Authoring & Playwriting

Everyone has their own way to unwind and re-center—what’s yours?

I like to take a 15-minute reset each afternoon. Sometimes it’s sitting in a comfy chair, sometimes it’s a walk outside, just focusing on my breath.

The goal is to quiet my mind… and interestingly, that’s when my best ideas show up.

What about you?

Florence Pugh is set to star in the adaptation of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, a book that's sold 15 million copies. It's another example of Hollywood's IP boom, but what's interesting is how this genre, emotional, high-concept fiction, has become a launchpad for authors to cross into screenwriting. We've seen it with Ottessa Moshfegh, who adapted her own Eileen and is now firmly in the Hollywood ecosystem. Taylor Jenkins Reid saw Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo become major projects, and she's been attached to adaptations and development deals ever since. These authors aren't just selling rights anymore. They're being invited into writers' rooms, asked to adapt their own work, and given first-look deals.

The Midnight Library fits perfectly into this trend. It's beloved, it's emotional, it has a clear visual hook (a library between life and death), and it stars Florence Pugh. Matt Haig isn't writing the script himself—Laura Wade and Nick Payne are handling that—but he's executive producing. The door is open.

What's driving this? Streaming services and studios need proven material that comes with built-in audiences. Books provide that. But the authors themselves bring something else: a distinct voice and a relationship with readers that can translate into genuine excitement. Moshfegh's fans don't just want to read her—they want to see what she does next. Same with Jenkins Reid. It's a win-win. Studios get IP and built-in marketing. Authors get a seat at the table and creative control they wouldn't have had a decade ago. And for emerging writers, it's proof that a bestselling book can lead to a whole second career.

Read more about the adaptation here! https://deadline.com/2026/05/florence-pugh-matt-haig-adaptation-midnight...

Hi, I'm posting my chapter outline for my story for review, and input on it is welcome.

Ch.1

PRINCE KYDUAN and his friend, SIR RODERICK walk through town wearing ineffective disguises, as even the drunkards in the tavern recognize them for who they truly are. Seeing a tavern they know has the best ale and jam, they go in for a drink. Prince Kyduan loves the ale and jam but hates the fact that flies constantly buzz around, annoying all the patrons. The local tailor, GERARIT, enters the tavern and a loud group of drunks at the next table over from the prince ask him to perform a trick to demonstrate his wit. Up to the challenge, he wagers he can kill seven flies in one blow. Knowing the impossibility of that, all the drunks offer up a shilling to wager. The Prince Kyduan even offers up a shilling as well. Spreading some jam on the table, Gerarit draws seven flies to it and swats them all with his hand in one blow, winning the wager. Walking through town, Kyduan and Roderick see the tailor, and strike up a conversation with him. Learning more about him, they all become friends.

Ch.2

Time passes, but all is not well in the land, word has come that the princess of a neighboring kingdom who was to marry the prince has been taken by a giant, and still other giants have begun raiding neighboring towns. The tailor has some family out in one of the valley towns and hearing this closes his shop and sets out to see how his family is doing and meets the prince as he leads his soldiers to rescue the princess. On a trip into the valley, the tailor encounters a two-headed giant who has been eating the local livestock. The tailor tricks him into slashing his own belly open, killing the giant by outwitting him. As a result Jack is able to retrieve many goods once stolen from his family. The tailor finds his family just barely subsisting because the stream that waters their fields has been dammed by giants, who still guard their construct. Jack returns to the capital with plans to aid his family.

Ch.3

The tailor returns to the capital to see if the king can spare any men to help him with the giants that have blocked up the stream. Only to hear and see that the prince came back beaten and battered with only a few soldiers remaining. Soon in the king’s throne room, the story as to what happened to the prince is told. The giant of giants having attacked the prince’s forces and the challenge the giant put forth: “If any man, be he brave enough, should manage to kill me, he will win the princess who is in the high tower of the castle in the sky.” Afterward, all who heard the story told by the king, ask as to whom shall save the princess. They discuss the prince and his unit of men, but an army of 100,000 men would be needed to face the giant. However, it would be impossible to fight the giant with that many on the mountain slopes. The king then puts forth an offer “To any group of men who kill the giant and brings back the princess shall have a kings ransom and to any single man who does shall be made the ruler of half the kingdom.” It is quiet in the throne room until the tailor yells out “ Here! I shall go, send me.” The tailor accepts the challenge even under protest from the prince. The king reluctantly agrees and offers his armor, which the tailor declines. When asked why he refuses, he replies “ I fight not with sword and spear, for my wit shall be my weapon.” The tailor also gives the reason why he wishes to do this. The tailor closes his shop, taking only a staff, a bag of sewing tools, a leather sling, and five stones from a brook. As he leaves all the people salute him.

