Hey Scott, Been visiting the site since very early on, probably only a few months into it's inception. I continue to come back on a daily basis because you continue to post a high volume of quality information that is useful in all areas of screenwriting and filmmaking. An added reason to continue to return is simply the benefit of outside motivation. You really do seem to have a knack for posting something at exactly the moment I need to hear it. I use the site as a tool to maintain my hand on the pulse of the industry as well as to implement new tips or tricks into my own writing. Additionally, I have been running a screenwriters group for four years now and the resources you provide are excellent to share in our weekly meetings. I love what you do and appreciate the effort you put in to maintain a high quality place for writers to visit. Thank you!

I've been a member since the first year, and I must say this is one of the best writing sites I follow. Your writing advice and analyses are interesting and lead me to ponder what I'm doing in my own writing. You've got so many special sections that I love, I'm not sure which is my favorite. Keep it coming!

I think I've been reading this blog since the start...4 years ago is such a long time ago...but I got the start through UCLA's program. Now, it's my default start window. Every time I open the internet, it's the first thing I see. Also, with regards to 500 days of Summer, here's an awesome interview: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/4929643 others: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/10646

Dane, thanks for the comments. Glad you've been able to use the resources with your screenwriters group basically extending the value of the content. Great to hear! Thank YOU for being a GITS reader!

Thanks, Daniel. Always nice to see folks who have been longtime readers, sharing this long strange trip! Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Shea, great to hear from you and we do go back a long way. Also thanks for those podcasts with Neustadter & Weber. I'll definitely post those when we do the [500] Days of Summer script reading. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

There's no way GITS can be 4 because if GITS were 4, I'd be 41. Wait a minute, I AM 41. Holy hell. Scott, no need to review, of course. I've been here forever. As long as you keep pushing the "publish" button, I'll keep readin'. No reason to go elsewhere for my daily dollop of juju. I'm penning kid lit/YA fiction these days. Writing a novel is the task that most terrified me and yet what I craved more than anything. So after I finished directing my short film last autumn (still languishing with the audio mixers... could be there for eternity... out of my hands... what can ya' do?) I rolled up my sleeves and typed "Chapter 1" at the top of the blank page, haven't looked back since. Besides, with 5 kids under my roof, I have a terrific in-house test market. So we'll see how this all pans out. It's no less terrifying than I feared and yet far more satisfying than I'd hoped. As always, one thing never changes though... GITS is my third stop of the day. Coffee pot is second. I won't tell you about the first one... bit too personal y'know. Anyway, congrats on 4 years! Remarkable to see how this project of yours has expanded and grown. You champion writers, you champion excellence in art, and, most importantly, you champion STORY. Early on, I expected a slew of GITS copycat blogs. 4 years later and no one has come close to what you do. It's good work you do here. It's important work. I'm sure there are days when you look at it all and go, "feh! enough of this!" When those days hit, please know that what you do in these pages makes a difference and is deeply meaningful to many. And let's face it... isn't that what this writing stuff is all about? (good lord... sorry if that came off as a speech to be read on the dais of the annual GITS banquet... hey, good idea! I'll have the 'family style chicken, mashed potatoes, and heavily buttered french cut green beans.')

Jeff, you have been a stalwart here ever since nigh the beginning. Glad to hear about you penning YA stories. Big market for that, even if it's only your kids buying the books! Then sell the movie rights, write the screenplay... I've got your future all laid out for you! Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Hi Scott, Writing is not my current profession but i've been thinking seriously about breaking in soon. Your blog link is one of the 5 tabs i leave open on my browser so i make sure i check it almost daily. In some ways reading your blog entries keeps me motivated and inspired. Don't ever stop 'cos that would leave drifters like us only poorer :) Happened to chance upon your blog through a friend's tweets around 2 months ago. Been a passive reader since. Try to make time to read through your script analysis since it always provides a keyhole into the writer's mind. haven't officially begun writing anything substantial yet. But then i read your blog and i notice the passion, commitment and regularity with which you post. That's pretty infectious! Congratulations on completing 4 years and keep up the good work!

