Ian brought in pages from Kilo, his new dive/cartel/family-business thriller. He walked us through how the idea started as messy notes from a real diving story, became a scriptment, and is now turning into actual pages. Then the group jumped in and read it out loud. Chad read Kyle. Elliot Moss read Becks. David Hinnebusch narrated. Pia, Lena, Chris, Thia, and others stepped into roles and helped bring the pages to life. We also heard from Tim Elliott about Son of the 11th Hour, the faith-based independent film he’s executive producing, and then read from his JFK/Lee Harvey Oswald script-in-progress. That’s what Premium is. Real writers, pages and project. Not theory or vague encouragement or "writers" talking about "writing"... some day. Members are bringing in scripts, testing scenes, hearing their work out loud, getting feedback, and helping each other make the pages better while the work is still alive. If you’re a Standard Member and you want to be part of these live coaching calls, table reads, and work-in-progress sessions, upgrade to Premium. This is where the work gets real. Premium Membership available here: https://www.skool.com/the-writers-forge/plans

Mine today is “treehouse” Anyway I watched this today and it really touched my soul: https://youtu.be/MC8Z4cUc6YA “STOP NOT WRITING” ✍️

JOIN US TODAY as we welcome our very own "The Writer's Forge Member CHRIS DYER, ACTOR, WRITER & SNAPPY DRESSER to our Wednesday business talk where he will discuss everything Vertical, Micro Drama and he promises not to trigger anyone with AI talk (Insert Evil Laugh Here). (Chris' Internal Voice): "Keep it professional Chris. Oh be quiet. Anyways..." MICRO DRAMAS & THE FUTURE OF STORYTELLING A Live Workshop with Chris Dyer What if Vertical Dramas/Micro Series weren’t just “TikTok content”… but a strategic tool to get your REAL Film/TV projects seen, built, financed, or even discovered? In this live workshop, we’ll break down the rapidly growing world of Vertical Storytelling — from platforms like ReelShort and DramaBox to the larger creator economy shift happening across TikTok, YouTube, and beyond. We’ll cover: - Why vertical dramas are exploding globally - How mobile-first storytelling changes writing structure - Hook + cliffhanger engineering - Why audiences get addicted to these formats - The difference between traditional TV writing vs vertical pacing - How creators are using verticals as proof-of-concept IP - AI, creator-owned entertainment, and the future of Hollywood - How verticals could help writers get visibility, build leverage, and create opportunities for their “real” projects - Production, monetization, and viral marketing strategies - A live mini writer’s room + working session where you’ll start building your own concept This is NOT a “TikTok is the future, cinema is dead” lecture. It’s a practical, honest, and slightly rebellious conversation about where storytelling, audience behavior, and creator leverage may be heading next. Whether you’re curious, skeptical, fascinated, terrified, or convinced verticals are destroying civilization… this workshop is designed to challenge your perspective and give you actionable tools for the modern entertainment landscape. Because the future may belong to creators who stop waiting for permission.

I was involved in facilitating a pitch and/or new idea synopsis event, and in retrospect, the event was a lesson in clarity. Though all the writers had unique ideas, there were loglines that each sentence felt like a different story, synopses that were unclear about what story they were going to tell, and the pitch was not prepared and meandered. It was annoying, and that judgment of them by me reflected directly back at me because I know I've done and will do the same thing in the future. I certainly have my daily/weekly moments where I've written something that doesn't add to the story, or it violates the rules of the world I created. So I've learned to stop and ask, "Why?" or "Does this make sense, and "What are the ripple effects on the story as a whole?" I will always miss things that readers will find for me, and that's the ultimate value of bringing your pages to the Premium Calls of having David Stem and the community ask you questions or point out things that might need to be addressed, or those things that you've done are amazing. Developing the skill of asking myself, does this make sense, or is it just pretty fluff that I'm adding in for spectacle, or is it me just adding pages instead of adding story is golden skill I'm constantly trying to develop. Does any of this resonate with you? Asking "why" strips away superficial plot points to reveal character motivation. If a character chooses without a clear internal or external "why," the audience immediately disconnects."-- John Musker

@David Stem suggested there be a thread with media recommendations during class today with @Jason Smith @Chris Dyer @Jennifer Westcott @Shauna G @Chad Desrochers @Pia Crawford @Jules Chibututu . I missed @Thia Markson and who did I miss? Feel free to put your recommendations from class in context in comments: Here were mine after hearing more of @Anne Clendening ’s story. I recommended she see “The secret Lives of Bill Bartell” (2025) https://link.tubi.tv/YAJxoVNat3b on TUBI and David Cronenberg’s “Maps to the Stars” (2014) https://m.vk.com/video583591429_456239290 (Russian YouTube?) or on Prime