Good morning, Forge. Here's some great stories about writers breaking through in the last week or so: - Stephanie Ahn Spent 8 Years on Her First Feature. Sony Pictures Classics Just Bought It. — Stephanie Ahn wrote and directed Bedford Park, a story about a Korean American woman caught between family obligation and identity. It premiered at Sundance, won the Special Jury Award for Debut Feature, and Sony Pictures Classics picked it up. Their words: "the confidence of a master." She found her lead actress in Korea six years ago and rehearsed over Zoom for months before they ever shot a frame. Eight years from blank page to Sundance stage. That's not a slow career. That's a writer who refused to let go of the story she needed to tell. - Adrian Chiarella: From Editing Room to Neon's Seven-Figure Deal — Chiarella spent years as a film editor, working under Baz Luhrmann. Then he started directing shorts. His first, Touch, came in 2014. His second, Black Lips, in 2018. His third, Dwarf Planet, in 2021. Each one a little bigger, a little bolder. Then he wrote Leviticus, a queer social horror, developed through VicScreen's Originate initiative. It premiered in Sundance's Midnight section. Neon bought it for seven figures. A decade of shorts. Then the feature lands. That's how this works for most people. You keep making things until the right thing finds the right moment. - Ramzi Bashour Grew Up in Beirut. His Debut Feature Just Got Acquired at Sundance. — Bashour is Syrian-American, raised in Lebanon, moved to Indiana after 2006. He wrote Hot Water about an American kid and his Lebanese mom on a road trip west after the kid gets expelled. It's personal. He was a Sundance Fellow three years running (2022, 2023, 2024) developing this script. Named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces." The film debuted in U.S. Dramatic Competition and Rich Spirit acquired it. Three years of development. One story he couldn't not write.

It was a solid time. Everyone is making progress. We talked about unpacking our stories and how to do that in an effective way that doesn't let all the tension out of our story. Killing our darlings was another topic, and learning to be ruthless with our scripts for the sake of making them pop. Making sure our characters are well-rounded before anything ever happens. and just the positive energy of a group of writers in the story together. A shout-out to first-timer on the sprint calls @Tasha Kelly see you all soon!

We've been rocking these sprints, and it's been so helpful to be in a room with other writers. Come join us at 10 am Pacific time, Saturday.

Sprints are incredibly helpful in a similar way that table reads are, as they bring into play the needed social aspect of screenwriting. We spend so much time alone that bringing our pages to a group of people is essential for improving them. We're too close to our work to be objective. Drop-ins are encouraged Come in, leave your camera off, be with a group of fellow writers, and do whatever it is you need to do. Maybe it’s paying bills, planning out your week. Proximity, I think, is important. Embrace the Chaos! Screenwriting is messy. Be okay with showing up with rough pages. It took Michael Arndt 100 drafts to get his Oscar-winning screenplay, Little Miss Sunshine, to a great place. Now, some may say that's a daunting thought. My feeling when I heard him say that was relief. Yes, relief because it means I don't have to get it right the first, tenth, or 20th draft. Controlled Times and Tangible Outcomes When I’m off my game and I’m overwhelmed, setting strict time limits to just get something done is very effective. 20 or 30 minutes, or, as we do on our sprints, 50 minutes and they fly by. Get something specific done in short time frames with us. Round Table Struggles and Successes: We allocate about 10 minutes between sprints to chat about what progress we’re making or what we’re struggling with. There’s a synergy that happens when a group of people trying to achieve the same thing are together, and we express things that we all can relate to as writers. Those who come are aware of the value, but I’m actually writing this for those who have never come. Yes, I realize sometimes work, family, etc., take up our time. No judgement here. We have sprints on Mondays and Saturdays. Remember, there's no pressure to reveal anything; just come and be with other like-minded people.

well, I mentioned the book and now I’m getting ads for it so I checked one out it’s pretty awful but it’s a huge market for new writers. I was thinking it would be interesting to see if I could actually write in this format as an exercise in writing with 0 fluff…(Please yell at me ) But: The global vertical‑drama market was valued at about USD 4.1–4.7 billion in 2024–2025 and is projected to grow to roughly USD 8.4 billion by the early 2030s, implying a high‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit compound annual growth rate. Here is just one: https://my-drama.com/ PS: don’t buy that book. It’s full of errors, probably why she was giving it away at the conference, but it’s still an interesting read.