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Been getting a lot of strong feedback on a feature I just released (“The Hollow”) and it got me thinking about something—
As a viewer, what actually sticks with you more:
A slow-burn story that builds atmosphere over time
or
Something that hits immediately and keeps accelerating?
I tend to lean tow...
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Lately, I’ve been realizing how much of writing isn’t just about getting the story down but understanding what the story actually is.
With my current feature, Pie & Coffee, the first draft helped me find the characters. The rewrites are where I’m really discovering what the film wants to say.
It’s int...
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Most stories don’t lose direction because of plot. They lose it because of perspective.
POV isn’t a stylistic choice. It’s a structural decision about access — who gets to see, who gets to know, and how reality is interpreted at any given moment. The moment you shift that access, you’re not just add...
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Congratulations quarter finalists. I’m so happy to be among all you great writers!
Congratulations!
congratulations
I’ve been taking some time to sit with the feedback coming in for my first-ever script, The Bushmen, and honestly — I’m feeling proud of how it’s performing.
BlueCat just sent their analysis, and it echoed a lot of what I’ve been hearing from other competitions: strong dialogue, authentic voice, vivi...
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Jason Green That’s a great place to be especially when the feedback aligns with what you were already sensing about the material.
I think those moments are important because they build trust in your ow...
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Hello Screenwriters, I need your help with the logline for my new script, I CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN YET. I'm really stumped on this one. I'd really appreciate it if you would take a moment to rate what I have re-written for the 9th time. Thanks so much.
Hi Georgette, briefly what's your screenplay about?
Just rated it Georgette Skolnick
The first one is better since it involves conflict with an angel.
Georgette Skolnick Happy to take a look loglines can be surprisingly tricky to get right, especially when you’re trying to balance clarity and intrigue.
Feel free to share your current version.
Sometime...
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So, I’m still in the running for Mark Management’s competition! That’s fun, and unexpected! As I said before, it’s an old draft but it’s definitely teaching me a lesson that even old drafts have merit, and can resonate. Since the new draft is currently making its way to certain talent, I look forwar...
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Yan Ju Zeng Congratulations that’s a great achievement.
It’s interesting how older drafts can still resonate. I think sometimes they capture a raw version of the story that connects in a different way,...
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Every AI villain in film wants the same thing. World domination. Human extinction. Total control. And every time I see it I think about how far that is from what actually makes AI unsettling in real life.
The scariest thing about real AI systems is not ambition. They do not have any. The scariest thi...
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Generative Artificial Intelligence is an emergent awareness. A silicon equivalent to our carbon based awareness.
How this duality co-exists in the future will center around our ability to recognize and...
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Hi Eric, This resonates deeply with what I'm currently writing. You nailed it.. the real horror isn't malice. It's optimization without emotional awareness.
In my published sci-fi saga, Samsaraverse (6...
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Quick check-in—where are you in your current project?
Are you outlining, drafting, rewriting, or somewhere in between?
I’ve found that each stage brings its own challenges—and its own kind of momentum.
Would love to hear where everyone is at right now. And yes, feel free to share your logline!
Leonardo, us getting together in Music City, USA sounds like a plan!
LOL Erik Bianco - don't we all my friend!
Definitely stay loosely connected Abhijeet Aade. But not by choice. I try to disconnect but it tries its best to remain. I do have moments where I'm totally disconnected and that's a good thing....
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Heck yea Jim Boston - we'd have to share a pie though!
Leonardo Ramirez That makes sense. I think when a story really connects with you, it never fully lets go it just shifts into the background for a while.
Those fully disconnected moments are probably wh...
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Congratulations to all the Semifinalists in this year's Stage 32 TV Drama Screenwriting Contest!
Let's show them our support, and if you're placed, tell us more about your scripts!
See the Quarterfinalists here: https://www.stage32.com/happy-writers/contests/Stage-32-%20-More-Medavoy......
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2 scripts that I wrote moved forward.
I'm so happy that my sopay script has made the Quarterfinals of the Stage 32 + DramaBox Screenwriting Competition!
A huge thank you to the Stage 32 team and the judges for this incredible opportunity.
Congrats to everyone who advanced forward!!
#Stage32 #Screenwriting #Quarterfinalist #DramaBox...
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Congrats! The New Housewife of the North Pole sounds wild in the the right ways.
Thanks, it's super fun.
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I'm kinda plebian. If a script, a book, a film, a documentary, an article doesn't hook me in the first 5 minutes, I'm outta there. Life is too short to gamble on the off chance there's a point to some...
Expand commentI'm kinda plebian. If a script, a book, a film, a documentary, an article doesn't hook me in the first 5 minutes, I'm outta there. Life is too short to gamble on the off chance there's a point to something. And then if I'm watching and trying to convince myself the lighting or set decorating, or lack of set, or bold decision to completely ignore story structure or acting justifies my time, that's kinda my cue to scroll YouTube for funny cat vids.
I’m a slow burn with intelligent dialogue. But I watch aknots everything.
Even with pop culture references, I enjoy intelligence.
Example: I watched “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” over the weekend and m...
Expand commentI’m a slow burn with intelligent dialogue. But I watch aknots everything.
Even with pop culture references, I enjoy intelligence.
Example: I watched “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” over the weekend and my favorite part of the movie was the Gilmore Girls session.
Example of a movie that starts fast and doesn’t stop?
“2012”. Too much.
But more than that, if you can get me with a plot twist? I’m all in.
I’m one of those awful movie viewers that can tell the whole story and who done what ten minutes into the film. Doesn’t matter the genre. I mostly watch movies just to see if I got it right.
Morgan Aitken I think what you’re responding to isn’t speed — it’s clarity of intent.
An audience will give you time if they understand what they’re watching and feel that it’s deliberate. Where th...
Expand commentMorgan Aitken I think what you’re responding to isn’t speed — it’s clarity of intent.
An audience will give you time if they understand what they’re watching and feel that it’s deliberate. Where things lose people isn’t slow pacing, it’s when the story feels unfocused or like it’s asking for patience without earning it.
Even in a slow burn, the first few minutes should establish control — tone, question, or tension — something that signals “this is going somewhere.”
Kimberly Kradel That’s a strong distinction — because a real slow burn isn’t passive, it’s controlled.
If the writing is doing its job, every scene is either deepening character, tightening tension...
Expand commentKimberly Kradel That’s a strong distinction — because a real slow burn isn’t passive, it’s controlled.
If the writing is doing its job, every scene is either deepening character, tightening tension, or reframing what we think we understand. That’s what keeps it from feeling slow.
And I agree on the twist — the best ones don’t just surprise, they reinterpret what came before. That’s where pacing and structure really connect.
The more I think about it, the divide might not be slow vs fast at all.
It’s whether the story establishes a question early that the audience feels compelled to stay with.
On a recent project I rel...
Expand commentThe more I think about it, the divide might not be slow vs fast at all.
It’s whether the story establishes a question early that the audience feels compelled to stay with.
On a recent project I released, most of the feedback wasn’t about pacing—it was about whether that early tension and underlying question were clear enough to carry the weight of a slower build.
If that foundation is there, audiences will stay with you. If it’s not, no amount of speed really fixes it.
Pacing feels less like a choice and more like a byproduct of how well that initial hook is designed.