Screenwriting

You know, I find people who utilize dreams to feed stories fascinating. I don't dream in visuals (I can't visualize at all) so the process is interesting to me. Are your dreams fully realized like this or just flashes and impressions?

Elle Bolan yes my dreams are like full motion pictures visually. they are almost always without sound though but they don’t feel like silent movies. maybe because I’m used to it, the fact that they’re without dialogue or SFX seems normal to my dreaming mind.

as an avid comics reader I’ve also dreamed pages of comics which is a much crazier thing to me—it means my subconscious actually painted and lettered complete pages—that’s quite rare though

For me it is sometimes the opposite, when I don't sleep all the time but sometimes, I immerse myself in my films, sometimes I feel like I am there like an inhabitant and it feels like it lasts an eternity, sometimes my dreams continue a story already begun, other times a new story.

Holy smoke bombs that's incredible! .I can't wrap my brain around that. But I can kind of understand that it's normal because you've always dreamed that way.

No sound, huh? That's wild. And comics?? That would be so effing cool. Sounds like a whole story telling muscle just handing you material.

I’ve had intense, almost surreal dreams that could easily evolve into stories or films. I remember one where I was the only witness to the real killer of a young girl, and his army spent the entire dream chasing me so I wouldn’t testify in court.

Another dream felt like I was holding a deep ocean secret—something that could help half-extinct marine creatures survive. In another, I was lost in a strange land, and in yet another, dinosaurs attacked my small city.

sadly, many of these dreams disappear the moment I wake up.

James LO,

In The Matrix films, the real world was never shown. Throughout all three movies, viewers were watching different versions of the Matrix.

Vladimir I’m going beyond the core concept (for example a time looped period) and I’m talking about the plot (Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow could not be more different). when the plot pitched is the same as an earlier work (for example Rebel Moon is a copy and paste of Star Wars), could you get any studio to back that (when you’re not as established as Zack Snyder)?

foreign remakes are also excepted (Fuqua and Gyllenhaal did an incredible job remaking The Guilty)

James LO, In order to attract a studio, a story must have two foundations:

An original, interesting concept + A compelling narrative for that original concept.

When it's interesting to watch the main characters...

regarding the matrix

The unplugged world of Zion is the true reality. The popular fan theory that Zion is another simulation is contradicted by the films' core philosophy, which offers an escape from simulation into a true natural world.

Neo does have superhuman powers in the real world in the original trilogy (stopping Sentinels with his mind), which is explained by his unique connection to the Machine Source, essentially allowing him to manipulate machine code outside the Matrix. By Part 4, The Matrix Resurrections, Neo is once again in the real world (specifically the human city Io), where he and Trinity work to improve the Matrix rather than destroy it.

An ultimate Matrix story would be where people are released to real life, but many choose to stay in the Matrix - then a new external threat occurs from space/inter-dimensionally, where only by reality and Matrix working together can the new dimensional threat be overcome, which opens the door to an inter-galactic, interdimensional future.

Hey, Elle Bolan! I'm looking forward to these events!

Congratulations on crossing 82 pages, Ethan Meadows! Celebrating small wins helps me when things are rough in my career or I'm struggling with a project. I wrote 4 pages in a short script today. I usually outline scripts, but I'm coming up with the story as I go. I also rewrite as I go.

Didn't Woody Harrelson say in Zombieland to enjoy the little stuff? But the halfway mark is no small win. It's a big turning point for me almost every time. Feels good, huh? Congratulations on getting here. The back half is so much fun.

I'm actively drafting on a new feature. Act 1 is always a struggle bus ride for me, but I'm making progress. Words on the page is a win.

That's a great win Ethan Meadows - congratulations! I finished another polish on a script today so that's my win. It's been a good week. Congrats again and hope you have a great weekend!

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.

Nice to meet you here.

My project is a psychological thriller feature in development. The Doll Keeper script is cinema meets social urgency.

Child abductions rose 40% in the past 5 years. 2024 marked an all time high with over 460,000 children reported missing to the FBI, and more than 1,000 taken to be kept or to be killed.

I'm working on funding and brand collaboration to move into production.

Logline:

When tween girls vanish in sync with the release of a collectible doll series, a distraught mother and a tormented FBI Agent race to locate the Dollhouse before the Doll Keeper abducts the final victim, sealing their fate.

Also I love that photo XD

Aleksandr Rozhnov what happens however if capable when AI developers are able to crack through this limitation and lack of emotional elements and intelligence required for a screenplay to possess these foundations of a human written script? Is there call for concern for the possibility of this happening at all in the near future?

Personally I think the thing that will kill AI is it doesn't know copyright. Some struggling writer will see a hit and say "Wait a minute, I wrote that." They will hit a studio with a copyright suit and the "but it's AI" won't be a good enough defense. It'll cost the studio a fortune and that will be the beginning of the end. Good riddance.

AI will not take my job; it helps me maximize my potential. When I think about all the questions I ask ChatGPT across different fields—biology, medicine, physics, philosophy...—I realize that without AI, developing these worlds would require consulting entire university faculties just to ask my questions. And they might not have the patience for someone who keeps asking endlessly.

Thank God this tool exists—it allows me to have all those professors in one place and helps me develop everything. It also helps me improve my English, create visuals, and find opportunities. Even Stage 32, I discovered through ChatGPT’s suggestions.

That’s a good point—I was thinking about that as well Bill Albert

I think there are four key points to discuss:

1. Pure language: AI uses English nouns and verbs to describe or discuss ideas, much like humans do when expressing thoughts.

2. Stored data: AI is trained on existing data, which means it can reproduce exact text from well-known works or mimic the style of famous authors and screenwriters.

