Screenwriting

Well. That's a question and a half. One I don't truly have an answer for.

It used to be a simple "I always have, even as a kid". After my long walk with the dreaded block... My answer is a little different.

Why do I write?

Because I breathe. And I have no intent on letting me stop myself again. I let me get in my own way for too long.

Maurice, I'm very much with Martin about writing...writing's my F-U-N.

Why do I write? For me, it’s my escape from this world. It’s a place where—even if I’m writing about something painful—it still feels like a way out. I often write about things I don’t dare or don’t want to say out loud, things I only dare to dream about. New ideas keep coming, new worlds, new versions… and if I didn’t write them down, they would tear me apart. Maybe nothing will ever come of them, but writing is still my way to escape. With every story, I begin a new life.

I have many reason to write. Of course, I choose this passion to convert it in money making job, being the main reason but apart from that it is reflection of my existing brain which can produce multiple ideas.

Writing when you feel to write is a hobby but consistency, discipline and dedication for writing is your commitment and shows what you can be as a writer. These all I have learnt and practicing currently.

There are many days when you don't feel to write specially when it becomes tough job and no more happy escape. And here is a real role of mine as a writer to proof myself and keep going. Because if I call myself as a professional writer , I should keep doing my work and finding out solutions for every obstacles.

I write, since my dreams are banging to get out of my head, so I put them into Word and/ir Final Draft files.

I’ve sent my pitch to eight people so far, and seven of them said it was very good — I got mostly 4s and 5s. But nobody has ever requested my script itself, and I honestly don’t understand what the issue is.

I kept revising and improving the pitch, and then early this morning I received a really bad review: a score of 3. It discouraged me quite a bit.

I’ve decided that the real test will be when someone evaluates the screenplay itself. If that also gets poor results, I think I’ll stop. But if the problem is only with the pitch, that’s the better scenario.

Sandra Isabel Correia before i read your caption, i saw not a 2d hexagon but a 3d cube—with a heart embedded. my logline:

after a microscopic black hole punches an inch-wide tunnel through the earth in the future—killing Jake’s daughter and opening his mind to block-time vision today—he’s been on a 40 year mission to break time itself to save her

COMPS; Arrival x Watchmen

Marie Hatten I love a good romance.

THE HEART OF THE EARTH

When the earth's heart is stolen and trapped in a parallel universe, a young astronaut must find the science to release it before the earth dies.

BOX

After encountering a strange constellation in the sky while in the woods, a hiker wakes up floating through space inside a heart-shaped box, with the corpse of an alien beside them.

ENCASED

Logline: When a new tech launches, claiming to "encase" client's emotional turmoil and store it outside the mind for unfettered peace and tranquility, humankind is changed. Until what is encased bursts free, unleashing decades of unfelt trauma on a wholly unprepared world.

HeyShayla Booth , I am working on my female driven crime thriller feature.

I write comedy primarily. The longlines for both projects are on my profile. My current project is an R rated (adult language, situations) Drama/Comedy: A burned-out nurse trains a hopelessly unprepared new nurse, battles a broken hospital system, and ends up saving the doctor she can’t stand-remembering why she became a nurse in the first place.

It’s called Shift Happens: Code Sarcasm

A lot of the humor comes from the real situations healthcare workers deal with everyday, unrealistic expectations from administration, patients who do the most absurd things, but nurses just go about their day like it’s normal, and then a twist at the end where the doctor she’s been butting heads with has a medical emergency and she steps up and saves him.

I'm currently resting my brain, but the next project I want to work on is part 5 of Finding Elpis, Sonata in Retrograde (or SiR for short). I'm returning to the adventure and tripartite plot structure that I love in the series and gradually working towards the end of the series :)

Shayla Booth oooo I love this question.

My Show is called ACTING OK.

Logline:

At a struggling progressive drama academy in Seoul, students push through identity anxiety and imposter syndrome with radical acting exercises—forcing them to confront raw personal truths and ask why they’re only “ACTING OK.”

I am currently only practice & try to learn more on new ways in screenwriting .

