Screenwriting : The Moment I Realized I Wanted to… by Maurice Vaughan

That's great, Khuku Sereneveil! I have stories inside me that refuse to stay silent too. We're glad you're here!

Echoes of the Broken Heart sounds interesting, and I like the title! Did you see Anna Henry's free webinar about writing a 2-page pitch for your TV series yesterday?

I have always been a film fanatic Maurice Vaughan and with my uncle being a Sound Producer for Universal Studios and Howard Hughes Sound Man and spending time with him in San Diego as a Youth put the bug to want to Write.

Perhaps some of us have wanted to immerse ourselves in the passion of cinema, to rewrite – unconsciously – the story of our lives… to avoid certain difficult things to experience. And in the end, we put a little bit of our fractures into our scripts, which touches people?

That’s a good reflection Maurice Vaughan. I only realize I wanted to be a screenwriter one year ago. After I begin to write my first screenplay, Soul Mated, I felt that. I can’t stop. It’s like a fire that burns inside myself and I need to write. Now I have one screenplay and a short script, but I want more :)) I have been a writer since my youth when I wrote my first novel. I do journal and write short stories. But as a professional career, only last year. You are a screenwriter since your youth, it’s your gift :))

That's pretty cool, Mark Deuce! Is a Sound Producer the same as an Editor?

You're right, Erik Bianco. We put a little bit of our fractures into our scripts that touches people. Sometimes I don't realize I did it until later.

I know that feeling, Sandra Isabel Correia. I'm sure you’re going to have stacks of scripts. I didn't have the resources on Stage 32 back when I started writing scripts. The resources are a huge help for new screenwriters and experienced screenwriters!

They are Maurice Vaughan. I arrived at the perfect time :))))

Hmmm...what a question.

I know the moment I read a book and immediately start to write my own version of a screenplay but never knew how to put it in the right format. Until, my younger sibling who read Theatre and Film Arts saw my writing and thought I'm better off as a scriptwriter, and begin to show me how to write for movies.

I begin to browse on scriptwriting and screenplay, then I discovered Stage 32, a platform where I can be complete like

It's great that your younger sibling helped get you into screenwriting, Andhi Jeltu. What are your favorite genres to write?

I think the process of writing creatively came early on my life. When it came to screenwriting, I was probably 13 when I got interested in the process, but wasn't really able to commit to completing one until I was 20 (school and also still evolving as a human being).

I'll admit one of my ideas from when I was high school I wrote as a pilot and have submitted into contests over the last year. However, it's very different from those early drafts. There's a minor character whose role became larger and two characters got dropped completely. And only 5% of variations of those scenes are from that original draft. Thinking with that in mind, it's been 12 years since I conceived the idea and 10 since I completed the first draft, which in retrospective, was terrible. Getting feedback (however brutal it was) helped me shape into some more workable storywise with about 70% of twists from that initial conception still intact in someway with a few additional ones brought in.

Yes Maurice Vaughan for the Audio.

I was 11 years old and just seen a movie that totally caught me in it's world. I kept wanting to go back and see it again, and again, so much that it was the first movie I got to go see alone. To this day the one sheet for The Poseidon Adventure is still mounted in my living room.

I always wanted to be a director. After my day job, I’d come home and read book after book, chasing that dream. By then, I’d already been holding on to my story idea for over seven years, scribbling fragments and scenes but never quite making it real.

Then I read Something Like an Autobiography by Akira Kurosawa, and one line hit me like a revelation: a director must write their own screenplays. That one idea changed everything.

I saved up, bought an iPad, and downloaded the cheaper version of Final Draft. I wrote a screenplay—honestly, it was terrible—but it was mine. That was the first time I truly understood that ideas are cheap unless you do something with them. They’re fog until you grind them into shape.

Since then, I’ve learned that my ideas are good—but transforming them into a screenplay is tough, like dragging ghosts into the light. And that’s why producers don’t care about ideas. Everyone has them. What they want—what they need—is a finished script.

That's great that the process of writing creatively came early on for you, Samuel Lebow. I wrote my second short story at 13. Your second paragraph reminds me of some old scripts I need to rewrite. Old like some of the first ones I ever wrote.

What's a project your uncle worked on, Mark Deuce?

Hi, Khuku Sereneveil. You're welcome. Looking forward to staying connected as well! I hope you have success on Stage 32!

