Screenwriting

Hi screenwriters and happy Monday!

Today, I'm seeking advices on outlining.

I... Dread building an outline. I'd rather do anything else.

Outlining does not feel creative to me. It feels like stalling. Kicker is, I actively NEED an outline to keep my head on straight. So, what's a word slasher to do?

Any way to make the outlining process more fun? Or at least less tedious?

I know I'll need to provide real outlines and not my... Jumbled word salad I call an outline.

How do you approach a writing task that is necessary but underwhelming to tackle?

This is a 5 Week Training to help you develop your pitch deck and verbal pitch.

If you can learn how to develop a pitch deck and pitch it to interested parties, believe me, this small investment is worth it. The class will be led by Spencer Robinson, who seems to have rich experience with large industry brands that may allow for a rich learning experience, especially when it comes to the Dos and Don'ts of pitching.

You can sign up here: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-tv-pitching-lab-deve...

If you are hesitating to join, think about this. You can pay for the program one time and utilize your new skills over and over again, or you can pay someone to do your pitch deck every time you need one. The choice is yours.

Talk to you soon!

Carter

I’ve been deep in the trenches with The Bushmen lately — tightening the pilot, finishing Episodes 8 and 9, and refining the full season arc. It’s been encouraging to see the project gaining steady traction: strong festival responses, positive reads, and some early producer interest.

At the same time, I’ve been expanding my slate. Alongside the prestige‑drama work, I’m developing a set of elevated horror and grounded sci‑fi projects that explore the same themes I keep returning to — trauma, identity, survival, and the thin line between myth and reality.

It’s been a reminder that momentum isn’t one big moment; it’s a series of small, consistent steps. Grateful for the conversations happening behind the scenes and for the community here that keeps pushing the craft forward.

If anyone else is juggling multiple projects or navigating the early‑development grind, I’d love to hear how you’re structuring your workflow.

Writers, I have a question for you.

I’ve been thinking about the use of artificial intelligence in screenwriting. If you see it not as something that writes for you, but as a conversation partner, do you think it’s wrong to use it?

Personally, I see it as a tool that can support the writing process—as long as it doesn’t override the writer’s voice or creative decisions. When used correctly, I believe it can even help a writer think more clearly and develop their ideas further.

Where do you draw the line? What do you think?

-Kind Regards

I've just come off the back of a brilliant pitch session, and I mean genuinely brilliant! It made me feel genuinely energised about the future of storytelling, which doesn't always happen! But across all the written pitches - the great ones, the almost-great ones, and the ones that needed a little more time in the oven - I kept seeing the same five mistakes coming up again and again. Mistakes that are completely fixable. Mistakes that, once you know about them, you will never make again. So here they are. Consider this your cheat sheet! ;)

1. Your pitch doesn't sound like your film

This is the big one. The one that breaks my heart the most, because it's so easy to fix once you see it. If you're pitching a darkly funny Gen Z horror, your pitch document should feel dangerous and a little unhinged from the very first sentence. If you're pitching a tender, emotionally devastating character drama, the prose should make me feel something before I even get to the synopsis. A pitch is not a Wikipedia summary of your script, it's a trailer in document form. It should carry the tone, the texture, the sensibility of the thing you're selling.

The fix: Read your pitch back and ask yourself honestly, does this feel like my film? If the answer is no, rewrite it until it does. One or two sentences of genuine voice can transform an entire document!

2. You tell me how your characters feel but not what actually happens

Emotional journey is essential. I need to understand what your protagonist wants, fears, and stands to lose. But emotional architecture cannot exist without plot, and you'd be amazed how many pitches describe the feeling of a story without ever telling me the story. I want to know: what happens in act one that kicks everything into motion? What is the moment of no return? What does the climax look like? What does your protagonist do? Vague language like "the conflict escalates" and "tensions deepen" tells me nothing. Specificity is everything.

The fix: After you've written your pitch, ask yourself: if someone read this and had to describe the plot of my film in three sentences, could they do it? If the answer is no, you need more story on the page.

