Screenwriting

Welcome to the community, Fares M. Hope you’re doing great too! Stage 32 has a blog that'll help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals all over the world. www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-3889

Stage 32's November Community Open House was Tuesday. It'll help you navigate Stage 32 and connect with creatives and industry pros. The recording is up now. It's free to watch. www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-s-november-community-open-ho...

I think it's worth fighting to get your series in front of U.S. agents or producers. The more agents and producers you get your work in front of, the better. Reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with reps, producers, executives, and more.

Not yet — all of them are still in the waiting list.

This is my problem: I had a year of idea explosion, yet I’m stuck in a slow writing process.

and also my mind keeps generating new worlds Maurice Vaughan

Shutter Island (2010), Collateral (2004), Bourne Identity (2002) Maurice Vaughan

Sometimes it's better to take a lot of time on a project, Meriem Bouziani. Something I do when I keep thinking of ideas is save them in a file to work on later, and sometimes I make a short outline for the idea to get it out of my head, then I make the outline longer later on when I'm ready to work on the project.

Thanks, Ehsan Rahimpour. Shutter Island and Bourne Identity are incredible! I still need to see Collateral.

Yes, exactly — that’s what I do as well.

I am focusing on The Silent PFC War, while also taking notes on every new idea that comes my way.

And I also develop titles for them.

Titles are the anchors I use to remember my ideas

I’ve noticed that ideas without titles are far more likely to be forgotten Maurice Vaughan

Thanks, Eric McKeever. Do you save leftovers?

Maurice Vaughan It's usually a character for me. I find they don't fit into the world of one script so they end up becoming the main character in another (Haha!)

I'll have to try that, Eric McKeever. Thanks!

Yes. I do the same. It helps a lot and saves the time as well.

It does save time, Priya Mistry. Thanks for pointing that out. I have a feature script outline template that I use. It saves time too.

Congratulations, Tony Yancey II for your winning screenplay!

You were right up there James Tuverson ! Congrats to you as well!

Congrats Tony!

congratulations Tony Yancey.

Congratulations, Tony Yancey! I entered this contest too, but didn’t make it far. I’m genuinely happy for your first place and I believe your story deserves to be seen. Congrats again and cheers on the win!

Thanks, Meriem Bouziani. I hope you're achieving your goals too. I got a lot done during November Write Club. I plan on making a post about it this weekend or Monday.

Thank you very much Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Meriem Bouziani. Have a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone - here's to a "Creative Christmas!"

Happy Thanksgiving, Steve Dini! Hope you have a Creative Christmas!

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh When you read all day long, everything kind of blends together after a while. The same kinds of stories are told over and over. By "incendiary" I mean things that stand out and are memorable and not boring!

Jon Hersh thank you, happy Thanksgiving.

Hi Jon, I see you've answered some 'potential agent' queries, but, HOW do you approach agents? I'm aware of Query Tracker but most of them are for novelists, not screenwriters? I'm in the UK, for reference. Most agencies I've found don't have open submissions (here), and still considered unsolicited.

These sessions are always welcome. I missed this one but just another reason why Stage 32 is awesome.

How would one go about getting a reboot script seen by the right people?

Thanks for sharing this, Ehsan Rahimpour. I love writing the Climax. It's the funnest part of a script. Sometimes I'm not 100% sure about the opening scene or ending when I start the script, but I make sure I know the Climax before starting the script.

You're welcome, Maurice Vaughan. That’s such a great approach. The climax is where all the tension and payoff meet, it’s pure storytelling magic.

Thanks, Ehsan Rahimpour. Some things change in the Climax by time I write it though, like characters I didn't plan to be in the scene help the protagonist fight the monster.

John Fife I think McKee’s sharp insight names the conflict’s general vector — in a passive protagonist, that conflict is fundamentally turned inward, a pattern more common in modern characters, with the inner conflict running from beginning to end.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Yeah, that’s true. In the end, we’re all just writing about our real lives.

