Hey Creators, Happy FriYay! And oh what a great Friday it is. At noon today I won $1k Skip grant! Woohoo! This is my 3rd year winning plus I got a free plug for my AI Business. These are the easiest grants to win. Just enter, show up live and wait for your company’s name to be drawn in the wheel. It’s that easy. And you have 2 opportunities to win every week since they conduct the drawings twice a week. If I hadn’t won for the 3rd time in 3 years I wouldn’t believe it myself. Sign up for free and start winning by next Tuesday!

Hey Creators! This just in! Submissions are now open for our new horror initiative with Tubi! Emerging and established writers with a feature script in the horror genre are encouraged to submit their project for further consideration in the Tubi x Black List Horror Initiative. Submissions will remain open until June 30, 2026 – write that deadline down now and get to work, writers! Tubi intends to produce and distribute the selected script. The Black List will executive produce the project and will be collaborating closely with Tubi throughout the entirety of the program. Writers are welcome to upload new projects for consideration in this program. This is not my genre. I usually write either romance or psychological thrillers but hmm...I am in a screenwriting workshop on Monday evenings...perhaps I should brainstorm a horror film. I do have a screenplay I finished last year but it's more cyber thriller than horror. I wonder if I can tweak that concept to make it more horro? I'll have to brainstorm with Skye because God knows I've had enough nightmares in my lifetime so I should be able to write one. lol Just for fun...title the poster below! This is where everyone thinks we are headed anyway.

Hey Creators, This contest just opened last week. The Unpublished Novel Award celebrates stellar unpublished manuscripts in four distinct categories: Children’s & Young Adult, Literary, Commercial Fiction (including the genres of Romance, Thriller/Suspense and Crime/Mystery) and Speculative Fiction (including the genres of Horror and Sci-Fi/Fantasy). A panel of esteemed judges with experience in book publishing will select one exceptional manuscript in each category to receive a $10,000 grant to support it on the journey to publication. Any writer who has received a manuscript evaluation on this site has the option to opt into consideration for this award for free. Recipients will retain all rights to their manuscript and will be free to sell them whenever and wherever they please (note: manuscripts cannot be under contract at any point during award consideration; self-published novels will not be accepted). You must post an original, unpublished manuscript on www.blcklst.com, with at least one (1) evaluation, and opt-in to the Program during the Submission Period. Your manuscript should fall within one of the following categories: Children’s & Young Adult, Literary, Commercial Fiction (including the genres of Romance, Thriller/Suspense and Crime/Mystery) and Speculative Fiction (including the genres of Horror and Sci-Fi/Fantasy). IMPORTANT DEADLINES February 26, 2026 - Submissions open July 13, 2026 - Submissions close October 2026 - Judges convene to review selections November 2026 - Award recipients notified December 2026 - Award recipients announced Good luck if you decide to enter.

AI Creators… Let me say this clearly. If you are using AI to generate “ideas,” you’re playing small. Use AI to architect worlds. There’s a difference between asking ChatGPT for a logline and prompting it to build a fully dimensional, Netflix-worthy series blueprint with layered conflict, reveal arcs, thematic depth, and a market-defined audience. Studios don’t buy vibes.They buy conflict, structure, scalability, and world-building. Here’s how I’m approaching my goal of selling a series concept: 1. I don’t ask for a story.I ask for five feature-level concepts with: 2. I treat AI like a development room.Iteration. Refinement. Stronger stakes. Sharper tension. Bigger hook. 3. I stress-test the idea. Is the conflict sustainable for multiple seasons?Is the world expandable?Is the twist inevitable but surprising? 4. I position the concept strategically.Who is this for?What gap does it fill?Why now? AI is not here to write your script for you. It's here to accelerate your creative strategy. If you want Netflix to say yes, you need:Clear stakes.Commercial awareness.Emotional hooks.Scalable world-building. And AI can help you get there faster than any solo brainstorming session ever could. We are no longer just writers.We are creative architects with supercomputers as collaborators. That’s the level I’m playing at. My goal? To get a Netflix deal! Who else is building for streamers, not just posting content?

Hey Creators, New year, time for a new community banner and icon. I really like the way this one turned out! Looks so professional yet still creative!