3. You haven't answered 'Why You, Why Now'

This is the question every producer is asking from the moment they start reading, and the one most writers forget to answer. ‘Why Now’ means: what is it about this specific cultural moment that makes your story necessary? ‘Why You’ means: what is your personal connection to this material? Why are you the only person who could have written this? That's not just a nice detail, it's the thing that makes a producer lean forward.

The fix: Write a single paragraph that answers both questions honestly and specifically. Then put it near the top of your pitch document, not the bottom.

4. The formatting is letting you down before you've said a word

I know. It feels like a small thing. It isn't. A pitch document is your first impression: it signals how seriously you take your own work. This week I read pitches with fonts that changed size mid-paragraph, multiple blank pages at the end, bullet points where there should have been prose, and - in one memorable case - a greeting addressed to entirely the wrong person! These things matter. Not because producers are pedantic, but because sloppiness on the page raises a quiet question: if the writer hasn't proofread their pitch, have they really finished their script?

The fix: Before you send anything to anyone, print it out, read it aloud, and check every single detail. Then get someone else to read it too. Your pitch deserves the same care as your script!

5. You lead with your character list instead of your story

I understand the impulse. You've spent months with these people. You love them. You want me to love them too. But here's the truth: I cannot love your characters before I care about your story. A list of character descriptions at the top of a pitch, before I have any dramatic context, is the fastest way to make my eyes glaze over! Even if every character is brilliantly drawn, I need the story first. Get me invested in the world and the central conflict, make me desperate to know what happens next, and then introduce me to the people who live there. I also see pitches regularly that introduce eight, nine, ten characters before we've even reached the first plot point. Unless this is a true ensemble piece - and if it is, three leads maximum, please - find your protagonist, put them at the centre, and let everyone else orbit.

The fix: Restructure your pitch so the story summary comes first, the central relationship or conflict is established early, and character introductions follow only once I'm already hooked.

One last thing

The writers I met this week are talented, passionate and full of ideas that deserve to be made. Every single one of them. These mistakes aren't signs of bad writing! They're signs of writers who haven't yet learned the specific craft of pitching, which is genuinely its own skill, entirely separate from the craft of screenwriting itself. The good news? It's completely learnable.

If you'd like help developing or refining your pitch - whether that's a full structural overhaul or just a fresh pair of eyes - I work with writers on exactly this, all the time. You can find out more and get in touch directly at scriptservices.co.uk

Your story deserves the best possible chance. Make sure your pitch gives it one!!

... and pays the owner twenty dollars for the chance to show them how to mix a drink. A doctor walks into a hospital and pays the head surgeon fifty dollars just for the chance to show them how to perform a heart transplant. A screenwriter walks into a production office and pays a producer fifty dollars just for the privilege of reading them a screenplay.

It really puts the "pay-to-pitch" model into perspective. In this setup, the producer isn't looking for the next big hit to make a movie; they are just getting paid to sit in a chair and listen. If a producer here, or The Black List, makes money from the line of writers at the door rather than the movies they put on screen, they are in the audition business, not the film business.

If your business model relies on the hopes of the talent rather than the quality of the product, you are not a gatekeeper - you are a toll booth.

Without the architect, the developer is just standing on an empty lot - and yet, they are still rich.

I have never paid to pitch - nor should you.

In Canada, have a look at the WGC Agent Directory. In the USA, the WGA. Send polite emails asking if they are accepting queries. If they're interested, they'll get in touch - and it won't cost you a dime. They're after your talent, not your cash for feedback.

Be loyal to yourself.

I didn't start writing fiction until I was 37.

Before that, I wrote case notes. Business proposals. Clinical documentation. Competent, precise, utterly soulless.

Then I sat down to write my first novel, and something unlocked.

The skill was craft—structure, pacing, the mechanics of storytelling. I had to learn that through books, courses, a thousand hours of revision.

But the talent—the ability to see into the dark psychological spaces where control and chaos collide—I didn't know I had that until everything else had been stripped away.

Here's what I think separates good from great in creative work:

Good is skill alone. Competent execution. Hitting the beats. Following the template.

Great is when talent meets skill. When your natural ability (the thing that's surprisingly easy for you while others struggle) is sharpened by deliberate practice and hard-won craft.

The people who start young can't always tell the difference—their talent and skill developed together.