Ch.4

The tailor sallies forth for more adventures and meets a knight and his lady who are dealing with a giant terrorizing them. He uses his sling and five stones to make the giant fall to his death. He is told about and discovers the giant's companion in a cave. The tailor cuts off the giant's nose then slays him by plunging his sword into the monster's back. He frees the giant's captives; three ladies held captive in the giant's cave and returns to the house of the knight and lady he earlier had rescued. A banquet is prepared, but it is interrupted by the two-headed giant. The tailor defeats and beheads the giant with a trick involving the house's moat and drawbridge. An elderly man, in a way of thanks for saving his wife, gives the tailor a number of magic items: a magic sword, a cap of knowledge, a cloak of invisibility, a bag with hand full of magic beans, and shoes of swiftness. The tailor asks how the elderly man came to have them, only to be told the old man was once a legendary thief.

Ch.5

On the road, The tailor meets a giant who assumes that the tailor is an exile, and that the statement "Seven at One Blow" refers to seven men. The giant challenges the tailor. When the giant squeezes water from a boulder, the tailor squeezes milk, or whey, from cheese. The giant throws a rock far into the air, and it eventually lands. The tailor counters the feat by tossing a bird that flies away into the sky; the giant believes the small bird is a "rock" which is thrown so far that it never lands. Later, the giant asks the tailor to help him carry a tree. The tailor directs the giant to carry the trunk, while the tailor will carry the branches. Instead, the tailor climbs on, so the giant carries him as well, but it appears as if the tailor is supporting the branches. Impressed, the giant brings the tailor to the enchanted castle in the sky, where are held captive many knights, and ladies, as well as a Duke's daughter who has been transformed into a white deer through the power of a sorcerer. Other giants live in the castle as well.

Ch.6

The tailor enters the castle with Garna by way of the drawbridge that rolls out to a cliff edge like a very long tong. The Tailor meets the sorcerer and the others who live in the floating castle. The Tailor learns that the other creatures there were once people whom the Sorcerer has made to look like animals in order to prevent them from running away and revealing the location of the castle. The Sorcerer hears of the deeds of the Tailor from Garna the Giant, and learns that he is a Tailor. The sorcerer tells him to mend his robes or he will be turned into a dog. The Tailor completes that task, and even more. The Sorcerer is impressed by the Tailor’s skills. The Tailor soon learns how the sorcerer makes his giants, as well as the spell by which the duke’s daughter has been turned into a deer by day (with her true form revealed only by night). The tailor then meets the giant of giants, Golithor, and discovers an enchanted goose that lays golden eggs, as well as discovering a magic golden harp (that plays and sings by itself). At dinner, the sorcerer explains to the tailor that he too is an exile. Elidoras was a brilliant but low-born man who warned the kingdom that the mountains were shifting-that something beneath them was awakening. The court ignored and mocked him. When the mountains broke and crushed his village, his people died-and the kingdom still refused to listen.The tailor is given a room to stay in. The Tailor uses one of the magic beans as the means to climb up in order to see the princess that night.

Ch.7

After spending a few days in the castle, Elidoras the sorcerer learns the fate of some of the giants he made. Hearing that, the tailor reveals that he came to slay the great giant and the sorcerer. Elidoras the sorcerer vows vengeance for the deaths of his creations, and the tailor runs pursued by Golithor the great giant. The tailor made plans to kill both the giant and the sorcerer. The tailor lures the great giant up a ladder made of two very tall trees intending for the great giant to climb up to the higher levels. Previously, the tailor used a saw to cut a slit in both the trees with the help of the others in the castle, anticipating the ladder would break when the great giant climbed up. Using the magic shoes to jump to the top of the ladder just as Golithor the giant arrives at the top; the tailor witnesses the trees break, and Golithor the giant falls back on top of Elidoras the sorcerer, killing them both. With that, the tailor breaks the spell and all within the castle are restored to their true forms. However, they must escape before the enchanted castle falls. The tailor uses the rest of the magic beans to hold the castle together long enough for all the former captives to flee. Having outwitted the giant and the sorcerer, the tailor can retrieve many goods, including a bag of gold, bottled lightning, an enchanted goose that lays golden eggs, and a magic golden harp that plays and sings by itself. The tailor and the others then escape and the knights cut the anchor lines created by the magic bean stalks before the castle collapses. The tailor is worn out from running from the giant so both the princess and the tailor are carried safely to Roderick the knight’s home.

Ch.8

The tailor returns to the house of Roderick the knight and Lady Elaine to recover along with the others, and learns that the stream which waters the fields is still dammed up, as well as guarded by giants. With the help of the other knights, and people he previously saved the tailor goes to the dam. The tailor manages to overcome the giants by climbing up a tree while invisible in his cloak. From that vantage point the tailor provokes the pair into fighting one another, throwing rocks at the two giants awakening them from their sleep. Seeing no-one around, they assume the other is to blame and fight until they kill one another. Encountering Garna—the giant he met before while traveling to the castle—the tailor taunts the giant with what he has done to his giant compatriots. Garna the giant is enraged, knowing that the tailor is responsible for their deaths. The tailor then lures the enraged giant to his death in a pit trap. After killing the last of the giants, the tailor and the others find the dam made simply of clay and tree logs. The tailor uses lantern oil and the bottled lightning to burn up the logs, while his allies roll large boulders to break the clay, freeing the water. The tailor and his comrades in arms head back to the Capital.