I wrote logline about young man in the future live in the moon. but looking for ideas & partner to complete the screenplay.

Hi Shayla! Thanks for asking — love the openness of the community here.

I’m currently developing a near-future elevated sci-fi series called GLITCH. It follows a sensitive, blue-collar worker living in a society quietly shaped by emotional-guidance AIs. When a small mistake from his assistant nearly costs him his arm, it triggers a chain of events that exposes the limits of a system built on “well-being.”

I’m also working on a darker, found-footage-style project around urban exploration and paranormal distortions — very character-driven, very grounded.

Always happy to connect and exchange about writing and worldbuilding. What are you working on? :)

Hi Shayla ! I have just finished the first draft of my short film, The Ringer - It centres around a day in the life of a quiet ringer and his dog as they move through a single day in the Australian outback, where routine, silence, and companionship reveal the life he’s built for himself.

It's intended to be a quiet, yet cinematic short film, with the Australian Outback landscape being a character in and of it's own.

Happy to discuss further or share with anyone who would like to read and share thoughts.

Cx

Oh boy, let's see. I just finished up a rewrite on my feature TETHERED last week. My feature INSPIRATION INC is up for another pass since I got notes from my reader wanting more resolution. And drafting on my feature SHIFT is now heavily underway. Act 1 is about done.

Hey im working on a horror film that i recently just pitch it’s called The Demon Who Writes The Star, It’s a prestige horror story about a rising music artist who discovers that his fame isn’t just making him popular — it’s feeding something ancient and evil.

The louder the world chants his name, the stronger a demon becomes. His concerts turn out to be rituals, his fans become vessels, and his popularity becomes the doorway for a cosmic entity to enter our world. To survive, he has to break the ritual using the one thing the demon can’t control:

Human imperfection.

It’s a story about fame, trauma, obsession, and how dangerous it can be when the world worships you for the wrong reasons.

Interesting Juan Rodriguez . Getting scenes together for a thriller rewrite.

Maurice Vaughan nice! I’m really shaping this one around my personal high school experiences- which were… weird, to say the least. (We had a school gator- very Florida.) I think the producer was right about the specificity of place making it stand out, because idk how any other school with so many Florida specific things

Yan Ju Zeng I think it's in our nature to shy away from that vulnerability but if we don't connect and empathize with our characters, our audience won't. Your concept will flourish now with that insight and heart, I hope your journey was not a difficult one. I'm adding more of my close friend into my story and I feel like I'm betraying her,. I've been by her side during this period in her life and it feels like a natural progression but also symbolic of what she means to me.

High school is a gold mine for script ideas and scene ideas, Yan Ju Zeng. Some of my personal high school experiences were weird too. And embarrassing. :D

Marie Hatten yes, many characters are derived from people I’ve met. I just hope they don’t take offense when I take creative liberties (gotta keep the plot moving.) I was asked by another person I pitched to what this story has that sets it out from other coming out dramedies, and I think the Florida aspect and the centering of the character’s own denial will make it better- especially with a high light of comedic edge!

Yan Ju Zeng Important issues delivered in a unique way will always be impactful.

I'm looking forward to these, Leonardo Ramirez 2!

These are always a blast Maurice Vaughan!

No screenwriter fee would look very amateurish to me, and I'd expect to see some sort of participation deal for the writer there - effectively making them a producer.

There should normally be an assignment downpayment or script purchase fee and then a schedule that sets the remaining payment due on the first day of shooting. Perhaps broken down further to another payment free on wrap up.

It's messy out there though. Lots of scrappy stuff.

With respect I say, if you are given co-director credits but without pay, you are an intern. You need to get paid both as a writer/creator and co-director. Back-end points are good if you get to that point, but pay yourself first.

I am a dedicated screenwriter I love my craft, pay me first or my work will not get produced.

Screenwriters have to eat, too.

You should be a line item in the budget (ATL). So everyone gets a little pay except you? Unacceptable that you're taking the hit. Pay could be $5K.

I'm excited for another Community Open House, Leonardo Ramirez 2!