Hi Scott, Have been coming here for over 1.5 years now. Why i come?... Well, outside of being one of the best learning resources on screenwriting and film/television, it's just something that has grown and become a part of my daily routine. I don't get withdrawal symptoms if i don't visit, but it’s become a ritual, a little bit of discipline if you allow me to call it that. The writing life is not easy and the ritual/discipline of coming here helps. Just my two cents, and thanks for all the great work.

I've only been reading this blog for a few months. I have GITS as a feed-widget on my igoogle page, so I can easily see the new posts easily. I find the quality of the writing and comments very high, compared to other writing blogs I've followed. I've published a lot of non-fiction but would really like to try to break into the fiction market. This site helps because, to me, writing scripts seems to me to be just another format for writing stories, whether fiction or non-fiction. In my limited understanding of this writing medium, it is a format which implicitly emphasizes the viewers engagement in each scene as well as character dialog. Also, I like watching movies. I'd love to take one of the online classes but I have to get over my paypal phobia first. Maybe, as therapy, I could write a script about a guy who is paranoid about paypal, but tries it anyway, then *he* writes a screenplay about his paypal account being hacked, which he puts on the internet, then paypal sues him, and he writes a book about the lawsuit. Which is then made into a blockbuster movie. Screenplay adapted by Charlie Kaufman and Christopher Nolan:-) Sorry, I've had too much caffeine. Keep up the great work!

Hi Scott! I've been tweeting this site for about 2 years now. ;) Can you say, godsend? I come to this site because I know if Scott posted it, I better check it out. I live for your The Business of Screenwriting posts, Reader Questions, Spec Sales, Script to Screen Analysis, did I leave anything out? Script analyses are always enlightening, you have very astute commenters that always make me mouth the word, "Wow." For me, one of the best discoveries from your site is your Screenwriting Master Class(es). I can't say enough great things about them, two thumbs waaaay up! Happy birthday, GITS. And eat cake for me!

Ditto on the Happy Birthday. Can't remember how I found this site about six months ago, love the daily dialogue, interviews with writers and also the industry updates. Appreciate it and all of you who share very much.

I've been coming here since probably five minutes after you went live. I don't remember now how I found it initially, but I've read it daily ever since. I enjoy the segments On Writing; Dumb Little Writing Tricks that Work; The Business of Screenwriting; and any interviews with writers. During the course of the four years, I've written my first three screenplays and a multitude of television specs and short films. I also left the world of I-banking in Texas and moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. GITS helps me keep going on those days when I need a push or some creative juju. Thanks for all that you do. Also, thanks for the tip on Caffe Luxxe. Love it.

Hiya Scott, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I am a relative newcomer to GITS - around 6 months. I am also a developing writer and need to learn as much as I can about screenwriting. GITS is a community and I have gained so much from visiting your site daily. To have the resources to study writing at a university would be fantastic - that isn't possible for me - GITS is a brilliant learning tool, it also allows writers of all abilities and experience to connect. My favorite - Daily Dialogue - I am going to take part in the next film analysis. I love the TED talks. Thank you Scott - for all the time, work, effort and love you give to us the GITS community. Liz Swan

crackednut, I'm glad you found your way here. There are so many ways writing enriches our lives. Even if what we write doesn't sell, and I've had plenty of spec scripts that did not, we are the better for the experience of writing. Perhaps that ancient Chinese proverb sums it up best: "I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I write and I understand." Thanks for being a GITS reader!

sachin, thanks for those comments. The whole "daily routine" thing is part of my subliminal message. People ask how I have managed to post content here every day for 4 years - and so much of it - and to me, it's just an extension of what I do as a writer. Write. Every. Day. So hopefully the sheer persistence and constancy readers see on GITS will rub off on them in their own writing practices. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