But those of us who come to it later? We see the demarcation clearly. We know what we had to learn (skill) versus what was always there, waiting (talent).

Maybe that's the gift of starting late. You know exactly what you're working with.

I'm currently querying two novels (psychological thriller, multigenerational drama) while building an advisory business. Both require the intersection of talent and skill. Both came after life ran its rough hand over me.

If you're a late bloomer in this industry, you're not behind. You're just finally meeting the talent that was always there.

I wrote more about this here: https://substack.com/@tari706316/note/p-195328505?r=1v3p9w&utm_source=no...

What's the talent you didn't know you had until you were ready to see it?

Hi Writers! I'm Christina, an agent and founder of UK agency Imagine Talent, representing Writers and Directors.

I understand how difficult it can be to get access to agents so I'm really looking forward to all of your questions about what UK reps are looking for in strong clients. Whether your question is about the right moment to approach agents, how to stand out and get their attention, or what not to do, I can't wait to hear from you all, and hopefully I can give you some advice to help you unlock your route to representation, or make the most of it when you're there.

I was nominated Best Agency for New Talent, New Voice Awards 2024 and am passionate about working with bold and exciting emerging talent. I also founded and host the Writers' Group for WFTV (UK) to support and nurture female writers - the group has been running for over 15 years - and I've chaired the jury for the WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriting Lab for the last two years. I've been consulting for Stage 32 for around 6 years and I'm delighted to now be a Stage 32 Thought Leader. I've spoken at various events and on panels including Picturehouse Create Festival, London Screenwriters' Festival, Roadmap, Met Film, The Writers' Lab and Writers' Guild of Ireland.

Thanks so much, I can't wait to hear from you all!

Christina

TEASER

INT. SAFEWORD APARTMENT — HALLWAY — MORNING

The hallway is cluttered. Stacks of poster board. Tupperware boxes stacked high. A protester’s megaphone sits on top of the stack.

Stone stands at a closed door in pajamas, holding a large stack of papers — a contract. He knocks.

STONE

Puffles! Puffles, open the door.

Nothing.

STONE (CONT’D)

I can hear you breathing. You have, like, six lungs. It’s very loud.

A muffled, devastated groan from within.

STONE (CONT’D)

Piper found your… thing. Your tentacle thing. It’s still moving and she’s doing the face.

PUFFLES (O.S.)

Why, Stone? There’s no point to anything…

STONE

We talked about this, bud. Roommates need boundaries, Puffles. You haven’t been honoring your side of the roommate contract.

PUFFLES (O.S.)

Stone. Do not quote the contract to me. I have asked you repeatedly not to do that.

STONE

Paragraph 5, subsec—

PUFFLES (O.S.)

Don’t subsection me!

STONE

Subsection B clearly states that all sexually explicit materials MUST be hidden from view of couch and/or remain in said owner’s room.

PUFFLES (O.S.)

Sexually what?

STONE

(to himself)

Well, that doesn’t make much sense. If it’s in the room, then it’s by definition out of view of—

Stone is cut off as Puffles’ voice gets closer to the door. The bedroom door opens. We look over Stone’s shoulder into a messy bedroom: unmade bed, clothes everywhere, lab instruments strewn over the dresser and vanity. An acoustic guitar sits on an office chair. A microwave hangs from the ceiling fan by its power cord. No one mentions this.

We don’t see anyone… until we pan down, down, down.

Standing almost three feet tall is an adorable purple octopus wearing a pilgrim hat with a giant buckle. Puffles looks sad.

PUFFLES

Stone, I’ve asked you repeatedly not to quote the roommate contract to me… especially after my RELATIONSHIP has just been shit on, set on fire, and stomped on by… the most adorable, sexy human feet I’ve ever known!

Puffles begins sobbing.

PUFFLES (CONT’D)

We broke up. My life is over, Stone! She left. She just… left.

Puffles slowly shuts the door. Stone lowers the contract. He leans his head against the doorframe.

STONE

Puffles. Man. I’m sorry. That’s—

PUFFLES (O.S.)

Do NOT be nice to me right now. I cannot handle niceness. If you are nice to me, I will dissolve. I will literally lose cohesion. I am a dissolved octopus right now, Stone. I am SOUP.

