Screenwriting

I really like the phrase “capture systems over willpower,” Sara Hamilton. That describes something I’ve learned almost instinctively - if an idea comes, I need to catch it immediately rather than trust myself to remember it later. Sometimes it’s a proper note, sometimes just a sentence, a title, or a strange image that will make sense to me later.

I’m also starting to understand what you mean about building the process around the way your brain works instead of constantly fighting against it. The same mind that can create chaos can also make connections I probably wouldn’t make otherwise.

Brainstorming with others is a little more complicated for me. Social anxiety makes that harder, and creatively I tend to need a lot of control and privacy while I’m developing my own stories. But places like the Stage 32 Lounges have actually helped because I can still exchange ideas, hear different perspectives, and connect with people without feeling like I have to hand over the creative process itself.

And thank you for the resources as well. I appreciate you taking the time to share something practical rather than simply saying, “Yes, I experience it too.”

Samantha Rivera. For me, the most effective thing is actually "not trying to force the imagination back on command".

If I’m completely blank, pushing harder usually just makes me more frustrated. So I try to switch to something more mechanical - organizing notes, reviewing scenes I already wrote, editing, fixing continuity, working on sound, or simply writing down fragments without expecting them to become anything immediately.

With AuDHD, I’m learning that my creative rhythm isn’t very linear. Sometimes the brain gives me far too much at once, and sometimes almost nothing.

So instead of treating the blank periods as failure, I’m trying to treat them as a different kind of working day. The imagination usually comes back on its own - often when I stop chasing it.

Same here, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. I’m slowly learning that the quiet patches aren’t necessarily empty - sometimes they’re just the brain processing things in a way I can’t see yet.

I still don’t enjoy them, especially after a period where ideas are coming faster than I can write them down, but I’m getting better at not treating every creative slowdown like something is wrong.

Sometimes the best thing is exactly what you said: respect the quiet and let it pass.

Love this discussion Val Chiper. Although I stay pretty busy, I spend a lot of time alone during the day before anyone gets home. So for me, it's the social anxiety that hits when I'm about to go into a group of people. Creative people are always easy to be around - I think there's an unspoken relatability to things that most creatives have in common. We don't need to say it out loud, we just feel comfortable. But in most social settings, that's not the case. One thing I try to do is get a sense of the room and finding one person that feels approachable, then learning all about them. It helps when I push to take the focus off of myself. Hope that makes sense.

That makes perfect sense, Leonardo Ramirez. I actually like that approach a lot, finding one approachable person instead of trying to somehow “enter” an entire room at once.

For me, social anxiety often gets worse when I start thinking about how I’m being perceived. Shifting the focus onto the other person -asking about their work, their ideas, what they’re creating- probably takes some of that pressure away.

And I agree about creative people. There can be a strange kind of immediate understanding there, especially when you meet someone who is equally obsessed with making something. The conversation suddenly has a purpose, and that makes everything easier.

I’m still learning how to handle those situations, but your “one person at a time” approach is something I’ll definitely keep in mind.

@Thomas Sometimes I'll just write something like "She talks about ________" for a scene in the outline, and sometimes I write the dialogue in the outline.

It’s worth considering each character’s individual voices and how they express themselves. It can make a script really stand out to a reader.

That's a great question, and the best dialogue often comes when you stop trying to control it and just let the character speak. What's the project where the dialogue felt most like dictation rather than construction?

We bow before the master of plotless dialogue as two assassins discuss ‘The Royale with cheese’. If you don’t know what movie that comes from, Walmart is waiting for you.

Some people hate talking, so maybe they reserve their energy for the conversations that count. Others can't help but spill the beans to a stranger—but is that also true with the people they love?

I like to think about the situations where the opposite becomes true for my characters. What makes a quiet person talkative? What shuts up the chatterbox?

Then I think about who my characters are talking to in the scene. What's their relationship? Do they trust each other? Do they even like each other? Is this the first time they've had this conversation? Maybe it's small talk laced with disdain or flirtation.

Then I write what that character is capable of saying to that person in that moment, considering what they want from the other person and how they think they can get there.

And despite this lengthy comment I'm writing, remember: when in doubt, keep it brief.

We do the same thing, @Bob. I make the outline in Microsoft Word, so it's easy to change it into a treatment to pitch with. What program do you use?

I also use Microsoft Word. I take time to update the treatment periodically with relevant changes, so that I don't lose track of them. For the current project, it took me nearly a month to develop the treatments. But, what resulted was a very complete and detailed roadmap of what I needed the screenplay to do. I find this is especially useful in a thriller, because of all the interweaving plot lines, set ups, payoffs, reveals, twist, etc. A treatment keeps me on track.

That's great, Bob Johnson. I put some information in the pitch deck and the rest in the treatment. It keeps my pitch deck from being too long.

Absolutely! I’ve found that taking the time to develop the story, characters, arcs, and major beats before writing pages can make the actual drafting process much smoother. Your 29-page treatment sounds like a thorough foundation, and 12 pages in a day is a great start. Best of luck with the psychological thriller I’d be interested to hear how the process continues!

I've actually tried it both ways. Depending on the the intensity of the characters and their development as well as the length of script usually determins for me how I proceed. The last script I wrote I left the treatment until the very end.