3. The idea itself: Current models rely on existing ideas and attempt to create new patterns by combining them. In my opinion, this is more about remixing ideas than true creativity.

4. Independent creativity: A future stage where AI gains creativity and begins generating original ideas that are not derived from mixing human thoughts.

I think AI could eventually overcome the copyright dilemma at stage one—by using pure language to express ideas, as humans do, without mimicking others or reproducing existing texts—and at stage four, if it develops genuine, independent creativity.

Whether AI can truly reach that point or not is a question we cannot fully answer yet.

Fares: Are you also going to tell me that I’m not the first one they think of in the morning? :-)))

lol Dolf Van Stijgeren : Here, it’s like any creative community:

if you want to get noticed, you need to show up, post, interact, leave a mark.

People are naturally curious, but they only become curious once they actually see you.

When you put something out there — an idea, a thought, a logline, a sincere question — you create a little movement.

And that movement attracts other movements.

You saw it yourself: you posted, and suddenly several people commented, discussed, engaged.

That’s not random.

It’s proof that visibility creates visibility.

On Stage32, the ones who end up getting noticed aren’t always the most brilliant at first…

they’re the ones who show up regularly in other people’s line of sight.

Posting, reacting, supporting others, sparking reflection, launching original topics —

all of that builds presence.

And presence eventually triggers curiosity.

Producers, script consultants, indie directors, other writers…

they don’t find you while you’re hiding in the dark.

They find you because, by being active, you become impossible to ignore.

Basically, Stage32 is like a crowded creative bar:

if you stay quietly in a corner, no one will ever know who you are.

But the moment you speak up, share, bring something real…

heads start to turn.

I don't know if agents check profiles for projects, but producers do, Dolf Van Stijgeren. That and networking are how I sold four short scripts to a producer. And producers, companies, etc. look for projects through Stage 32's Open Writing Assignments in the Writers' Room. Here's a post that explains what a Stage 32 OWA is: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/What-is-an-OWA

Yeah, low budget producers will have a look and loglines and having good synopses are a must. Reps are inundated with material and tend to want to work with writers who are already established. Still might get some new startups looking.

As ever, a lot of it comes down to people's willingness to work the trenches. I started with giving away free short scripts to students. Not a lot of people are willing to entertain that.

A year ago, I was very cautious about sharing my ideas, and I tried to find opportunities that allowed the use of AI because my English was not very strong.

Later, I realized that as a Moroccan, this path is especially challenging, and that I need to show up internationally to access opportunities.

So I created my Instagram page, where I began publishing visuals of my worlds.

Then I discovered Stage 32 and continued sharing visuals and loglines there.

I still feel some anxiety about sharing, but I understand now that this is part of the process of building visibility.

All kinds, Elle Bolan. Hip-hop, rock, R&B, classical, etc.

Elle Bolan my favorite thing to to is go to the movies. I live the theater, and I believe there is where the true magic happens from the moment you step into the theater getting that first whiff of popcorn as I excitedly wait for the movie to begin and prior to that seeing the previews of the extraordinary films soon to be released and imagining seeing the film I make up in the big screen.

Abram Christian you know, I always fall asleep in the theater. I can't stay awake! I don't understand why, but I go out before act 1 hits full swing. Every time.

Elle Bolan (chuckles) I totally understand as I’ve been there a few times but I stretch in my seat and take deep breaths to reinvigorate my energy.

Isn't that called snoring? Haha I kid, I kid.

English is not my native language, so I am possibly wrong, but here is my opinion. I have done a lot of no-budget filmmaking. I typically prefer the shortest option. “A faint smile touches his face, and lingers.”

Lingers sounds best.

Deborah Bete Definitely -and lingers! Although -lingering is poetic, very lovely for an essay or short story.

'He smiles'. Let the actor decide, that's his job?

Yes, it is often a good idea to give the director and actors the opportunity to make decisions.

Thank you for sharing this, Patrick Koepke! As many mentioned, you'll learn more from 'negative' feedback, even if you disagree with some of the notes. That new POV might be just what you need to get your pitch where it needs to be.

Hi Patrick Koepke , you are approaching the right attitude. When we look everything with positive pov ,it changes everything. I am also on the same boat even worst but I always believe that I can improve and come up with something more worthy. Take this as a product testing feedback and improve it accordingly. Good Luck !!!!!

Sanna Peth , I agree with you. There might be chances where what your scripts shows is different from your pitch as it is really difficult to fit the whole script in 2 pages. It is complex while fixting the structure in pitch sometimes.

What I can suggest here is ; go through the feedback and if it says story has potential but some scenes are underdeveloped or structure issue etc. then check whether it is really look like this in the script or just it isn't fitted well in the pitch. If it's just about pitch then find out ways to fix that and slide improvement with your story that's it.

Priya Mistry Yes, this is exactly what I’m experiencing as well. I keep receiving feedback that there is strong potential in the story, but each person highlights a different element as the key focus. I don’t see this as a problem in itself — rather, it shows that the material has multiple layers and can be approached from different angles.

That’s why I decided to first share the full screenplay with a professional, so it can be evaluated as a whole and from an outside perspective — to see whether the story truly works and to determine the best path forward. Since this is a three-part story, I’m fully aware that the first installment is the most restrained one; this is where the deeper arc and true character development begin. If the potential is clearly visible in this first part, then I’m confident the following installments will not be an issue.

It’s not easy to find the right person who can do more than just give feedback — someone who can truly guide and support you along the way — especially when financial resources are limited. For now, I’m choosing patience and waiting with great excitement for the screenplay evaluation. I truly believe this story has a future; the challenge is simply finding the right path for it.

Thank you very much for your advice and encouragement.

True ! Sanna Peth and you're welcome. Alll the best!!