Hey, Bill Albert. It's great when a movie catches us up in its world, and it starts with the screenwriter building the world. I've heard of The Poseidon Adventure. I'll have to check it out.

When I left the Navy, I started writing books that were opinion based. One day I decided to tell a story at the end of the book to make a point. I discovered telling a story is way more powerful than giving an opinion.

When I saw the movies Steven Spielberg made, I always wanted to be famous, mainly because I was teased, and being famous would make me stand out more, being able to be better than my bullies. So at first I thought being an astronaut would be the way out, but after I saw E.T. and the Goonies, I found my way. I wrote a story similar to Gremlins and later horror like XTRO. It sucked, but I never stopped writing after that. I later moved on to screenwriting, and the awards tell me I am on the right track. I still have the desire to direct, though.

Never read Office Space, but the movie was hilarious. The printer and the static energy, I can relate :)

Thanks for sharing your journey, Rahul Sonawane. Having ideas is great, but producers usually want finished scripts like you said. And sometimes all writers need are finished treatments, but it can take years of writing and networking to get in that position.

"I discovered telling a story is way more powerful than giving an opinion." I like that, E.J. Wade. And I think sometimes telling a story is a writer's way of giving their opinion.

Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors in history, Raymond Zachariasse. A lot of writers and directors got into screenwriting and filmmaking because of him and his movies. I've seen part of Office Space. I think I'll read the whole script and watch the entire movie one day. Are you taking directing webinars and classes? I know Stage 32 has some.

We are lucky to have such a passionate and helpful person in this field like you Maurice VaughanI had a pretty early start myself. When I was maybe 7 yo, my mother told me that she used to write short stories and novels and keeps them in the drawer, without showing anyone, That was my mystery box growing up. I came to love writing non-fiction, and found that my articles are loved for their style and simplifying complex subjects. Suddenly, the link between the 2 clicked in my head, and I came to write screenplay.

I appreciate it, Dami | Screenwriter. About 7 years old is early! It's great that you share the love of writing with your mom!

Since childhood I have always been a keen reader and always had it in my head that I'd like to be a writer. Always loved film and going to the cinema so I've merged the two into being a screenwriter. Ironicaly the one film that gave me this realisiation was Robert Altman's The Player which shows how badly the writers are treated in Hollywood. I have read the screenplay and it's a work of genius .Around this time Tarantino released Resevoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and showed that you don't have to be a super educated rich kid to write movies.

I watched a scene from The Player, David Melbourne. I think someone on Stage 32 posted it. I'll have to check out the whole film. I'll see if I can find the script too. And the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction scripts. Do you have a favorite of the three?

I have been in love with stories since I can remember. And have been equally in love with movies I wasn't always in pursuit of screenwriting as a profession, craft, or hobby. This is largely because I didn't believe it was possible in my younger years. Growing up, I didn't see many people pursuing screenwriting in my community. I knew nothing of female directors, screenwriters, or producers in the industry.

When you don't see a lot of representation in professional space or personally know people who do it, then its not exactly on your radar It's what one would say is untouchable, a dream most unreachable.

What I was familiar with at the time were works by Lorraine Hansberry, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison. They were authors who looked like me. That made the pursuit of storytelling as an occupation more palpable. You have to believe its possible to position yourself for the manifestation of that possibility.

Stories inspired me and awakened me; they connected me to the larger world and what lay out there beyond my little town. That's what made me want to move beyond the boundaries of my little town. Stephen King helped me see the powerful impact of words on imaingination I fell in love with his craft.

Again, screenwriting was not a serious endeavor at the time, but I was driven by a desire to bring stories to life on Broadway as an actress. Needless to say, my actual journey in screenwriting began a few years ago in earnest. I

This purusit just happened in a way. One day I was led to become a part of something; it was like a neon sign inviting me to consider telling stories in a way I had never considered before. I found myself on the staircase. I continue to climb

As I see it, screenwriting is a marriage of everything I already love: film, music, and, foundationally, storytelling.

Totally agree big time Dami | Screenwriter

Fantastic comment, Renae Richardson! I'm from a small town too. It had less than 1,000 people. I watched a lot of movies growing up, but I didn't know anything about screenwriters, directors, etc. I guess I just thought movies appeared out of thin air. Haha Keep climbing the staircase!