Seven that occur to me: 1. Can you pinpoint the moment where you felt like you were or were at least on your way to becoming a professional level writer and did that validation come from within you or from someone else? 2. How much time do you spend watching new movies versus older or classic movies and what do you think are the downsides of predominantly watching one or the other on your writing? 3. What percentage of "industry" people do you think actually know film on any kind of a deep level and what is the worst incident of gross ignorance that you've come across? 4. One of the best ways I've read to make contacts in the industry is to get "in" with people on the assistant level. Is there a particular way to talk to or address these people that's perhaps different than from talking to their bosses? 5. Is there a particular ratio you're aiming at when it comes to working on your writing versus working on your career (ie, contacts, query letters, researching companies and managers and agents)? 6. I've just started reading books on acting as a way to help my writing. What kind of books other than screenwriting books have you read that have helped your writing? 7. Do you find that your first drafts are underwritten or overwritten?

Actually, I only think the first six of those questions are good.

But they're a dang good six. Dang good. I second them all. Here's one: As a professional writer, did you ever want to kill a professional reader? Meant to be funny, but, seriously, the inexperience of some of these kids who read and the check-list, predominantly Save-the-Cat mentality that so many specs these days are being funneled through is, IMHO, a real problem. It's a one-size fits all approach that audiences are tired of - or at least, the people I talk to are... and some of these folks were huge movie buffs just four or five years ago. So, again, as a writer, did you ever want to kill a reader???

1. Did you have an agent and/or manager BEFORE selling your script? If not, how did you put the script out there? 2. When writing your scripts, do you take in to account market trends or do you just write what should be in the market? 3. What does a typical day look like for you? (when working, of course) 4. Do you use sequences/outlines/a combination or just plow into it until you get right? 5. You've sold a spec script. Congratulations. Now what? 6. Will you continue to write in the genre that you sold in or do you see yourself branching out to other genres? 7. Lastly, just out of curiosity, where were you when the moment of inspiration hit that became the script you sold? (On the street, in the shower, etc...)

What do you think specifically made your script stand out to the reader??

I'm always interested in what their writing habits are, how they research, how they outline, and what rules they think are okay to break.

How did you connect with the person (not necessarily agent or manager) that believed enough in your talent to push your material into the right hands?

Yes, I like these questions, especially #s 1 and 6. I like 6 (genre) as it is. To #1 (agents) I would like add a bit more... Is it possible to have success without an agent, or do you consider getting a good agent to be mandatory? Any recommendations on finding a good agent, or how to tell if an agent is going to be good for you (both in terms of the "fit" and also their track record or successes)?

Is screenwriting your true dream job? In a perfect world where you could do whatever you wanted, would you have chosen screenwriting and if not, how did you end up as a screenwriter?

Two questions: 1. If you had your first big break while living outside Hollywood how did you market your script (snail mail, email, phone calls)? 2. Once you made contact with an agent, manager or producer via queries, how did you build upon that relationship to create a network within the Hollywood system? Thanks for your time.

I have two questions as well... 1. Do you feel screenwriters deserve more say in the filmmaking process today or are you okay with how writers are generally treated? 2. If there's one thing about the industry today that you wish you could change or are not a fan of, what would that be?

Many good Qs so far! I have one. As specifically as you can recall, was there something different about your spec script that sold, as compared to the scripts you wrote earlier? If so, could you please share? For example, did you have an "AHA!" regarding character or arc or story, etc., that you put into practice in that breakthrough script? Or, did you elevate your scene writing in some specific way? Or, something else that brought that script up to breakthrough quality? Thanks for your insights.

Oh, wait, wait. I have more... 1. Do you use a work plan (such as 1, 2, 7, 14 Weekly Plan) to ensure progress beyond the script you are currently working on? 2. How do you manage multiple projects (stacking)? 3. Do you keep a spec project bubbling, possibly in another genre, even as you are busy writing on assignment? 4a. How do you typically select ideas for scripts? 4b. Do you consciously push an idea you are developing to "high concept" level, and if you do, what criteria do you use to satisfy yourself that your concept is "there"? 5. To anyone who lived outside SoCal: How did you go about getting industry people to read your screenplays, or how did you otherwise market your scripts?

These are all great questions. I look forward to hearing what they have to say.

I am super interested in how they balanced a day job and writing pre-sale. How did they balance writing and a job? What sort of schedule/regime did they use to make sure they progressed on their scripts? When/how did they decide a script was ready to send out? Have they quit their day jobs yet? Yay! I'm excited!

Okay, thanks all. I've plucked out quite a few of your questions and we'll see how it goes in terms of how much time we have. The roundtable is tonight. This group of writers has collectively sold 12 spec scripts among them. 12! Looking forward to the conversation and bringing back their insights to the GITS and online screenwriting community!