Love the idea of the Pats starting yet another much-hated dynasty. But also love me some Sam Darnold come back story. So I'll be good however this game goes. Predictions: Pats. Crucial mistake cost Darnold in the 4th Quarter. Situational football rules the day. But... this takes me back to The Goat, TB12. And the horrible start vs Atlanta, years ago. They fell behind 28-3, before storming back and winning in overtime. And maybe nothing looked worse than when Brady threw a pick 6 when they were down 14, to let the score go to 21-0. But he gathered himself and his team. "Come on now, laser focus! We gotta play harder! Tougher!" And led the greatest comeback in sports history. I've often felt this way when battling a script. Trying to figure out the way forward. Feeling lost, but knowing it's not in my DNA to give up and being determined to fight my way through. I genuinely look to Brady as a model for that. Selected 199th in the draft. 4th quarterback on the roster, behind the first QB ever to sign a $100M contract. But showing up everyday in practice and staying late, with the mentality that this would be his team one day and his work ethic would make that inevitable. I'm curious, who's your model for the way you work, for how you move forward when things get tough? Oh, and what's your pick? I'm going 27-24 Pats. Vrabel's got this team dialed in. I could be wrong, but even if I am, with the mentality Brady set down for that organization, even a loss will be a learning experience on their way back to greatness IMHO. Then again, I'm the same guy who was at a huge Super Bowl party years ago and everybody was making fun of me when the Pats were down 28-3. And I said, we've got them right where we want them. Then I might have turned around and flipped them all a double bird when the Pats won. I'm not saying I did. But I'm not saying I didn't either. Go Pats!

…and the journey is both our stories and the writing of them.

This comment absolutely delighted me. Maybe I'm being petty, but after seeing the amazing pages and ways writers are transforming in this morning session, I got a notification that Don just doesn't approve of what we are doing here at all. Here's the Ad: I'm J. David Stem, Fancy Hollywood Writer Just let it be a reminder, that no matter what your intentions, no matter how good your pages, the world is full of Don Tuttles. Sometimes it feels like... it's Tuttles all the way down! So, keep your head down and focused on YOUR work and what YOU can control. And lets the Tuttles of the world do Tuttle things. Not. Your. Concern.

A friend sent me his script. I swear to you I maybe made it half way thru the first page. But I was already realizing it was hopeless in the first paragraph. I changed the names and locations. But you get the idea. As an agent/producer/studio honcho, if you started reading this, what would your reaction be, and why? EXT. SUBURBAN SIDE STREET. MORNING. Trash bins with cracked lids lean at inconsistent angles along the curb, their wheels half-submerged in yesterday’s rainwater. MAILBOXES stand at attention despite having no mail inside, their red flags lowered in silent disappointment. The street slopes gently downward, as if designed to encourage leaving. DAVE LANCER (40s) power-walks with intention. Wireless earbuds firmly seated, baseball cap pulled low but not enough to hide that he once had great hair. His gait suggests discipline, the kind learned from podcasts rather than hardship. He breathes through his nose like someone who read that it’s healthier. Dave is a man who has read the comments and decided not to care. Dave adjusts the strap of his fitness watch and passes ranch- style houses arranged with polite indifference toward one another, their LAWNS trimmed into compliance. A lone INFLATABLE SNOWMAN sags on a porch, still plugged in, radiating quiet defeat like a motivational quote gone stale. Halfway down the street. Two TEENAGERS in OVERSIZED HOODIES stand beside an OPEN TRUNK. One scrolls on his phone. The other stares into nothing. A SODA CAN drops, rolls, and comes to rest against the curb. The trunk closes. They leave without urgency. One gives Dave a thumbs-up for no reason. INT. DAVE’S HOUSE. KITCHEN. Slightly winded from exertion, hoodie half-zipped, Dave pours coffee with unnecessary precision. There’s a corporate-retreat energy to his movements. He taps the counter twice while waiting for the microwave to finish something that didn’t need heating. He knocks on a closed door with authority. DAVE Let’s move it. LUCAS (14) responds from inside, voice cracking with confidence.

I’ve been thinking about why so many smart, committed writers stay stuck for years—rewriting, “working,” consuming craft—without ever breaking through. Here’s what I’ve learned watching writers up close: Repetition alone doesn’t build mastery. Repetition without truth builds delusion. You can do the reps forever. You can write every day. You can finish draft after draft. If you’re avoiding the real problem in your work, all you’re doing is getting better at hiding from it. A few things worth remembering as you work here: • Your voice is specific—but it won’t emerge without friction. If the writing always feels comfortable, you’re probably circling the same lies. • If you're not willing to get lost, you'll never go anywhere interesting. Great writing should scare you. Make you feel like you're wandering alone. Keep wandering. • The moment your script stops giving you dopamine is where authorship begins. Boredom, resistance, and doubt aren’t signs you’re failing. They’re signs you’ve reached the edge of something real. • Discipline isn’t the problem for most writers. Avoidance is. • If you avoid the real problem in your work, you will rewrite forever. New drafts won’t save you. New insights might. This place isn’t about motivation. It’s about clarity. If you stay here long enough—and work honestly enough—you won’t just improve a script. You’ll become a different kind of writer. And that’s the point. What here resonates? If something hits, drop it below—let's start this new year with some well-earned clarity.