Congratulations, Nancy Wilkinson Riverboat gambler turned haymaker is such a vivid, unexpected true story, well deserved acceptance into the Great Plains Film Festiva

Congratulations on getting Once a Gambler accepted into the Great Plains Film Festival! That’s a wonderful achievement, especially with the story being inspired by a true-life figure. Wishing you continued success with the festival and the project!

Nancy Wilkinson, congratulations. I'd love to connect.

Hi, thanks for sharing Terminator Resurrection. The concept looks intriguing, and I’d be happy to connect and exchange professional feedback. Wishing you the best with the project!

Yes, there is absolutely room for a character-driven period piece, because audiences are always hungry for stories that feel grounded and emotionally true. What's the most important thing you want audiences to feel after watching your story?

Congratulations on writing your first screenplay, @Ken! Your script sounds interesting. I think there's room for a character-driven story that far in the past and any interesting story that's written well.

congrats on getting your first screenplay finished!!

Absolutely!

Character-driven stories can still find their audience, especially when they carry a personal history like this. Keep moving it forward, Ken. Wishing you the best with it!

Absolutely there’s still room for character-driven historical stories. In fact, a personal family connection can give a period piece an emotional authenticity that makes it stand out. If the characters and conflict are compelling, the 1940s setting can become an advantage rather than a limitation. Wishing you the best with your first screenplay!

Congratulations!

Woot!

Samantha Rivera Congrats to everyone selected! Such a great range of genres and voices on this list, exciting to see the Writers' Room portal staying this active

Honored to be selected!!! Congratulations to all selected writers!!!

Congratulations to everyone selected! It’s always encouraging to see writers getting these opportunities. Thank you for sharing the latest OWA selections and for continuing to create opportunities for the Stage 32 community. Looking forward to seeing more great projects come through!

Sabri Saada Honestly, I find real fulfillment in it. When I take on script or scoring work for someone else's story, I still bring my full creative energy and professionalism to it, helping their vision land exactly as they imagined isn't a sacrifice, it's craftsmanship. That kind of work speaks for itself.

An excellent marketing perspective for your company, Crinda! However, my core question still stands and looks for a real answer: Since you and your team possess such a high professional capacity for creation and innovation, why do you choose to build glories and projects for others, when you are fully capable of utilizing this energy to build your own legacy and glory under your company's name?

I think the beauty of the entertainment industry is that it is inherently collaborative. No one movie or TV show is just one person's. It's a joint effort that takes hundreds of creative brains across the lifecycle of the project who each excel in different creative ways. I've never seen it as meaning I'm less of a creative or less worthy because I've collaborated with a writer to help build their story. I personally don't want to write. My development brain is what I bring to the table and what I have a passion for.

Sabri Saada Fair point and no worries on the name! For me it's not either/or, helping shape someone else's story feeds my own creative growth. My legacy isn't just what I create alone, it's also the work I help exist that wouldn't otherwise. Quieter glory, but still glory.

Is it someone else's race? Isn't my work building my legacy, whether it stands by itself or not? Like Delenn said, it's a collaborative process, and being part of a project driven by someone else is still quite meaningful. Assisting is not a lesser form of creativity.

Leni Hasrani Great!

Rethabile Masia What is all this? Do you have a clear question?

Darrell A Pennington Great!

Samantha Rivera Building a Substack

Spencer — sorry — my last was confusing — too much shorthand — my bad.

Clear question —

I have a romance thriller AZURA: THE ROYAL ESCAPE — contained — small budget but $12M look — currently with two execs reading —

Trying to build IP while I wait — like you said — no book — so:

- Option A: 90-sec short — torn emerald gown icon — plus composer sharing music — visual IP

- Option B: Substack article — how we make $12M look for $1-5M — 80/20 trick — like that Medium piece on 12 Million Dollar Movie

For managers — which proof of IP eyeballs would you prioritize first — A or B?

Thanks for the IP post — really helpful — and sorry again for confusing first message.

Rethabile — Masia Pictures

Those are great questions to ask, Jeniffer Cole! I think the hardest problem to diagnose sometimes is structure. If the structure is off, it can throw a lot of things off.

Great info, thank you!

What a great post! I'm such a structure geek -- I find it really helps guide me through development (even if I do end up breaking some structure rules in the process). Character and dialogue, on the other hand, those are definitely tougher for me and are code I haven't quite figured out how to crack yet. I love these questions and will absolutely be taking them with me when I give notes next!

Maurice is spot on about structure! If the screenplay isn't working it's because you didn't take the time to create a solid structure.

Hi Kent,

One challenge I notice repeatedly is that many great ideas are under-presented rather than underwritten. A strong script can lose momentum if the logline, one-sheet, or pitch deck doesn't communicate its identity clearly.

As a graphic designer, I've found that presentation doesn't replace good storytelling, it simply helps the right people recognize its potential more quickly. I'm curious whether you've seen projects gain attention because they were packaged exceptionally well.

One challenge I keep running into is scripts with a strong concept that falls flat in the execution of the first ten pages, because a great logline can get a script in the door, but the opening pages have to deliver on the promise. What's the most frustrating pattern you've noticed in the scripts you read?

Mercy James I agree. A strong presentation can definitely make a good project easier to recognize and take seriously. It’s interesting how much that first impression can influence attention.

Samantha Rivera I agree, that first impression matters a lot. For me, one frustrating pattern is when the setup takes too long and the story doesn’t give you a reason to keep reading early on.