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.

I have a general question. Before you pursue writing a script, what are the elements that make you decide to pursue that idea? Is it a story idea? A character idea? Is there a statement you want to make into the world? Is there a particular concept you find interesting and therefore you now want to dive in? Or do you have a small idea that you like, but you have no clue where it's going to take you in the story? Just curious. Thanks.

On The Rugrats Movie there was a Russian director named Igor. His English wasn't great. He'd read our latest draft, find me and my writing partner in the hallway, and deliver the same review every time. Imagine this in thick Russian accent: "I read script. Script needs... something." That was it. He never said what the something was. It pissed me off. It felt unfair. But he was absolutely right. It did need something. And he wasn't a writer, so pointing to it wasn't his job. Finding it was ours. The same way it's an actor's job to bring a character to life, or an art director's job to bring a set to life. Your job as a writer is to find the something. // I used to think the something was plot. Things happen, and characters happen to be standing in them. So I'd rearrange events, punch up scenes, and Igor would find me in the hallway again. Script needs something. After a long series of beating my head against the wall, I found it. The something is what your character is hiding. Or is in deep denial of. // Rugrats turned around when we leaned into Tommy's denial. Suddenly there was comic juxtaposition between the scene Tommy insisted was happening and the scene his friends could plainly see. Same engine in Shrek. Shrek at dinner with Fiona's parents is funny because he's in denial about how obviously they hate him. But look closer. The King is in denial too. He's hiding that he was the frog a princess kissed. He believes that part of him is unlovable. Rewatch the movie and you'll see it: everything that happens in that kingdom happens not because the father hates Shrek, but because he hates the frog in himself. All of us hide parts of ourselves from the world. Including from the people closest to us. So when a character on screen does it, we don't watch them. We recognize ourselves. // Here's the truth nobody tells you. The audience doesn't care about you. They don't care about your story. They don't even care about your characters. They care about themselves. That's why they bought the ticket.

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

I am so excited to share the news with you all! The results are in on my entry to the Oxford Script Awards Best US Screenplay, and I am a FINALIST! I am incredibly grateful to @David Stem and everyone in the Writer's Forge for your insights and support! I have been carrying this story in my bones for decades, and it wasn't until finding this community in mid-March that I shifted from a memoir to a screenplay, and wow, I am so glad I am here! There weren't any other teenage girl Assistant Athletic Trainers for a Men's Rugby Team in California or Europe in the 1970s or early 1980s that I ever saw or heard of, so it's a very unique story to be told, and it could only happen here in the Writer's Forge! I researched Film Festivals that were in countries where rugby is very familiar, knowing my story might be seen as surprising, coming from California, a woman, and a member of an Elite San Francisco club from the 1960s to 1980s. We have a long history of traveling overseas to play top competition unavailable in the U.S., and they once played a match in Oxford, a well-established rugby community. So I am beyond proud of this achievement! From Film Freeway: The Oxford Script Awards is an IMDb-qualifying competition built for one purpose: getting your script into the hands of UK industry professionals looking for the next indie talent. Ranked as a Top 15 Most Popular Screenwriting Festival in the UK and Top 100 Best Reviewed globally, we provide the ultimate professional platform for emerging screenwriters. We run a specialized marketing portal for directors and producers where we actively promote the best scripts from every season. This is your chance to be part of a curated selection seen by industry professionals looking for new stories. Moreover, the best screenplays receive our Main Prize of $400 for further development and career support from our professional jury.