STONE

You’re not soup.

PUFFLES (O.S.)

I’M SOUP.

STONE

…What kind.

A beat.

A bubble materializes in the middle of the hallway — three dimensional, shimmering, filled almost to the brim with luminescent water, faintly iridescent. The very top has a small air pocket where tiny bubbles rise and pop. Puffles shoots through it — disheveled, wearing one slipper, tear-stained but defiant — grabs a box of something off the kitchen counter, and disappears back through. The bubble closes.

Stone stares at the space where the bubble was.

STONE (CONT’D)

…He took the good cereal.

CUT TO:

INT. SAFEWORD APARTMENT — KITCHEN — CONTINUOUS

Piper stands at the counter. Barefoot. Oversized shirt. Mug of tea. She’s staring at something on the floor with the calm, wide-eyed expression of someone who has decided not to panic.

On the floor: something MOVES. It’s long. Iridescent. Small suction cups. It’s definitely not a kitchen utensil.

PIPER

(very calmly)

Stone?

Stone enters.

STONE

He took the cereal. He opened a bubble, grabbed the cereal, and—

PIPER

Stone.

He follows her gaze to the floor.

STONE

…Oh.

PIPER

Yeah.

STONE

Is it… moving?

PIPER

It’s been moving for about three minutes. I’ve been standing here deciding how I feel about it.

STONE

And?

PIPER

I feel like it has somewhere to be and we’re in the way.

Stone crouches down. It undulates. He waves a hand slowly in front of it.

STONE

Hey. Hey, little guy. Blink once for yes.

The creature undulates. Not at Stone. Just… generally.

STONE (CONT’D)

Okay. Different approach. Squeeze my finger once for yes.

He extends his finger. The creature undulates past it without acknowledgment.

STONE (CONT’D)

(to Piper)

It’s ignoring me.

PUFFLES (O.S.)

(muffled, through the door)

They don’t communicate that way. They aren’t real. Just leave it.

Beat.

STONE

…What does that mean?

PUFFLES (O.S.)

It means what I said!

STONE

Fine. I’ll get rid of it myself.

PIPER

(instantly)

Don’t. It’s alive, Stone. Look at it. It has needs.

STONE

It is a NOVELTY item.

PIPER

It’s a living thing with sensory responses and probably some form of emotional—

STONE

It is a PRODUCT. It has a serial number somewhere on it, I guarantee—

Piper sets down her mug and crouches. She reaches out carefully. She picks it up. It squirms then DISINTEGRATES in her hands.

Silence. Piper looks at her empty palms. Then she hits her knees.

PIPER

Oh my god. I killed it.

STONE

What the—

PUFFLES (O.S.)

Yeah. They do that sometimes.

Door slams.

CUT TO:

INT. SAFEWORD APARTMENT — KITCHEN — CONTINUOUS

The ink from the creature has spread slowly across the floor. Piper stares at it, devastated.

PIPER

Oh my god. I cannot believe I killed a living thing. I love living creatures. I would NEVER hurt a living creature.

STONE

Babe, it’s fine. It’s different on other worlds.

PIPER

You said that about the snakes.

Piper goes very still.

PIPER (CONT’D)

That is not fair. Who are we to deny those creatures their freedom? The socks empowered them, Stone, you can’t predict—

STONE

Piper. There are still snakes in that pond.

PIPER

They are THRIVING—

STONE

The town is still mad. Mrs. Oleander called again.

PIPER

Mrs. Oleander’s garden snake is living its best life and she knows it—

STONE

You were in JAIL, Piper.

PIPER

Briefly.

STONE

For three days.

PIPER

Three productive days. I taught the other inmates how to make friendship bracelets out of bars of soap and candy wrappers. Every outfit can be accessorized, Stone, even orange jumpsuits.

STONE

Yeah but now your jail friend Blade keeps coming over unannounced. And she stares at me… the WHOLE time…. It’s really weird.

CUT TO:

INT. SAFEWORD APARTMENT — KITCHEN TABLE — FLASHBACK

Piper sits at the head of the table, swinging her legs under her chair, cheerfully eating a salad. Stone sits next to her, staring straight ahead — very still, very rigid, taking small measured breaths like he’s trying not to startle a predator.

