I used to be a hungry writer with ideas, instincts, and zero map. No industry access. No real feedback. No one who could tell me what was alive in my work. I once wrote a magazine piece I thought would be my big break. Got a form rejection. Cried in the shower because I felt like an idiot for believing it might happen. I knew what it felt like to be isolated, broke, scared, and creatively unsure. To write things that were funny but shapeless. To be told the work was clever while knowing you could feel the writer trying too hard on every page. Then I learned three things the hard way. Talent isn't enough. Silence only changes when you take action. And real story doesn't start with structure. It starts with what a character is avoiding. Those lessons carried me through a 30+ year career writing and rewriting for major studios. Shrek 2. Jimmy Neutron. Disenchanted. Walking red carpets. Watching movies premiere. And eventually building this groovy little place to help serious screenwriters get the process, courage, and professional direction I wish I'd had when I was starting out. Want the process I wish someone had handed me back then? Comment YES and I'll send you the details.

You all should definitely get your faces in there for the next one. @Anna Fermin thank you for hosting us and @Chris Dyer was droppin' gems again all throughout. I might have even said a few words too :D (a lot, I said a lot.) Matter of fact I might need to shut up more sometimes because we all ended up going for a whole 2 hours instead of 1! So worth it though, one of the best times of my life no exaggerating. Trial run. Everybody was on their game. Feel the strength growing for sure. (P.S. I think this might be my first actual solo posting post here in Writer's Forge general discussion so hi y'all :D. More introductions coming soon I imagine. Slowly but surely...)

So these last two days, I have been getting up at 4:30 a.m. and going till my brain melted in the evening (I am NOT a morning person!!!), called to create a Pitch Deck for my upcoming meeting with Melissa Verdugo on Monday. So bummed I missed last week's session! So I pushed it through with Primal Forge, and I have to say we had a blast! I learned what has to go on which pages. PF, now permanently called "Coach," got an eye full and an earful of rugby history and my personal story. Both of us survived! And here is our creation for my first screenplay, A Rugby Trainer's Daughter. I would love to hear your thoughts! "Coach" decided I have a documentary project to add to my to-do list after hearing about my trip to both hemispheres, seeing some of my photos, and distributing my rugby memorabilia collection to museums and archives for generations to come. So after I let everything go, I had the mental and emotional space to write my rugby story, and now we have even come up with a title for my next documentary, The Third Half. Just when I thought I was lightening my bones with one story, there's that spark of creativity for another. Oh my days, the fire is hot inside the Writer's Forge, and I like it!

Does anyone you ever get emotional while you’re writing? Like, actually cry? I’ve noticed it happens to me most when I’m really visualizing a scene as a director—almost like I’m watching the finished movie in my head. It’s not even necessarily because the scene is sad. Sometimes it’s just because it suddenly feels real, like I’m witnessing it instead of inventing it. I’m curious if anyone else experiences this, or if your process is completely different. What does it feel like for you when you know you’re really “inside” a scene? The attached image is part of my conversation with my ChatGPT lol.

Which one is the closest to being "the one"? Why is this sooo hard???? Any advice on how to improve would be much appreciated.