I'll go first. I have two scripts I finished recently that I need to get in the hands of producers -- Darken the Sun, a horror script, and Another, a Body Heat-style sexy, crazy thriller. Also working on a course for this community that walks people through how I think through a script and how you can use the same tools that I used throughout my career to take your own scripts to the next level. In addition, I'll be working hard to build this community and make it the most-helpful, most-productive #1 screenwriter community on Skool! What are YOU working on this week? What's your commitment?

Five weeks to uncover the story your audience needs — and the one that won’t let you go. All right, people — this is our first challenge we’re doing together, in real time. Five weeks of diving into what actually makes a story great. I’ve spent thirty years writing movies — everything from talking babies to ogres in love — and I still ask the same question: Why do some stories stay with us? Not just make us laugh or cry — but haunt us, years later. Over the next five weeks inside The Writer’s Forge, we’re going to dig into that. What makes a story unforgettable? Why does an audience feel something — even in a comedy? Why does a story matter enough to live in someone’s head after the credits roll? 👉 Here’s how we start: 1. Drop your top 3 movies of all time. 2. Tell us why each one hits you — a scene, a moment, a line, a feeling. 3. Then scroll the thread and jump into at least one other person’s post. The goal isn’t to make a list — it’s to figure out what moves us. And to BUILD COMMUNITY so we can SUPPORT each other in this process. I’ll be in here reading, responding, and pulling examples as we go — breaking down what these films do to us and how to find that same spark in your own stories. Doesn’t matter what you write — funny, dark, spiritual, absurd — the goal is the same: Five weeks to build community. Five weeks to find the fire in you. Five weeks to discover the story you NEED to write. Who’s in?? ps... if you have friends who are serious about writing, send this to them. Let's build this together.

“No one suspects the days to be gods.” — Emerson “Do not hurry; do not rest.” — Goethe Those are the opening lines of Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life. A small book that contains entire worlds. Just writing about it gives me chills — it’s meant that much to me on my journey. Just show up. Do the work. There will be good days and bad ones. But how you spend your days is how you spend your life. Consistent effort is everything. A lot of you came here because of that TikTok I posted — the one about scripts that look like disaster zones. Where you think you’ve built something solid… then realize it’s not working, and you don’t know why. That’s every writer’s journey. We all need someone who can see what we can’t see in our own work. That’s why we’re here. So let’s get specific. Let’s get accountable. I’ll start. I’m building this community because I knew — I felt — there was a hunger for a space like this. The reaction to that video proved it: writers are craving honest mentorship, real feedback, and a place to learn how to diagnose their own scripts and level up. So thank you all for showing up. Personally, I just finished a psychological thriller I’m getting ready to take to market, plus a horror project I may shoot a short proof-of-concept for. And on the other end of the spectrum — I’m building a family-media company, leveraging the last 20 years I’ve spent writing in that space. Plan: capitalize on the credibility I've nurtured, take over world. Like most of you, I’ve got a lot going on — and focus is the first casualty of creativity. That’s why this thread exists. Here’s the deal: Drop a comment and tell us: 1. What you’re working on (genre, page count, current draft). 2. Where you’re stuck or what you’re trying to achieve. 3. When you want it done by. Next Friday, we’ll all come back and update — even if your update is “still stuck.” That’s progress too. It tells us what kind of support you need. Those 10 free coaching sessions I mentioned?

Sometimes it all burns down.

Actually, since I just started this community, we're all new members, So, I'll go first. I'm David Stem, long time screenwriter who decided after my daughter kept telling me I need to teach. She's at NYU now studying creative writing, and she and I have had many long conversations about the creative process and the mindset it takes to be a successful writer over time. I spent my entire 20s trying to figure out how to break into the business and made every classic mistake there was to make ... especially jumping into screenplays just because I got excited about an idea and yet had no real idea how to structure, not only the script itself, but my life as a writer. The good news was that during that journey, I at least learned to develop my own voice. And that led me to working as a journalist and in advertising. Both of which I loved much more than the office job I'd previously had for years. When I was 29, I was finally hired on a Nickelodeon sketch comedy show called, Roundhouse. And my career took off from there. I've seen many writers come and go during that time. And have realized the biggest obstacle any of us face is ourselves. I would say self-mastery is key to this process, but that sounds too harsh. I think there's a walk between discipline and self compassion that keeps a writer sane and productive. Especially when most of us are dealing with ADHD or whatever else drove us to want to be writers in the first place. Something I read long ago has always stuck with me on this journey: The blank page is God's way of showing you it's not so easy to be God. Which is why I created this community! So we could all face that and learn together. So, jump in, introduce yourself, tell us about your journey. Then go read the 10 Iron Clad Rules for a Writing Life and post which you excel at and which you struggle with! Those rules come from 25+ years of being in the trenches, day after day, with... myself!