David, thanks for your meta take on PayPal. I actually have come to... well... I can't say LOVE the outfit, but certainly appreciate it. Extremely user friendly and in the few times I've dealt with them on the phone, oddly human... odd in the sense like it's the way business-to-consumer relations SHOULD be, actual people, nice people, informed people on the other end. Re non-fiction to fiction: "Viewer engagement" is certainly key. I've heard it called "audience identification," that is a moviegoer or reader identifies with key narrative elements of the movie or script. So much of that boils down to characters which is where I start and end every conversation about the craft. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Traci, thanks for those kind words on all fronts. Actually in terms of script analysis, I intend to pick back up with more of that per a series I've done in the past called Screenwriting Lessons. I love to analyze movies, but my time is so limited. However I was inspired by The Hunger Games to compel me to dig into that story because it represents a kind of post-modern mythology that I find quite exciting. So look for more of that in the next few months. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

blknwite, thanks for your observations and your Daily Dialogue suggestions. Re interviews with writers: I've got several lined up, just have to finish going through their scripts in order to come up with meaningful questions for them. Much more soon. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Lisa, congratulations on all your progress on the creative front. And discovering Caffe Luxxe. Great place for a java hit and writing. I'll be dishing up a heap of creative juju come Wednesday. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Liz, thanks for your thoughts and observations. "Developing writer": I think that describes us all. One of the reasons I continue to do this blog is because it provides me with an endless amount of content from which I learn more about the craft. Also great to feel that same learning spirit in the GITS community. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Happy Birthday! I've been reading for about two years and commenting for the past year and half, I guess, but it seems longer... Go Into The Story is part of my daily routine, as well. Coffee, email, GITS. Pretty much every morning. I really like the Daily Dialogue, Script to Screen, and Scene Description Spotlight. I'm a sucker for details and figuring out the inner workings of things. For me, the Daily Dialogue is also about studying Scene Construction in addition to learning how to write good dialogue. How the dialogue ties into the overall theme of the movie, why the writer made certain choices such as the setting for the scene or how the plot points are disguised, what the purpose is of the dialogue and why the characters act a certain way- these are things that are endlessly fascinating to me and I love digging up examples and suggestions. Thank you, Scott, for all the work that you do. I've learned a tremendous amount from you and the GITS community.

Teddy, thanks for your comments and your consistently strong suggestions for the Daily Dialogue series. It's interesting how people take different things away from different GITS series. For me, DDT is primarily a great way to start the day, a nice jolt of excellent writing and characters communicating. I look forward to another whole year of Daily Dialogue, and as I say I appreciate your participation in that process. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Happy Belated Birthday GITS, Haven't been visiting the site that long, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna keep visiting it as long as you keep doing it. It's quit or die, for both of us. So please don't quit. If you die I'll try and understand, but I won't be happy about it. I like every feature of the site, and really ought to have contributed more to the Script Analysis section. You have my word that I shall. Thanks Scott - keep doing it.

I come here because even when I'm most disgusted with Hollywood and frustrated with my own work, this place seems to have a link or some item that interests me and gets me interested in film again. Also, I think you can to some extent judge sites on the quality of the comments, and I always read the comments here and get a lot out of them -- agree or disagree with what's being said, I can always count on a thoughtful discussion by people who care about what's being talked about. And that's pretty rare on the web! Keep up the good work Scott. One last thing -- this layout is a HUGE improvement over the older blogspot look. The other wasn't bad, but this just looks much fresher and more visually friendly.

Vic, that is a great line which I hope you use as dialogue in one of your stories: "If you die, I'll try and understand, but I won't be happy about it." Terrific! Thanks for being a GITS reader!

