Screenwriting

From structure to content to representation to industry trends, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer tips and advice on the craft and business of screenwriting

Liked by Maurice Vaughan

Vladimir Romantsev
Horizons of the three worlds

Staring at the cruise liner wallpaper on my desktop, this scene for a story came to mind:

A young couple steps out of their cabin on the cruise ship in the morning and discovers that the ship is completely empty – they are the only ones left. And the ship is standing still, going nowhere.

My task wa...

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Maurice Vaughan

Vladimir Romantsev If it's a Supernatural Thriller, the ship sailed into some strange dimension that took everyone except the couple for some reason.

Vladimir Romantsev

Maurice Vaughan Yes, my version of the story is also about other dimensions, like the series Dark Matter.

Liked by Sushant Rawat and 11 others

Sandra Isabel Correia
Screenwriters — Logline Challenge!

Let’s play with visual storytelling. I’ve dropped an image below: a glowing heart inside a luminous hexagon, floating in a starry void. It’s celestial, symbolic, and wide open for interpretation.

Your challenge: Write a logline inspired by this image. It can be any genre: sci-fi, romance, thriller, f...

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Sandra Isabel Correia

Thank you all. Each of your loglines has sparked such vivid, powerful ideas. What I love most is how a single meditation image has unfolded into so many different directions, each carrying its own emo...

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Elle Bolan

@Sandra Isabel Correia you know I'm gonna write it, right? I mean, I have to. It really is a good premise. I'm already creating characters in my head. I'll naturally come up with my own "encasement" b...

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Sriranjani Natarajan

To discover the true queen among three contenders, 1008 galaxy bees weave a luminous hexagon with a love symbol at its center. Any queen who crosses the glowing pattern will gain the ability to produc...

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Fares Moha

hello,

SYNOPSIS — "STARHEART"

When a strange object is found drifting in deep space — a glowing heart sealed inside a perfect hexagon of light — astrophysicist Dr. Claire Lawson is assigned to a researc...

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Aleksandar Lahtov

When the Earth is under threat of an unknown allien force, a team of young and brave astronauts build a spaceship in form of hexagon with glowing heart within to save our planet.

Liked by John Fife and one other

James Lagrimas
2-Part Workshop: Master Your Screenplay Pitch for 2026. Lab with Colleen Labella

There is a growing demand for creators to master the art of pitching, especially in an industry where first impressions can open doors or close them. With so many talented writers and producers vying for attention, the ability to clearly and compellingly present a script or idea is essential. This w...

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Sydney S

Looking forward to the lab today!

Liked by Meriem Bouziani and 3 others

Maurice Vaughan
Writers’ Room Webcast: “State of the Industry with RB Botto”

Stage 32 CEO Richard “RB” Botto and Director of Development Geoffroy Faugérolas are having an exclusive Writers’ Room event where they’ll break down the current industry landscape and share what’s ahead in 2026 for writers, producers, and creators.

Tuesday, December 16th at 1:00 pm PT

If you’re not...

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Juliana Philippi

Maurice Vaughan Thank you for posting, I hope everyone that can attends! I will be at...the dentist...at that exact time! Lol.

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Juliana Philippi. We're gonna have fun at the webcast, but you're gonna really have fun at the dentist. :D

Juliana Philippi

Maurice Vaughan Oh what fun...lol!

Liked by Mark Deuce and 2 others

Hayward Riley
Concept Art for our Series Pilot The Last Athena

We just uploaded our completed pilot for The Last Athena to our Stage 32 project page.

We’re looking for honest feedback from fellow writers and creators before we send it for professional notes and prepare it for festivals.

Would love any thoughts on the concept art as well. Thanks in advance!

Juliana Philippi

Hayward Riley Hi Hayward, first off congrats on reaching this point for your project! Maybe link the page to the post, so more people could easily help you out? Get more traffic easily....

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Mark Deuce

Looks amazing! How about this one?

Liked by Mark Deuce and 2 others

Tania Ocasio
Feedback

When it’s ok to reach out regarding feedback submitted 36 days ago,?

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Tania Ocasio. You can reach out now. Email writerhelp@stage32.com.

Juliana Philippi

Tania Ocasio Thanks for asking about this, I've been pending on a few, and been about the same time as you, so just going to check in : )

Tania Ocasio

ThanksJuliana Philippi going to send an email thank you so much

Liked by Patrick Koepke and 6 others

Juliana Philippi
"Oh What Fun" - New Christmas Movie- Filmmaking Beyond Hollywood, CA

Howdy / Hello / Jingle Bells!

Let's get a conversation going on this new Christmas / Holiday film.

'Oh What Fun" is a new Amazon / MGM holiday movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, and more amazing actors.

It's the story of a mom, played by Michelle P., who has been taking car...

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Catherine Mercer

It will be streamed at some point in the future.my advice to anyone iis this it can be any story as long it has longevity and a story etc. This is what i have learnt whilst dealing ith clients. for ex...

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Juliana Philippi

Maurice Vaughan Yes Maurice! I am so excited to hear more about your idea. ECU is also such a lovely campus, gorgeous land all around. Love Sandy B!!! Love her....

