Or as I like to call it: Why does anybody give a damn. Maybe they don't love baseball, or believe in an afterlife or know anything at all about Maori people. But great writing cuts to the heart, in whatever subject it deals with, and brings the audience along for the ride. So today's Newcomer Call became, in effect, a live mini workshop. Which is what they're geared for anyway. To give you a taste of what we do around here. We started with @Gregory Scott opening pages about a young boy learning baseball from his father. The scene was warm and beautifully observed—but that raised the real question: What is the audience leaning forward to discover? The baseball wasn’t the story. It was the emotional anchor: a memory of who this father was before tragedy changed him, and what his son is still trying to hold onto. Then we read @Ron Sobol's sci-fi opening and talked about the balance between mystery and confusion. You can introduce a strange world, big ideas, and unanswered questions—but the audience still needs one clear human thread to follow. Finally, @Richard Kerr-Bell got his tail up at god knows what hour in New Zealand (I believe) and pitched Incarnation, based on the true story of a young Māori man sent to Rome in the 1850s to train as a Catholic priest. The pitch had powerful themes: faith, colonialism, cultural erasure, identity, and belonging. But themes alone aren’t a movie. The work was finding the specific human relationships and conflicts that dramatize them: Who sends him away—and why? Who tries to change him? Who does he change in return? What does he lose, and what does he fight to preserve? That was the thread connecting the entire call: A story isn’t a collection of events or themes. It’s a human being under pressure, fighting to hold onto—or become—who they truly are. Want this kind of coaching on your own work? Join Premium for ongoing live coaching twice a week, page feedback, story development, and direct support as you build your screenplay.

People, people! There's a New Member Orientation/Hot Seat/Welcome to The Cult Indoctrination call this Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time! You are encouraged to bring the opening of your script, which we will read in a table read and then give feedback on. Or bring a treatment idea or logline. Or just come along to meet your fellow writers and get an earful of why this place was built, what my philosophy is re writing and why you can Save the Cat and neuter your script at the same time. Seriously, don't get me started on Save the Cat. Or do. It's always a fun ride! Who's in? If you have pages, drop them below and our man @Chad Desrochers will coordinate the line up. But seriously, if you're new here, know this: One call like this can change the entire direction of your writing. So, drop in and see if it resonates with you. If it does, you're in for an amazing ride. Just ask our members who's been here for a while how it's affected their scripts. Looking forward to meeting the new people who are here and ready to take their work to the next level! See you Thursday, David

I’ve written films for every major studio. Worked with some of the biggest stars on projects both huge and small. No film school yet somehow my career exceeded anything I had planned. I were to coach you personally, what would you most want me to help you with?

things feel different something in the air something NEW is coming

I’m in Clarksville, TN for my niece’s wedding. Wandered into this restaurant. Packed. Waiting list. I don’t do waiting lists. I was ready to bail. Then I walked past someone’s table and saw this. God-level. Stuffed. Blueberry. French. Toast. Hell yes. This place does one thing ridiculously well — and it jumps off the plate at you. It knows what it is. Owns its lane. Closes at 2:30. You want dinner? I don’t care. You want breakfast? Get your ass in here. But you’ll have to stand in line first. Fine. You win. Most scripts die because they try to be everything. A little horror. Some comedy. A love story stapled on the side. Maybe some mystery for good measure. They become a lukewarm buffet nobody crosses the street for. But the script that knows its one thing? That makes a stranger stop and say: Who tf wrote this? Know your genre. Break down films that nailed it. Then get honest with yourself and ask: What’s the stuffed French toast of your screenplay? A story is not a series of events. It’s a seduction. You want my time? Invite me in. Make me want you. What is the God-level scene, character, relationship, world, or feeling you’re swinging for the fences on? That’s what I want to pull out of you. That’s what I preach when coaching. Stop mucking around with chives and garnishes. Learn to make your star fucking shine. People will wait in line for that good shit. That’s what we’re doing in Premium and VIP. (<-- Upgrade here) If you want to be part of that, sign up for the coaching calls. That’s where the magic happens. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have fat stores to build before the next ice age.