Ch.9

The tailor and the others go through the village where the tailor’s family lives. The tailor is glad to see his family prosper. They return to the court of the King, who demonstrates his gratitude for having to rid the realm of troublesome giants and saving the kingdom. The king and his court, along with the princes backing the tailor, are rewarded with membership in the royal service and given a seat at the king’s table. And so the tailor lives out his days as a king in his own right. Even though the Princess loves the tailor, he gives her up to make his friend, the prince, happy. The tailor marries a Duke's daughter and the two are given an estate where they live happily ever after.

I’ve been thinking about how often writing isn’t just about expressing something…

It’s about finding your way.

There are times I sit down without clarity, and somewhere in the process of putting words on the page, things start to shift.

Not because I had the answer—but because writing helped me uncover it.

Curious—do you ever use writing as a way to find your direction, not just describe it?

I am considering adapting a screenplay into a novel and self-publishing. I have three objectives in considering this project:

1. Assistance with the technical aspects of publishing it, formatting it, editing it etc....

2. Ability to sell physical product

3. Establish an IP I can market in hopes of generating interest in and the sale of the script it is based on

If anyone has insight, suggestions, and warnings, I would greatly appreciate it. Feel free to send me a private message if preferred.

Writer and story developer focused on grounded, character-driven science fiction, institutional drama, and morally complex ensemble storytelling.

My work is heavily influenced by operational realism, leadership under pressure, organizational dynamics, and the human consequences of systems functioning exactly as designed. I’m particularly interested in stories that explore loyalty, duty, moral injury, identity, and the people inside large institutions during moments of collapse or transformation.

Professionally, my background includes federal operations, leadership analysis, interagency coordination, and prior law enforcement experience, which strongly informs the realism and psychological pressure found in my writing. I bring a systems-oriented perspective to story structure, character behavior, chain-of-command conflict, and procedural authenticity.

Currently developing long-form television and serialized science fiction projects with an emphasis on grounded worldbuilding, layered character arcs, naturalistic dialogue, and cinematic but emotionally restrained storytelling.

Also open to:

• screenplay coverage

• script feedback and developmental notes

• realism/procedural consulting

• indie film collaboration

• writers groups and table reads

Influences include grounded prestige television, 1970s-style character cinema, military dramas, political thrillers, and mature science fiction focused on people rather than spectacle.

Hey Authors and Playwrights,

Let's share what we all know and give inspiration to our fellow community members.

What have you done that has resulted in unexpected success?

For me, it was early on in my career when all I wanted to know was how authors landed their contracts. I would reach out via their websites or socials, send them a short 5 question interview and publish it on my socials for the world to see. Kinda like I'm doing now - sharing what I learn to help others.

Well - that got the attention of a publisher who runs an online magazine. Years later, I'm now content manager for this publication. I wasn't expecting that.

Anyone else want to share their experiences in hope to inspire others? Thanks Team!

Sergei Eisenstein, in his famous book Film Form, had a chapter called 'The Unexpected', and now Lauren Hackney has posted a topic with the same name with a different context. It is quite interesting! So, I am also starting a topic with the same name to share one of my unexpected achievements. It was 1998. I was studying in the 9th grade. In an interschool quiz competition, we, representing our school called MHS, became champions in our own district. This was completely unexpected. The quiz competition was organised by a state-level science organisation called PBVM on renewable energy. As a result of that, our team got a chance to visit the city of Kolkata to attend the state-level round representing our district called Coochbehar. We were quite excited to visit the city, which was huge, historically important and the capital city of the state of West Bengal. We enjoyed staying and travelling in the city, and unexpectedly, our team became runner-up. The champion team was from another beautiful hilly northern district called Darjeeling. That was my first unexpected achievement outside my home district. Eventually, this city is where I live now. I don't know whether this story is worth a read or not. But I felt like sharing it with you people because Ashley again brought this topic started by Lauren Hackney to my attention.

Hey Authors and Playwrights,

I have a problem with the ending of the film 'Sweet November'. There. I said it.

I know that sounds harsh straight up I'm trying to improve my drama writing skills so I'm diving deep into novels, scripts and films that have been released to see what lands and what doesn't.

I'm a little late on this film as it was released 25 years ago - but how it ends left my 'happy ending', 'Disney' brain feeling sad and lost. I could think of a few ways Sara and Nelson (the main characters) could have ended their journey together rather than the ending that was released.

But this makes me think - is a shock ending like that one (well, shock for me) draw in the crowds? My 'strong suit' is children's publishing so not exactly the same wheelhouse. Children's publishing is very 'happy ending' and 'what lessons are we teaching our children' etc etc. So very different to adult novels... it is open slather pretty much.

My fellow lounge members - your thoughts on how a commercial drama story should end? All advice welcome.