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Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Catherine Mercer. Thanks for the advice. Congratulations on potential clients approaching you! I'm looking forward to seeing the movie!

Maurice Vaughan

Thanks, Juliana Philippi. I'm excited to share about both scripts! One is kind of like Home Alone. Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite actresses.

Juliana Philippi

Ooohhh, Home Alone is due for some sort of revival-esque moment, with a horror twist...that sounds exciting. I love her, I think she is so multi-faceted, grounded, funny! and also amazing with drama.

Liked by Patrick Koepke and 31 others

Pat Alexander
WINNER ANNOUNCED: 6th Annual New Voices in Animation Screenwriting Contest

Congratulations to our Winner in this year's Animation Screenwriting Contest -- Tony Yancey II with his winning script, CAT AND CLOAK! Let's show Tony our support, and if you placed, tell us more about your scripts!

https://www.stage32.com/happy-writers/contests/6th-Annual-New-Voices-in-......

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Geoff Hall

Congratulations Tony. Onwards and upwards!

Martin Reese

That is so awesome!

Jabulani Pongolani

Congrats to Tony and everyone who made this big event a success.

Donna Laemmlen

Congratulatioins!

Tina Vratarich

Congratulations to Tony Yancey

Liked by Billy Kwack and 28 others

Maurice Vaughan
Why I Write and What Keeps Me Going

I write for money, but why I really write is I love to, I have stories to tell, and it's fun.

When I'm struggling to figure out a scene in the outline, having trouble writing a script, pitching and getting passes, etc., those three things keep me going.

Why do you write, write & direct, write & act, e...

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Kirsty Louise Joyce

Writing is a creative outlet for me, something that my soul yearns to do (and something which, regretfully, I pushed to the side for a long time for many reasons). When I am in the creative flow, it b...

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Kirsty Louise Joyce

Elle Bolan I resonate with everything you have said and I am very familiar with 'the dreaded block' you refer to. I took a long break from writing, and S32 engagement, mainly because I was very 'creat...

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Juliana Philippi

Maurice Vaughan I write because I can see things, feel things, hear things and create a world , a story, others will benefit from: love, hate, react, feel. Learn. And I learn, as I write, I learn more...

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Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Kirsty Louise Joyce. I’m glad you decided to write your stories! I think a lot of us can relate to pushing our desire to write and our stories to the side. And it’s great that you want to inspire...

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Maurice Vaughan

I love those reasons, Juliana Philippi! I learn a lot by researching and writing. And sometimes I don't use the research for a script, but I use it in life....

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Liked by Kirsty Louise Joyce and one other

Srabon Ghosh
Law firms???

“Could anyone share the names of law firms that represent new writers without charging upfront, and instead take a percentage of the project or movie deal?” For my English feature length screenplay named God's Deception (thriller/sci-fi/crime).

Juliana Philippi

Srabon Ghosh Hey Srabon, it would all depend on the city you are, and many other factors, but I would perhaps search reputable entertainment lawyers in your city....

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Liked by Michael David and 7 others

Patrick Koepke
Learning From a Tough Pitch Outcome

I've been pitching various projects in my slate to execs here for awhile, and all of my written pitches up until now have been fairly high scored (4+ average across all scorecard variables) and all of them are fairly encouraging and positive about the pitch and concept, with half of the pitches bein...

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Maurice Vaughan

Congratulations on the high scores, Sanna Peth! It's about finding the right person who clicks with your project and pitch during a Pitch Session, and sometimes they pass on a project because of the b...

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Sanna Peth

Maurice Vaughan Yes, I know. For a writer who isn’t known yet, this is really one of the most realistic opportunities. Other paths are much less accessible. And of course, sometimes you start doubting...

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Patrick Koepke

Sanna Peth I agree that eventually your work WILL reach the right person. All it takes is one exec who sees the potential and is willing to champion the project....

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Juliana Philippi

Patrick Koepke Sounds like you will grow so much from this experience, like you well said, we are constantly growing. For written pitches, it helps me to let go of the format, especially if the writte...

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Geoffroy Faugerolas

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...

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Liked by Juliana Philippi and one other

Low-budget scripts

How do you approach writing low-budget scripts?

Let’s say you have a zero budget and need to write a thriller. Do you write it as usual and then cut or replace all the expensive scenes later? If you try to think about both the budget and the story at the same time, you can get stuck right from the start.

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Kseniia Zhuravleva. I keep the budget in mind from the start (during outlining). One location/a few locations, small cast, no pets/one pet, etc.

CJ Walley

It depends on your knowledge/experience. The average un-produced writer is understandably going to struggle to know what does and doesn't cause issues.

Generally speaking though:

Fewer characters

Fewer l...

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Kseniia Zhuravleva

Thanks, I’m probably more worried about the cramped spaces, just like you said. It’s obvious that I need to write about two people in a room, not a whole new planet.

But sometimes there are complexiti...

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Maurice Vaughan

What about a Psychological Contained Horror, Kseniia Zhuravleva? Less/no CGI and costumes.

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