SimAlex2000, thanks for the comments. Also about the website. All thanks and praise goes to Dino who handles all things Black List technology-wise. Actually we [and by "we," I mean Dino] are working on a new feature which I think folks will find quite helpful. Hope to have that up and running within a week or so. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Happy Birthday! I've been following for almost 2 years now(?!),and have learned and gained so much on a daily basis. I sincerely appreciate what you give to writers with this site. How you find the time, I will never know. But if you can find the time to do all this, I can get my butt in the seat every day too. (even if it's late at night, which it usually is) My favorites: On writing, Business of Screenwriting, Spec Sales and Daily Dialogue. I noticed I get most jazzed about the DD series and I tried to pinpoint why...it's my thing. Dialogue. I love writing it. I love being that geeky girl who can quote any movie you throw at me. And you've helped me be that much geekier, so thanks. :) I did have a little suggestion for the script analysis! I always read the scripts but never seem to take the time to give any well-thought analysis. The Bark Bites Back, whoever that guy is, he should just join you as a regular in this series. He's good stuff. Anyways, suggestion-it would be extra cool if the scripts were high-digit spec sales. I'm sure some of them are, and I just don't know it. But since you have such a wonderful focus on specs on GITS, I think it would be a sweet bonus. Bottom line, thank you a million times over and consider me a lifelong fan.

Howdy Scott! I just figured it out - almost 2 years exactly. I used to read Billy Mernits blog until he went on a sabbatical in May 2010. It was a post on his site that recommended GITS. So I made the switch and haven't look back since. I check the site each day a few times - always hungry for new posts (aren't we all?) Why do I come here, you ask? Well, a few reasons, but the main one is simply to feel like part of the scriptwriting community although I am still currently an "outsider". Also - as I may have mentioned before - the site is a complete one-stop-shop. I don't have to read multiple websites/blogs on script writing because everything I'll eve need is right here. There have been many posts that I've found helpful, and generally in a dual way - both the technical information revealed in said post, and the spirit of the post - this is a way of doing this, and you know what? YOU CAN DO IT! And that's what I love about the site the most. Relevant information is constantly given with regards to the art of the craft, but it is also dispensed in such a way as to make us feel that we are all on this journey together, and that we can, if we persevere, make it together as well. Oh, my fav feature is the business of script writing. Love reading those bad boys.

Summer, thanks for your kind words. And great idea re TBBB. Perhaps I should reach out to TBBB and a handful of others who have been more actively involved in the GITS Script Reading & Analysis to create a team of commentators. Thanks! And thanks for being a GITS reader!

Thanks for the comments, Sean. The simple fact is you can do it. I am a walking, talking example of an outsider who succeeded. It just requires... Uh, where have we seen this before? Read scripts. Watch movies. Write pages. Blend in passion, persistence, and productivity, that can be a winning formula. Thanks for being a GITS reader!

Congratulations on the site turning 4! Though my memory's a little fuzzy on it, I think I've been coming here since 2009 I believe. I'd heard it mentioned elsewhere, checked it out, and the rest is history. There are a lot of useful "departments" on GITS, but in particular I enjoy "On Writing" and "How They Write a Script" (because it's nice to hear giants with the same complaints as non-giants, or to hear their advice), Script to Screen (because I'm fascinated by seeing something that may have worked on the page but doesn't when you actually act it out, and vice versa, and figuring out why), and the new TED talks. Script Analysis culminating in the tweet-and-watches are very informative too, and the Business articles are useful because amateur writers need to be prepared for that big day when someone wants to purchase and possibly produce their scripts. Sean put it in a great way when he said you provide information in a way that feels like it's being given by a friend who's been there, knows what we're going through and wants us to succeed. It's the nebulous, all-important Tone that we talk about so much with scripts! You've got a good "Tone," Scott. Then Jeff M. made a great point about how the blog is partly about telling Stories in general—the ebb and flow, fleshing out characters, climaxes—and how the elements of Story can be applied to screenwriting in particular. I come here to learn and renew my love of Story. I guess this is what happens when you're the 33rd post, everything's been said many times over, and it's hard to add anything different. In an effort to try, I'll make my closing comment in Japanese: GITS?????????????????????????? Thanks again for all you do! ~ Walt B., (aka "CJ" to Google)~ PS: Thanks to Google's Japanese translator