Pretty much Ehsan Rahimpour. I like to challenge myself but within reason. I’m primarily the kind of person who believes in playing the hand you’re dealt (whether it’s your fault or not), so my characters tend to deal with things that happen to them alongside making things happen. Both are important to me so I can’t always relate to pure external conflict.

Maybe we can Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, expand it like this: In contemporary times, this dual situation almost always prevails, and our art is a way of playing between the two.

Thread reminds me too, a passive or active protagonist can be their own worst enemy & antagonist not another human, ghost, monster, society or bad environment etc. I write active protagonists who arc to become Pro active by being forced into a crucible during set up or midway. Even if they don’t “physically” act, their “psychological” choices determine their outcomes. Films with totally passive protagonists, often have an element of tragedy. Comedies however, often have a protagonist who refuses to change, completely unaware of their flaws or does not challenge the status quo of world around them.

Hey John - if it's any consolation, I pitched 2 weeks ago, and still haven't heard back hah! The wait is killing me, but it is what it is!

For me, a win is when an executive asks to read my screenplay. Then I know the pitch really worked despite the score and I get feedback on what really counts, the screenplay itself.

So many planets need to align for a studio to take on a project. It almost needs to be no brainer with prior success, all the rights, funding, politics and most importantly, need for a project.

In the meantime well done for getting your foot in the door and getting to pitch! I'm still working on that step.

@John It may be too expensive to make.

Movement in every shot -Kurosawa.

Look for rich backgrounds in great directing. Although I am only a beginning director, I tried in SETESH 2025 (youtube) to make each shot have so many unusual backgrounds in depth that you could watch it 1000 times and never catch every object in each location. The new netflix on President Garfield has wonderful and deep background panoramas so you could see it 1000 times and never catch everything.

Absolutely. Every time I hear bad dialogue, I think, I can do better. And every time I hear great dialogue, I think, I hope I’ll be that good someday.

It only gets worse but you wouldn't change it! A great way to develop your screenwriting is to explore parts of films that give you strong emotional responses, then explore how the filmmaker and screenwriter achieved this. Screenplayed.com has videos that show a rolling script next to the corresponding scene in the final movie so you can see how the scene translated from the page to the screen.

Actually movies inspire me when I write my own scripts.

I consciously revisit many films to analyze their structure, so I can better understand what approach might serve my own writing.

There are many different narrative paths or structural frameworks a writer can adopt, but I gravitate toward a puzzle-like structure.

I often begin with a catastrophic disruption, then let the events unfold forward while integrating strategic flashbacks that gradually reveal what led to the disaster.

I dissect films & TV shows constantly but don’t actually consciously plan to. It just happens. My friends stop me shouting at the screen, when I notice plot weaknesses or too many coincidences.

Thank you very much Aparna Pasalkar it’s absolutely a global emergency.

You're welcome Marie and if you need any help/assistance with global content for this subject do let me know

Love the true spark in the middle of the night. One never knows when inspiration will hit, usually at the most unlikely, unguarded times. Congratulations on your breakthrough.

Thank you so much Aparna Pasalkar

That’s true Jack Binder . I actually dismissed it the first time but knew better the second time .

Here are some of my top education recommendations for screenwriters:

How to Write and Pitch Your TV Animation Script: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-2-part-class-how-to-...

The Secrets to Becoming a Pitching Ace: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/the-secrets-to-becoming-a-pit...

How To Write A Query Letter That Gets You Past The Gatekeepers: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-write-a-query-letter-t...

How to Write the Perfect Plot Twist: Thriller Screenwriting Essentials:

https://www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-write-the-perfect-plot...

Learn How to Develop Your "Brand" As a Screenwriter: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/4-part-class-how-to-develop-y...

How To Break Story Using A.I.: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-break-story-using-a-i

How to Write Subtext in Your Screenplay + 3 Writing Exercises: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-4-part-screenwriting...

Screenwriting Class: How to Rewrite Your 30 Minute TV Pilot:

https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-4-part-screenwriting...