P. Hurst's Lounge Discussions

Hi and welcome aboard, Connor Thompson! You've come to the right place! I would definitely suggest poking around the platform. Here are some of the free resources: blogs, free webinars and follow them on IG for some really amazing Lives! Also, if you're looking for guidance for your career, Jason Mirch, the Director of Script Services here at Stage 32, is super helpful and knowledgeable. If you're interested in trying out the Writers' Room for a free month, please shoot him an email here: j.mirch@stage32.com. The Room is a place we can pitch to executives, learn about the craft and business, work on script coverage, get in on table reads and so much more! Happy writing!

My advice is get as much of it out of your head and into paper (computer). Worry about form, software blah blah blah later. All the hard work happens in your head. Get that working and worry about the rest later.

As Craig D Griffiths says, jump in and have fun. Prove to yourself that you can finish a script before you start taking in views on the craft and business.

Welcome Connor and good luck! You'll find much encouragement and wisdom here.

I’m in the same place. I have been capturing ideas for a couple stories with notebooks and pencil for a couple years. Now I am putting it together in script. It is more challenging than I expected.

Nice to meet you, Hailey! I'm in Vancouver as well, it's always great to see another Canuck :) What genres are you primarily interested in?

Nice to meet you. I had my entertainment law practice in Vancouver before I came to L.A.

Hi everyone! I do mostly write for animation, because I love animation and always have. Some of my scripts could work for live action as well, but I tend to imagine everything in an animated space. I do like to storyboard my projects when I have time! Genres I love working in are comedy, rom-com, dramedy, mystery, film-noir, mostly!

Hi, Hailey Kathler! Welcome aboard! You’ll love it here. I would suggest poking around the lounges and checking out the education tab. Happy writing!

If you like, check out The Writers' Room, they have pitch practices and all sorts of things to help educate and network. If you ever want a set of eyes on your scripts, let me know, I'm always happy to read!

I think it would be wise to spend a little more time getting to grips with something like Final Draft even if it doesn’t work “out of the box” as you say. As commendable as your resolve is - producers don’t give a hill of beans about “your world” explanations for not using industry standard kit unfortunately that’s just the “real world”.

Celtx

I echo what most have said above, Phillip (great name, by the way!) If you're just starting out and just want to write (the most important thing of all, right?), then Word can do this at a very basic level. But there are free-to-use online screenwriting programs that will sort out the fundamental margins etc. so I would certainly look at these before submitting anywhere (i.e. agents, production companies, contests etc.)

And if you're serious about this writing game, then I would urge you to invest in proper screenwriting software. Something like Highland, FadeIn or Final Draft. The latter is the only one I've ever used in all my years working in the industry, so I can't really comment on the others. I'd certainly try the Final Draft trial version and see how you get on and after those 30 days, if you're keen to pay your hard-earned for a full version, then come back to me: I can get you a 25% discount on the RRP.

As a side note, anyone who wants a .fdx version already has Final Draft. FD doesn't understand .docx but can import ,txt or .rtf files. You lose most of the formatting, so it's not a great solution. If you get to the point of selling something, you might want to consider investing in a copy of FD. It still seems to be the industry standard.

Greetings P. Hurst I use FD, but would love to use John August’s screenwriting programme, Highland. Maybe one day I’ll get a Mac Book and can have it one there! I’d never use MS Word, it just doesn’t look professional and the formatting is a real trial.

I just jot down ideas as soon as they pop in my head. I keep notebooks in a “go bag,” a notepad and pencil in the car, a notepad on my phone, etc. I assemble things later. Just write it down quick and dirty. Edit later

I have no creative say... sigh... the stories pop into my head fully formed. Then I write the outline down in a one pager, then write the script, as if from memory. That one pager is really all the outlining I do.

J. L. You have to make writing a habit. Everyday - even when you don't feel like it. Actor and writer Lauren Graham ("The Gilmore Girls" and "Parenthood" and author of two books) recommends "The Kitchen Timer Method". Set a kitchen timer for one hour. Use that time to either (1) write in your writing journal (thoughts on writing, thoughts on future projects, thoughts on TV series and movies that you've seen, etc.) (2) to work on a writing project. No distractions. No electronics of any kind (TV, tablets, phones). Do this EVER DAY! The point is to make writing (something, anything) a habit.

Also, keep a notebook on you to record new ideas as they occur to you. I started carrying a notebook & pen to my small town gym as so many hilarious things were happening all the time and I didn't want to forget them.

Finally, you need to know when you're the most creative. Are you a morning writer? An afternoon writer? An evening writer? I'm a morning writer but I've also been known to work in the afternoons or evenings, especially if I've had a new idea for a project.

Good Writing!

Wow this is an old post lol... I would say I'm still personally learning about my own process, but I think I like the idea of outlining/mapping out a story before delving into the actual script pages. But I have also written first drafts straight from my mind so really the process is mysterious and is never locked in a certain way for anyone... at the end of the day the universe gives writers stories, and nobody will ever truly understand that.

I make check lists!

Welcome, Phillip. Hang on to that 'crazy idea' and go for it ...as we all should. Wishing you every success, from Aus.

Hi Phillip. My husband used to go to Canada once a year, hop on a train, then jump off in the middle of a forest to camp for a week or two. He's 57 now but still talks about it regularly!

Welcome, Hayley. Yes, this was a great masterclass. I'm getting to work now—best of luck with your project.

Thank you Melissa! You as well!!

Welcome Hayley! You'll find much encouragement here!

Wasn't that great? So many new ideas swimming in my head tonight

Wow thank you so much everyone! Everyone is so helpful here!!