Authoring & Playwriting

For all the authors and playwrights in our community, a place to discuss, share content and post tips and advice.

Kat Spencer
What role does YouTube play in helping you grow your audience or engage with your fans?

Check out this week’s Coffee & Content blog from RB! It features a great breakdown by Corridor Crew: Stuntmen React to THE KARATE KID (ft. Ben Wang), and is a reminder of how YouTube has become a cultural powerhouse for creators of every kind.

Read it here:

https://www.stage32.com/blog/coffee-content-...

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Bianca Bagatourian
Writing Group - Cambridge UK

Hi, We have a writing group of 6 for mid-level screenwriters/playwrights that meets bi-monthly around Cambridge, UK and would like to add two more writers. Please get in touch if you are interested.

Ashley Renee Smith
Let’s Talk: Writing the Scene You’re Avoiding

Every writer has one.

That one scene in your book, play, or script you keep putting off. Maybe it’s emotionally intense. Maybe it requires research. Maybe it’s just plain intimidating because it matters to the plot, to the character, to you.

This week, I finally tackled a scene I’d been avoiding for m...

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R.A. Lee

Congrats!

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Ashley Renee Smith. Thanks. You're right. It's such a satisfying feeling. Sometimes it's just about looking at plot holes from a different angle.

Debbie Croysdale

Like @Maurice I’d a plot hole to figure out. Mine was for a Detective Vintage Noir with 2 parallel ongoing cases. My brain began to fry in a seemingly unapproachable puzzle if I was to get the end I w...

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Arhynn Descy

Haha! So true. Mine is a scene where the characters actually need to talk and say the words that are at the heart of the whole film. My solution is to put replacement dialogue and then each time I read it, edit it sloghtly as ideas occur to me. I left that scene till last to write!

Inessa Kraft

Mine is actually a scene that came to me suddenly—and of course, it happened when I had no way to write it down. I loved it so much just “watching” it. But every time I sat down to actually write it,...

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Kat Spencer
Any Philosophical Gems in the Books You’re Writing (or Reading)?

I seem to come across little gems all the time, but recalling one off the top of my head is tough. That said, everything in The Alchemist rings true for me. If you haven’t read that one yet, I highly recommend it. What about you?

Canonical Consistency: Why AI is Your Friend

If you're writing fan fiction for a beloved franchise, canonical consistency isn't optional—it's essential. Your audience of superfans notices every detail, and that’s where AI becomes your best ally. Instead of wasting hours hunting down obscure references, just ask ChatGPT (or another platform) to...

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Ashley Renee Smith

Jason Sylvester, It’s exciting to see technology being used not to replace creativity, but to enhance it, giving writers more time to focus on story, character, and voice. What’s the next canon-heavy...

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Debra Holland

That's an interesting idea, Jason. I can see how using AI this way would benefit authors who have their own extensive "worlds."

Chiara Torrisi

This is a very clever idea of integrating AI in writing, without delegating the creative work, Jason Sylvester!

Jason Sylvester

Thanks all, for the kind comments. Ashley Renee Smith my next canon-heavy world is one of my creation; an epic trilogy deep diving into many scientific and human elements--an idea that has been bounci...

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Mark Deuce

Ai is a great tool Jason Sylvester

My Creative Process: A VERY Buddhist Approach

Lately, I’ve realized I take a very Buddhist approach to writing—specifically, in not forcing it. That insight struck me while writing two recent articles on transcendent intuition (The Tao of Physics and The Fragile Multiverse) and developing a new book with a University of Chicago professor explor...

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Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Jason Sylvester. I force it sometimes when I get writer's block (like when I'm on a deadline), but waiting/shifting focus to something else works too. Sometimes I shift focus to another project, e...

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Ashley Renee Smith

Jason Sylvester, thank you for sharing your process so openly. That Buddhist mindset of releasing control and trusting the timing really resonates. There’s something powerful about allowing space for...

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Debra Holland

An interesting way of processing your writing, Jason. I don't believe the creative flow is rare. But getting into that flow is what's important and sometimes difficult. Our minds are so busy that shif...

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Jason Sylvester

Glad my insights might help others; at least those NOT on a deadline! I agree getting into the creative flow is not always that hard. What is rare, for me at least, is hitting that zone, striking that...

