Looking forward to seeing more great work from the Writer's Forge crew! You guys are leading the way and setting the standard for writers who are willing to show up and be accountable and really build themselves, one day, one session at a time. That's where the magic happens. Zoom Link: Premier Coaching, Friday, Feb 6, 12 p.m. Pacific Time. If you haven't experienced these coaching sessions, jump in, with pages or without. And just see what's happening here, that you just can't find anywhere else!

I wanna share an experience I had recently. I've participated in a famous contest here in Italy, it's basically a tv show about screenwriters, each episode, every writer is gonna pitch their story, and by the end, the winner gets a possible deal with a huge production company. I've submitted my story "The Watchers" for the 3rd episode of this show. Unfortunately, I wasn't selected, and at first, it made me almost want to give up everything and never write again after years of trying. But then the people behind the contest contacted me personally, Iand 'm gonna share now the letter they sent me. I think it's really useful as to not get sad or disappointed cause this letter really made me understand that someone sees me, sees the value in me and in my story, so it kind of cheered me up so much that I want to do more now. Here's the full text translated into English: "Hello, young talent, We hope you are doing well! We would like to thank you for sharing your ideas with us. The creativity and dedication you showed were truly admirable and made the selection process quite challenging. Identifying the winning ideas for the 3rd episode of “Avrei questa idea” was no easy task, as each proposal brought a unique and distinctive touch. Unfortunately, your idea was not selected; however, this decision in no way reflects the value of your talent! 🎥" The part that really warmed my heart, and I think it's really useful for everyone in this community, is "this decision in no way reflects the value of your talent!" meaning that I'm not doing something useless, something wrong. And the fact that they acknowledged and pushed me to do more really made my day. All of this to say that it's really bad when no one notices you, but there's gonna be a time when people do really see you, and opportunities are gonna come! (Believe I was really bummed out a few days ago, but this really helped me to be more determined and steady like a horse ready for its race) Hope my experience will cheer you up and help you all if you ever feel sad or disappointed at how difficult it is.

We had a ton of coaching calls this week. There hasn't been a thread about this one today at noon. If you have pages you want reviewed, drop them below. Otherwise, we can just hang and have coffee and talk goals and how awesome the Patriots are and how Drake Maye is Him.

Beloved/Hated Shawshank Redemption. OMFG a hallmark card come to life, filled with sappy cliches. I hate this film. Hate hate hate! Admittedly it's been years since I saw it and maybe I should rewatch. Maybe it's not that bad. But I can't rewatch because I've invested so much of myself in hating it, so I'm going to stick with that. Also in contention, Field of Dreams. Ugh. Under-rated Gem: Love Lies Bleeding. An absolute masterpiece in film noir and fantasy and passion and crime and all those good things. Right up there with Bound in terms of great female characters that are burning with life. Guilty Pleasure Armageddon. Bruce Willis flying to space to blow up an asteroid that's going to destory earth? LET'S GO! Also anything with Sharks. Including Deep Blue Sea, about a beautiful scientist harvesting the brain tissue of DNA-altered sharks as a possible cure for Alzheimer's disease. What could go wrong?! Luckily, Sam Jackson comes to save the day. I loved it so much I dragged my entire family to see it. After there were like... why did you make us watch that? Ingrates.

Edit: Pages, people. We need pages. Drop them below for Friday's coaching call. Who's in...?? Original Post: We've been having Coffee and Loglines, and it's fun to chat with everybody. But lately we've been running some session centered around creating great opening scenes, and I really like how they're social sessions, but we also get down to real work, which is what this place is all about. So, what are you working on and need feedback on? Loglines are always a great place to start. As are Treatments and Opening Scenes But this session will be for whatever is driving you creatively, even if it's just... choosing how to prioritize from the myriad of ideas competing for your attention. So, let's hear it... what do you want feedback on from me and the community? Drop it below and let's meet Friday, so everyone can leave with clear direction on what to move forward on and how!