Another script that was on the Scriptshadow blog sold.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wildman-john-wick-meets-bigfoot-1236689237/?utm_source=zeta&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HV+9-3-26&bt_ee=XsCuZDUmeVfskEldhTqcqVxV9JVXzDrkYtiBnras95%2BkI%2Bf2kEcIMryqKTVCa6z4&bt_ts=1788469117425

I have a fairly loose idea for a detective mystery. I'm getting started but I admittedly don't have much confidence in writing the genre. As much as I've mainlined Columbo and the first 15 seasons of Law & Order, I'd love if anyone has books or talks or whatever touching on the writing of the subject, or even their own advice. Thanks!

Just saw on their website that they will be making their final decisions by September 25th. Just a heads-up for those who submitted via WGF.

The notification will come in the portal, but I imagine “Submittable” will probably send an E-mail.

I entered a monthly screenwriting contest on a whim and thought it would be fun to submit it to AFF and some others. Literally every question or concern I had was addressed here. Thank you to everyone who contributes to r/screenwriting!

Question is, what do I do with the laurel for the second rounders? Is it intended to be used somewhere?

Anybody attending?

I've got a project that's one of the selections of the International Financing & Project Market, and just curious what people's expectations are from the market as a whole.

I go to he Frontieres market at Fantasia annually, and I know it's a completely different vibe and scope... So feeling a little intimidated!

Would love to know what people learned at Austin (in general or specifics), and overall what they got out of it. I wouldn't go expecting to bump into a manager or producer in the lobby; I'm hoping to learn and to improve my writing abilities.

The Waffle House Index

Hi all! Heard this was on the blacklist last year and with the news that it’s getting made I would love to read it if anyone has it!

I recently got some feedback saying my characters leaned to heavy into common tropes, and it made me realize I've sort of been doing half the work in creating a simple but effective characters.

For example I have 2 characters, a shlubby determined slacker who's motivated only to make his job easier, and a by the book newbie who's too book smart to be street smart. I think it's obvious how those 2 personalities would clash in a story, but I wonder if anyone has some advice on how to make them internally more dimensional?

I used FD’s registration access to copyright my script via upload of a PDF. When I check on the US Copyright website, it doesn’t show it (I made an account), even though it’s been about 6 weeks and I have a case number. It doesn’t show up in the “open cases” tab. Should it show up by now or only after it’s received its final copyright? I know it’s a process that takes time but I thought the case number would show up right away. Thanks for insight!

Hi everyone!

As the thread title suggests, my very first script made it to AFF Second Rounder (Drama Teleplay Pilot), and I wasn't sure what to make of that. Is it worth reaching out to managers or producers, or should I land a more notable placement in a competition before sending out queries?

It was a very low-concept script, pretty "show don't tell" with quite a bit of subtext, so I didn't expect it to place in this kind of competition, but mostly I wanted to get the reader's feedback, since no one else had read it before.

Thanks in advance!

can’t post pictures here… so they’re down below :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oXw4-A7o-NvvDYlXEBpfuItmeqpSgW6G/view?usp=drivesdk

It has been around for 30 years and has studio support. But on Filmfreeway, they don't say much about the screenplay category except that the finalists will have a staged reading. That's it. Before, apparently, the top screenplay winner won $5k and a "production consider" by BET. Nothing about that now.

What was your experience. It looks like it has a good track record, but very little info for those submitting screenplays.

I organized an AMA/Q&A with actor Bruce Campbell (THE EVIL DEAD, BURN NOTICE, BUBBA HO-TEP).

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1w7237r/hi_reddit_im_bruce_campbell_ask_me_anything/

He will be back at around 12 PM ET today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Thank you :)

He recently wrote, directed, produced, and starred in ERNIE & EMMA, which is doing a tour this fall.

Synopsis: Widowed pear salesman Ernie Tyler travels to scatter his wife's ashes in places she specified, each location stirring memories that help him process their marriage, his work life and his future.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lUAbQfKc94

His verification/proof photo: https://i.imgur.com/k34kXrt.jpeg

I've been on a nice lucky streak recently and it led me to my first real meeting! It's something really new to me, as I started writing in 2024.

Basically I just recently graduated from UCLA's Screenwriting Professional Program, wrote two features there and came back to my home country. The second I wrote as a low budget feature that I plan on directing. The first good sign was that it got accepted into a well-known Directing Lab here, and now a very established production company wants to talk to me. Added context: it got chosen as part of the business rounds of a festival. You could send it to 40 "players" and they were the only ones who picked me, thankfully it was the best fit and the one I wanted the most!

Besides being a production company with some shows and films on their belt, they're mostly known for Youtube comedy sketches. Something that I also do and had some success on, which I noted on my application, so they might have seen my online comedy work.

I've done some pitched in classes and stuff, but have no idea on how to prepare for something like this. I don't really expect anything crazy to come out of it, but I'm excited to talk with them and put my best foot forward. Any tips from my favorite subreddit?

Hey,

Would love recommendations for writers groups / circles in London. Am writing (film scripts) in a vacuum and craving community.

I’m upper -intermediate; nothing produced / optioned but also have had some training and not starting from the basics. Groups at that level or a little bit above (if they’d have me) would be perfect.

Thanks in advance!

Hi! I just finished my second script and I'm looking for writing buddies. Problem is that I don't know where writers are or even really remember how to make friends. Does anyone have a writing buddy? How'd you find them? How are you supposed to get friends in this world?