Blade sits directly beside Stone, her head turned toward him, eyes wide and unblinking, staring at him with unsettling intensity. She’s flipping a butterfly knife effortlessly with her left hand while wearing a friendship bracelet. Never looks away from Stone.

CUT BACK TO:

INT. SAFEWORD APARTMENT — KITCHEN — PRESENT

PIPER

Babe, just don’t look her directly in the eyes. I told you. She’s just misunderstood.

STONE

That is not the point—

PIPER

Stone. The squids need something to communicate on.

Piper’s realization dawns.

PIPER (CONT’D)

…wait. Do we still have those coloring books?

STONE

(immediate guilt)

Which coloring books?

PIPER

The ones I asked you to donate to the old folks home. Three weeks ago. The ‘Color for Cervical Awareness’ ones.

STONE

(quietly)

I tried but they wouldn’t take them. They said they didn’t want to excite the retirees. Something about a defibrillator shortage.

PIPER

(delighted)

Oh, that’s wonderful! Where are they?

STONE

They’re still in the hallway closet.

PIPER

(already heading out)

Perfect. Squids need communication surfaces!

STONE

Piper, babe, I really need to talk to you—

PIPER

I’ll meet you at the supermarket!

Piper shuts the door. A loud sci-fi noise from Puffles’ room. Stone walks to Puffles’ door, opens it just in time to see a large bubble close. The ceiling fan spins from the displacement. The microwave rotates slowly on its cord, then DROPS and dings.

Stone jumps. Papers scatter everywhere.

He bends down to pick them up. He looks at the ink on the floor one more time. It has almost fully faded. Almost. In the last wisp of ink, just before it disappears entirely:

LOSER spells out. Disappears quickly.

Stone straightens up. He looks at the space where the ink was. Then, carefully, deliberately, he steps around it. Respectful. Just in case.

STONE

…Hello?

Frustrated sigh.

END OF TEASER

Hello, I'm Chase Carmichael.

A screenwriter from Tooele, Utah. I have previously worked on my superhero concepts (City Knights is a duo fox superheroes, Starbright is a pine marten superhero, and Typhoon is a dog morphed into a blue monster who uses water manipulation) that shared the same city.

City Knights or Ember Vanguards are basically bipedal fox versions of Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Captain Carter (Peggy Carter from Marvel's What If?) except they get powers from either an explosion or get aesthetic powers from objects. But the inciting incident has to be catastrophic that hit their previous town and the fire department gets disbanded and relocated into Brook City. They live in Grandville, home of first responders from past and present.

Starbright is a bipedal pine marten version of Ironheart (Riri Williams) and Ghost Spider (Gwen Stacy) with her desire for martens to be included into Brook City. She lives in Dewey Park filled with art-enthusiastic animals and her mother's bakery.

Lastly, Typhoon is a dog version of She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) but a blue version and scientific intelligence version of Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), Except that the character is using water manipulation while in her blue monstrous form. She lives in Sapphire Springs the science community that's home of solar energy plants, science academies, scientific headquarters, and their scientific homes north of Brook City.

These three concepts are basically inspired by six Marvel superheroes depending on the positive tones.

However, my scripts are AI-written and probably my season/series bibles are AI-written too.

I want to find a colleague who lives in Utah who understands everything there is to know.

Screenwriters, Script Consultants, Producers, Illustrators, and any positions.

I just wish I could meet them personally at the nearby coffee place and discuss further details.

I have trouble connecting with people who'll understand my creativity.

I'm not lucky to find one, even If I find great colleagues outside of Utah, I don't trust myself on spending hundreds of dollars to get it polished or anything just because they're not from Utah.

I know that I told you guys that I'm currently working on an animated sitcom about a family of foxes and their passion for baseball.

But my previous creativity came back to me. It's trial and error for my creativity.

Some of the previous concepts are bound to be revitalized. I just want to meet anyone who lives in Utah who is willing to help me.

I cannot do this on my own or the confidence with my money-spending.

My concepts are two things: heart and comedy despite the genre. Even four factors: Emotional, human, entertaining, and rewatchable.

Regardless, I just need local help. I'm sorry for asking for all of this.