Screenwriting

This really resonates — especially the idea of a pitch feeling like a “recipe” instead of the final dish.

I think a lot of writers fall into that because they’re trying to prove structure instead of creating an emotional experience. But like you said, no one connects to instructions — they connect to feeling.

Something I’ve been learning is to approach a pitch the same way I approach a scene: start with tension, perspective, and character, not explanation. If the listener can feel the story, they’ll trust that the structure is there.

It’s a challenging balance, though — especially knowing how much clarity to give without slipping back into the “beat sheet” mode.

Really appreciate you sharing this insight.

This is dead-on, and honestly a little painful to read because I’ve sat on both sides of that exact problem.

I think a lot of writers fall into the “beat sheet pitch” trap because they’re trying to prove they’ve done the work. There’s this quiet fear that if they don’t show structure, control, and every turn of the plot, the listener will assume the script falls apart. So the pitch becomes defensive instead of seductive.

But you’re right, nobody falls in love with a blueprint.

The pitches that stick with me aren’t the ones where I fully understand the plot mechanics, they’re the ones where I can see the movie and feel the engine underneath it. A character making a bad decision they can’t walk back. A relationship under pressure. A situation that’s about to spiral. That’s the stuff that makes me lean in.

And the recipe analogy is perfect. I’d take it one step further: sometimes it’s not even a recipe, it’s someone reading you the grocery list. “Then this happens, then this happens…” and you’re just waiting for a reason to care.

One thing I always tell writers is: if you had 60 seconds and no time to explain the plot cleanly, what would you say to make someone need to read it? That answer is usually way closer to the actual pitch than the polished, step-by-step version they’ve been rehearsing.

Also completely agree on character descriptions. A paragraph about who someone is in isolation rarely lands. Who they are only becomes interesting the moment they’re forced to act.

If anything, I think the shift is simple but hard: stop trying to demonstrate competence, start trying to create urgency. Make me feel like I’m about to miss out on something if I don’t read this.

Curious how others handle that balance, especially in written pitches where it’s harder to control rhythm and energy.

Spencer Robinson I have a planned 3 season arc for a family dramedy pilot and two of the primary characters are aged 17 and 22 and those ages have specific impact on the Season 1 story line. The season 1 A storyline focuses on family dynamics between the parents and children but Seasons 2 and 3 focus on different story lines as A storylines. As the children age, the dynamics of the parent's decision don't have the same impact because they will mature out of most of the tension that Season 1 focuses on. I certainly could extend the story arc beyond three seasons but the current arc wraps itself up very tidily in 3 seasons.

Spencer Robinson - Totally — and that’s actually why I stepped back from actively developing it. I do have multiple episodes and the full season beats laid out, but only because it’s all drawn directly from real life and true experience. After something you wrote a while back, I stopped pushing it as a primary project.

It’s also the only project I’ve put through festivals and competitions so far — the only one that’s actually finished the cycle and gotten responses — so all my external feedback happens to be on that pilot. The reception has been surprisingly positive, which I appreciate, but my real focus now is my feature slate in elevated horror, recursion, and existential dread. That’s where I’m putting my energy.

I still work the leads and conversations that Bushmen initiated, but only as a side project. It’s personal, and it serves a specific purpose for me and for the guys I served with, but I’m not hinging anything on it.

Given that context, I’m curious how you’d recommend positioning a prestige limited series that isn’t meant to be a career starter, but still has depth and anthology potential.

Agree. Example: For a movie you write the script, a synopsis, a pitch, maybe character outlines. For a TV series you can also need series synopsis, episode synopses, pitch, character outlines, overviews and sometimes more like historic background and images.

Jason Green If I was going to take out a limited series, I would take it to Non-Writing producers first.

Thanks, Spencer Robinson — that really helps clarify the path. For me, Season One is intentionally finite because it’s my story, and I only want to tell that part if it’s done right. I’m not trying to build out multiple seasons upfront or promise something I don’t believe in.

The world itself can run forever — different teams, eras, and conflicts all the way back to WWII — but I only offer that as potential, not a requirement. I’d rather deliver one strong, honest season and let the world expand naturally if it earns it.

My main focus is still features, so this isn’t the project I’m leading with career‑wise. It’s just the only one that’s completed the festival/competition cycle and gotten responses, so it’s the piece people know. I still follow up on the leads it opened, but only as a side project.

Really appreciate the direction — taking it to non‑writing producers first makes a lot of sense.

Ilandio Barros you have come to the right spot here on our Stage32 platform! We got writers very plenty! Happy hunting!

Thank you Pat. Got my first wellcome from you. I Hope you do great in here and life in general.

Hi Meko, I like the sarcastic tone laced into the dialogue. Maybe shorten the first action paragraph by not telling us he's nervous and don't write "anxiety clear on his face." Show don't tell. For example-He taps the steering wheel. Checks his phone. Looks into the rearview mirror.