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Geoff Hall
Fredrick Backman on Creative Anxiety and Procrastination

Dear writer, just in case you need a mid-week pick-me-up, I would like to share this with you.

And th...

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Carol M. Salter

Hi Geoff, I'm reading Fredrick Bakman's book Anxious People. OMG its like someone has opened my brain, checked out all my thoughts, memories and feelings, compiled them into a book together with some...

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Carol M. Salter

PS - I didn't procrastinate.

Geoff Hall

Sylvia Melanson mine too. I’m glad you found it fun. How are you doing? What are you working on at the moment, or are you procrastinating?!! ;-)

Geoff Hall

Carol M. Salter Hi Carol, happy Sunday. He’s definitely someone I’ll have to check out later. Maybe a holiday read. You read a book a day? Wow, I can’t do that. I’m a slow reader and anyway, to add 36...

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Debra Holland

Mine is the "I don wanna" feeling. Sometimes that feeling wins. Sometimes, I force my way through it. I much prefer the days when I'm in the flow! :)

Seeking Legal Advice

Seeking legal advice (I will of course pay) for a book I am writing. Thank you. Details divulged f interested.

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Kelley Watson. I suggest adding a profile picture and a detailed bio to your profile. People will feel more comfortable networking and collaborating with you if they know what you look like. And i...

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Kelley Watson

Hi Maurice Vaughn - I was once an avid supporter of Stage 32 submitting to Pitch sessions and playing the webinars, of which all were worthwhile. Over the years I have redirected my energies to other...

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Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Kelley Watson. Glad to hear you were an avid supporter of Stage 32. Keep the community posted on your book.

Leonardo Ramirez
Today! Join the FREE Stage 32 Community Open House at 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET!

Learn how to build meaningful industry connections, explore resources, and get live tips for making Stage 32 work for you. Plus, join in on a live challenge for your chance to win a FREE Stage 32 Webinar or Executive Pitch Session! Don't forget to register!

Register for free: https://www.stage32.com/...

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A New Event on Stage32

All,

Check out a great event happening on Stage32 this Friday, May 30th.

https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-community-open-house......

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Kat Spencer
What Inspires You?

Inspiration can come from anywhere. For me, it's just about everything going on in my life. A lot of my work was art therapy for my soul to make sense of trauma or difficult times, heartache, loss, or confusion. Some have been a particular person, others from circumstances. How about you?

Mike Hall

I agree, Inspiration comes from so many places.....The main thing, is to always remember where and what that inspiration comes from so if you ever find yourself creatively stuck, you know where to look to get those ideas flowing again.

John X. Ingram

There's various works that I've fell in love with and has rooted into me, but I don't think I'd ever have taken any steps towards genuinely writing (rather than concept creation) if it wasn't for two...

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Kat Spencer

My most memorable? Maurice Vaughan Probably the life circumstance that inspired Beautiful Addiction :) Mike Hall knows what I'm talking about ;)...

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Mike Hall

Great tune!!....Love the title too!

Ashley Renee Smith

Kat Spencer For me, inspiration tends to show up through relationships, those that challenged me, changed me, or revealed something I didn’t know I was carrying. And sometimes, it’s the quiet moments...

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Back Again

I told my family that this is the year of action. I had my first live pitch last Saturday, and now I'm writing and developing my ideas faster than I ever have. I'm starting to think live pitches make all the difference.

How's everyone else doing this year?

Nathan Grimm

After nearly two years and $400 wasted on Stage 32 pitch sessions—with zero traction despite success in Coverfly competitions—I discovered through forums that many writers share similar frustrations,...

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Candra Baguley

Thank you for the information Nathan Grimm!

I was worried that would be the case. I did receive feedback, but after finding pitch examples, I could understand what I did wrong. I used query tracker as Expand comment
Libby Wright

2025 is going well, I think! We've submitted our proof of concept short for some film festivals and gotten some awards and selections, I submitted my feature-length script to a festival and it was sel...

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Nathan Grimm

Candra Baguley competition(s) is where you'll shine if you have the coin.

Place (and potentially win in few) with the same piece then use that momentum to submit to query tracker or manuscript wish-li...

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Ashley Renee Smith

Candra Baguley, I love that energy! “The year of action” is such a powerful declaration, and it sounds like you’re absolutely delivering on it! Huge congratulations on your first live pitch. That’s no...

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