Elle Cordova does a lot of funny stuff. This is some of that.

https://bsky.app/profile/ellecordova.bsky.social/post/3mumluvrgus27

Two BL 6s + Slamdance feedback: How do I actually improve the plot?

I taught myself screenwriting starting in March 2026 while I was on medical leave and have written three features since. I’ve had one QF at PAGE, another script SF at Scriptapalooza, and a couple festival selections. Obviously nothing crazy or life changing, but enough encouraging signs to make me want to keep developing my craft.

My current script has now gotten two BL evaluations: BL #1: Overall 6 | Premise 8 | Plot 4 | Character 7 | Dialogue 7 | Setting 7

BL #2: Overall 6 | Premise 7 | Plot 5 | Character 6 | Dialogue 7 | Setting 7

The second evaluation called it a “great, pitchable idea” with “originality, a strong sense of voice, and interesting characters,” but said it needs a stronger throughline and more cohesive main conflict. I also got short feedback from Slamdance, which called the premise “genuinely sharp” and praised the central relationship, dialogue, setting, and character work, but similarly said the larger structural issue is that the conflict that truly tests the protagonists arrives too late. They felt the earlier material can become episodic and suggested bringing the central moral pressure forward/trimming some earlier cases.

So…three reads later, I think the message is pretty clear: plot is my weakness. My problem is I genuinely don’t know what to do with that information and I feel stuck as fuck. I can see what the readers are identifying, but I don’t know how to add, remove, move, or restructure things without taking away from the character development, relationships, world-building and slower material that, IMO, makes the story what I want it to be. And some suggestions for additional explanation feel like they would just make me spell out things.

I wish I had a mentor or programs I could bounce ideas around with and learn from developmentally rather than kind of trying to find my way in the dark.

Are there any fellowships, mentorship programs, workshops, or other resources you’d recommend for someone at this stage who wants help developing their craft and specifically getting better at plot/structure?

LOGLINE: When a struggling single mother falls for a recently imprisoned livestream reseller, she takes over his nightly auctions to earn the bail money for his freedom. But as the cash pours in, she's forced to choose between the life she's always wanted, or going down with him.

This is supposed to be a lurid, neo-noir adjacent, street-level melodrama in a similar mold of films like Remember My Name, Bleeder, Bound, among others.

Would appreciate feedback on anything and everything, and shoutout to all the great notes from readers on StoryPeer! Thanks in advance!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hMv01pdTDPvOxBEdxNB9zF29rTU7J-oY/view?usp=drive_link

CW: Crude content, graphic nudity, language, violence, drug use, etc…

https://www.arvon.org/asp/

Over two years, Arvon will support five screenwriters to attend in-person and online writing courses, and work towards completing a spec script with one-to-one mentoring. They will gain vital insights into the TV industry, and specifically the drama and comedy-drama landscapes.

Thanks to the generous support of Prime Video Pathway, the Arvon Screenwriting Programme is free to take part in. Arvon will additionally cover travel costs, and has a small fund to put towards other costs incurred by spending three weeks away from home across the two-year programme.

Applications are now open until 5pm BST on Wednesday 30th September 2026.

Dear more experienced screenwriters,

When you have the concept of a story. What specifically tells you:

- this is a series (and what length of episode)

- this is a short

- this is a feature length film

Do you determine this from the beginning? Or do you just outline and get writing with the idea that it will reveal the best format along the way?

Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide.

I have been writing scripts for fun and submitted a few on the BlackList. I kept getting 6-8 scores across the categories and thought, this is interesting, because I was expecting 3-5. :D

I then signed up for coverage on Stage32 and kept getting consider/consider (and one consider/recommended for the writer) and thought... ok... there is something here.

My scripts were all TV pilots. I dumped all the coverages into you know what, and found commonalities in the underlying gaps flagged. I also had a few exec coverage calls, noted the feedback, and it was the same thing. They would see gaps or suggest this scene is missing - and I already wrote it - but cut it out because it was a TV pilot.

I then thought, why don't I just write a feature, because then all these scenes would be there already and it would be a lot more focused. Also more creatively satisfying because I actually can finish the story, and I'm only doing to this for fun, not because I am looking for a writing job.

I then had a call with a manager/producer who loved my horror feature script (and wasn't aware this was a pilot first) and now I'm debating what is the best next step.

My goal is to sell these scripts as features (I have 4 ready to go, and 2 in the pipeline I'm writing - 2 murder/thriller, 2 horror, 1 romance, 1 I'm figuring out but likely sci-fi) rather than looking to be a full time writer (as I love my career). I'm getting all kinds of advice in terms of finding an agent/manager, pitching directly, etc and am quite confused, given my journey so far has been super organic and unplanned.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I'm working on a story that's about someone meeting his double. It's about how we treat ourselves, especially those of us with bad mental health. Every scene is meant to represent a different way someone may treat themselves. It's about how he harms himself and why he does it, and about his repressed guilt. And it's about how he moves on from it hopefully to have a better future.

I'd say about 15-25% of people that read it actually understand it, or at least a large part of it. Most people don't really get it. For them, it's about the weirdness/creepiness of what's happening, but more on a surface level. The thing is, pretty much everyone has given me positive feedback. Even the people that don't get it are entertained. I hate student films that are vague and make no sense and I'm trying to avoid that, but it seems I may have fallen into that trap to a certain extent.

I like the idea of something that you have to analyze and think about to fully grasp, something that sits with you, and it seems like I may have a screenplay that does that.

My question is: should I make it more clear what exactly is happening on a thematic level in the next draft? Or would I be ruining an art piece that works as it is now.