What is it with Stage and Screen?

Day Agent

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There are always people on in this sub-forum but hardly any activity. What is it you're looking for here but not finding?
 

alleycat

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At one time it was a fairly active forum, but much less so now. I could make some guesses as to why, but that's all they would be, guesses.

I'll start with one: People are told over and over again that unless they live in LA and/or have some connections, then the chance of getting a script sold is one-in-a-million. It tends to discourage people after a while.
 

Day Agent

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Having to live in LA is utter non-sense, anyway. There are many, many doors into the industry, lots of which can be reached via internet.

Anyone itching to heap on more of the "LA is obligatory" drivel, start your own thread.
 
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Maryn

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Whoa, Day-Agent, rein in. You don't get to tell people what they can and cannot post in a thread you started.

People I know at another site for screenwriters tell me that while you can gain a toehold elsewhere, if what you want is to write for major studios, the earlier you reside in the LA area and start making connections in the business, the more connections you will have to get your excellent screenplay read, when you finally have one deserving of that description.

For me, I come to this board less than I once did because I'm not working on a stage play as my main writing effort. There are times when I am, and I return.

Maryn, who's stuck on a plot point for her play
 

Wilde_at_heart

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The people I know (which isn't many, admittedly) who write for stage are part of theatre groups, etc. so they likely don't see the need to be on a forum.

As for screenplays, there are at least three forums that I know of that are aimed specifically at screenwriting, and yet another one dedicated to loglines.

I don't see a whole lot of non-fiction writing on here either, especially if you don't count memoirs. Most seem to be either novelists or short story writers.
 

Kfu3000

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This is just a guess on my part, but it seems that AW forums seem geared mostly for authors and not screenwriters. There are quite a few sections dedicated to writing novels, but "Scripts, Stage and Screen" (film, TV and plays) are just one sub-forum section combined.

That being said, while I'm fairly new to AW, I have been poking around here to see if I can get into any interesting discussions. What is it YOU've been looking for, but haven't found, OP?
 

Day Agent

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[...] while I'm fairly new to AW, I have been poking around here to see if I can get into any interesting discussions. What is it YOU've been looking for, but haven't found, OP?

Less bluster, more talk. Ego hoses on all forums, but as discourse decreases the stench of it makes smaller sub-forums uninviting to all but those who are attracted to just that.

There seems to be plenty of interest in this particular sub-forum, with rarely less than ten people viewing it at any time. It doesn't sound like much, but if you keep in mind how little activity there is in comparison to other sub-forums it just makes me wonder how many would like to discuss topics but think better of it.

Tear-down, be it jock-style or the omniscient tut-tutting, drives me up the wall, uselessly angry. It's just a forum. But missed opportunities are sad to witness or even imagine. More so as I don't know how to help.
 
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Scott_Younger

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Novel and prose writing has always been the most consumed form of literature since the early 20th century. More people are exposed to it, and so more people want to write in that format. Screenwriting, though many people watch and enjoy films, can be confusing for the newcomer due to the rules of formatting (which although easy to get a hang of after a while) can make screenwriting a little more restrictive for budding writers.
(As a playwright its a similar problem with not enough people making threads on the playwriting sub-forum.)
 

android415

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Well, I'm a new playwright, and I browse this forum a lot, looking for any help.

I was also wondering why it's so dead, because I have questions. Many.
 

Maryn

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android, someone asking reasonable questions at the appropriate board can certainly give it new life. There are many members like me who don't visit this board specifically on a regular basis but see its newest posts come up when we browse by New Posts.

Start a thread or two asking some questions which are important to you. Ask what plays people admire and why. Ask about places to market.

Maryn, noting she's not this board's moderator, just playing hostess for a second
 

Doug B

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I visit this forum almost every day. There is a play writing sub-forum to this forum. Post your question there and, if I can, I'll answer it.

Doug
 

nmstevens

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There are always people on in this sub-forum but hardly any activity. What is it you're looking for here but not finding?

I think that many forums and newsgroups like this tend to have a natural life cycle.

They are often fueled by the relationship between a small group of relatively experienced writers on the one hand and relative newcomers on the other who come with their questions about screenwriting.

The newcomers ask their questions and others -- both people with a lot of experience, some experience and very little experience proceed to answer.

The trouble is, there are really only so many questions that beginners can ask and, from the perspective of experienced writers, only so many times that you can, with minor variations, answer the same questions.

When you've answered the same question several times, or when your answer amounts to -- search the archives, there isn't much point to answering the same question again.

And that just leaves commenting on people's scripts.

-- and there are only so many script samples where I feel that my comments are likely to be of any real use -- not to mention the fact that it takes some time to read and prepare any kind of thoughtful script notes, even on ten pages.

When I happen to drop by and when there happens to be some post that I think is worth commenting on or some script that I think I can say something about, I'll do it, but that simply doesn't happen very often.
 

Deleted member 42

Well, I'm a new playwright, and I browse this forum a lot, looking for any help.

I was also wondering why it's so dead, because I have questions. Many.

Oddly, no one can respond to posts that you don't make.

I realize that this is shocking to many, but it is in fact true.

Post questions. Create a thread. Enter the conversation.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Having to live in LA is utter non-sense, anyway. There are many, many doors into the industry, lots of which can be reached via internet.