Maybe he is so anxious he forgot about the cigarette and it burns his fingers? These clearly show his anxiety/nervousness instead of telling us.

Overall, I like the first page tension and keep going!

I hope Old Lady then robs the bank, gets away with millions, and Lloyd gets arrested.

I write anywhere at any time - but in bite sized chunks. Ask yourself a question about your piece and answer it by writing on your phone - who cares if it's in an airport with kids screaming - focus on the small question and the small answer. For routine - routine is good at home for example. BUT if you want to really deep dive, go to the place where your story is. I spent months on the Greek island of Patmos for that reason, finished the book manuscript but still haven't polished the TV Pilot and should have.

David Taylor that is fascinating and going to the place where the story takes place would help bring the writing to life and it would be the perfect escape from everyday life. I agree with little bits anywhere writing on the phone, I use voice memos for ideas anytime or anyplace.

Rishi Gallion that's an interesting time slot because I receive a lot of ideas in the late hours or early morning usually when I am needing to sleep winding down the conscious mind and entering into subconscious level. 5 am really stands out as a marker toward writing progress before the world takes you over.

if you find it difficult to write in the place where you spend your days, one alternative is to tell your story to a recorder. Say something everytime you have an idea. Then clean up the notes later. Or use AI to convert speech to text.

Goran Johansson I always notate concepts and if I tell Ai my concepts it will expand those in a cinematic library universe to infinity and beyond with script variations and alternate parallel multiverses but it I choose to elaborate on one idea that investment I own, or it owns me really, I just do the mechanics here or the overseeing of the mechanics.

For a movie, my remake would be KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS - 1949 - "a vengeful man systematically eliminating his aristocratic relatives to claim a dukedom, featuring Alec Guinness in eight roles" Wiki. It is an absolutely crackingly innocent movie about an extremely polite serial killer, his eccentric victims and iconic female competing main roles. It deserves a remake. using colour and modern technology.

David Taylor,

Really appreciate both of these — I’ve now got Kind Hearts and Coronets on my watchlist. I somehow missed it, but the way you describe it makes it sound like one of those deceptively “light” films that’s actually doing something razor‑sharp underneath. I love finding those.

And I hear you on Foundation. Some stories — especially the big sci‑fi epics — live in that space where the scale is almost designed for the imagination. Everyone builds their own internal version, and that’s part of the magic. Adaptations can absolutely bring new audiences to the material, but the risk is real: once you visualize something that massive, you’re committing to a single interpretation of a world that was intentionally limitless.

That’s the danger and the responsibility with any remake or reinterpretation. You’re not just updating a story — you’re stepping into a lineage. If you’re going to take that swing, the film has to feel like an extension of you. Not a copy, not a modernization, but a personal vision that can stand beside the original without trying to replace it.

That’s the bar I think about when I imagine re‑directing anything:

Does my version honor the original by being unmistakably mine?

Shane Nolan Francisco Castro and can anyone revision John Carpenter or Tim Burton? I like it, it’s bold.

The Last Star Fighter hands down.

David, like you, I have read the foundation stories. Both those Asimov wrote in the 1940s and those he wrote much later. And I have seen the trailer for the TV series. No thanks. The stories are from the 1940s, so if I was given the opportunity to adapt the stories to the screen, I would take that into account. Minimizing the usage of modern digital special effects.

And I have thought about Chaplin, The Dictator. I watched it at almost the same time as I watched a comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The odd thing was that I realized that some of the scenes from the latter film could be used to create an updated version of the former film.

Rom-Coms has always had a special audience and kept a special place in there hearts. I know it does for me. Going to the theaters creates a magical nostalgia feeling that you just cant get at home... having said that, I would also love a comfy at home Rom-Com also. By the way... My favorite Rom-Com of all time is French Kiss. What's yours?

Congratulations!

Laura Hammer Thank you!

I think you make a great point. Character IS choice under pressure. I approach it by identifying the character's core wound or belief system first, then designing pressure situations that force them to either reinforce or challenge that belief.

The most compelling characters make choices feel both inevitable (given who they are) and surprising (because pressure reveals what they're capable of).

Pro tip: If your character makes the "right" choice too easily, you haven't applied enough pressure. Real people make messy, contradictory decisions when stakes are high, which is what makes them human.

I have invented bad characters. When they are under pressure, they choose the third option. Namely that instead of solving the problem, they drink so much alcohel that they get drunk.

Nice to hear that you in practice agree with what I have mentioned in multiple postings. Namely that AI writes cliché. The characters are clichés, the dialogue is cliché. And so on. Which normally is a bad idea. So already a year ago I realized that using AI for writing means to constantly force it to do the opposite of what it wants to do. Which is so difficult that it is of limited value.