here.

Naveen Miriyala

Wisdom from my writing partners, The Ascended Masters of the Pacific and the Ascended Master St. Germain:

"Crucify this writer and anyone else who believes that no one can do anything unless it has been done before, and then it has to be done in a certain way that's also unique.

We have a legendary story that's never been told. In fact, two of them."

I still average two movies a night. I'm doing my part.