Anyone itching to heap on more of the "LA is obligatory" drivel, start your own thread.

"Nonsense" is one word. Yes, there are a lot of doors, but most are locked, and living in LA is still a huge, huge advantage. Every great once in a while someone gets in despite where they live, what they do, etc., but the fact remains that living in LA, or being able to get there at a moment's notice, makes everything a hundred times easier.

While talent always matters, unlike other types of writing, screenplays really are about who you know, about in-person pitch sessions, and about being pat of the Hollywood "scene". It just is.

Which does not mean you have to live in LA, or have to be able to get there within twenty-four hours or less, but it's silly to pretend this doesn't make a massive difference.
 

FadetoBlack

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People I know at another site for screenwriters tell me that while you can gain a toehold elsewhere, if what you want is to write for major studios, the earlier you reside in the LA area and start making connections in the business, the more connections you will have to get your excellent screenplay read, when you finally have one deserving of that description.

Have to agree with this. Is it necessary? No. Is it one hell of a step in the right direction? Yes.

One reason. Connections. You wake up, walk out your door, go grab coffee. Bump. Actor. You chat. A few words, but the next day there they are again. Right, because like you, they live here. Same for the next day. You love some, you hate some, but you learn their name, and they learn yours. The cycle repeats, for every place you frequent. Every meal you eat, every grocery you buy, every soul-crushing job you take. You meet fellow crushed souls, and they want to like you because they're hurting and struggling and slaving just like you.

There's always someone here. It just seems to happen. Does it mean you instantly receive work? Of course not. But you grow with these people. Some abandon their pursuits, others rise. And if they like you, they mention you. Suddenly, you rise with them.

That, to me, is why Los Angeles is a place you should go. No one says it can't be done elsewhere. You can bet it all anywhere, you just get a few more rolls of the dice if you come out here.
 

Doug B

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To get back to the original question: Why are there so many people on-line but not much activity.

I am a low level moderator at another web site and I asked the same question. I was told that many of the guests were, in fact, bots from the search engines sniffing around.
 

Maryn

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That's entirely true. I don't have hard figures (the site owner might), but I'd say we probably approach 40 or 50 percent bots, crawling all over seeking emails and whatever else they do.

Maryn, who smacks 'em with a rolled up newspaper on sight
 

AW Admin

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That's entirely true. I don't have hard figures (the site owner might), but I'd say we probably approach 40 or 50 percent bots, crawling all over seeking emails and whatever else they do.

There are bots crawling the AW server, but nothing like that number.

Keep in mind that bot = a remote script. Some remote scripts are good (i.e. Google and other search engines perform an important service).

Bots that collect data to reuse or "web scrapers" are kicked as soon as I spot them. That's usually in less than an hour. They tend to be rude, greedy bots and are quickly spotted.

Bots look very different from real users because of the "user agent" attribute in the data a user sends to a server.

Bots have very different user agents.

The member data on the bottom of the top forum page doesn't include bots (though it briefly includes would be spammer registrations, until Mac or I disallow them).

It doesn't include banned members.

In other words, currently vBulletin says we have 58,446 members. That's pretty accurate. That number only includes members who have logged in during the last 365 days. It doesn't count bots. It currently includes two Chinese would-be shoe spammers; they aren't going to be approved, and can't post if they aren't approved.

We currently have 14 Google bots indexing the site (we have Google, Bing and Yahoo bots pretty much 23/7), 6 Bing bots, and one unknown Russian indexing bot. that obeys the the standard indexing protocols, so I'm not worried about it.

We've asked rule obeying bots to obey specific rules; most bots do.
 

Maryn

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Way, way less than I'd thought. When I modded a chat years ago, we were at about a third bots. Thanks for clarifying that!

Maryn, bot-free since 2015
 

AW Admin

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The chat was presumably based on IRC, where bot doesn't mean exactly the same thing, and IRC is still full of them.

Also, I have direct access to the server and router, which makes a difference.
 

gp101

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Yes, there are a lot of doors, but most are locked, and living in LA is still a huge, huge advantage. Every great once in a while someone gets in despite where they live, what they do, etc., but the fact remains that living in LA, or being able to get there at a moment's notice, makes everything a hundred times easier.

While talent always matters, unlike other types of writing, screenplays really are about who you know, about in-person pitch sessions, and about being pat of the Hollywood "scene". It just is.

Which does not mean you have to live in LA, or have to be able to get there within twenty-four hours or less, but it's silly to pretend this doesn't make a massive difference.

James nailed it. Yeah, some outliers still make it through occasionally, but living in LA still hedges your bets, especially if your spec gets attention and you suddenly need to make the rounds and pitch prod-co or studio heads. It's doubly the case if you're writing for TV.

But stage plays, well, you have some latitude. I live in New England and had a play produced in LA--not a huge hit but still an accomplishment. So ask yourself which medium you most like to write in and how far are you willing to move? TV and film are tough to break into (though not impossible) if you live outside LA or NY, but stage plays are less restrictive to your location, though by no means are they any easier to write or get noticed.
 

gingerwoman

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Well I can't say I know much about this subject, apart from hearing the "who you know rumour" many times. (I have no idea how true it is.) But the one thing I have noticed is that whenever I see a literary agent's site there seems to inevitably be a line about "please don't send picture books, poetry or screen plays as none of us represent them."