Now this I'm definitely on board with. Genre is the writer's best friend - because it narrows down the million and one choices you have to make about the plot, characters, theme and tone of your movie to a manageable number of options. While still leaving you enough room to be original and groundbreaking, of course! And I don't want Producer Scott just to get a Twitter feed - I want a whole damn web series! :)

I must concur with Debbie. "Producer Scott" is a hell of a lot of fun to read. You've inspired me. When I stomp around the house and bark at the kids, I just tell them the next day, "Oh that wasn't me, that was 'Producer Dad.' Best keep clear of him!" :)

I can't believe it's not butter!!!

I think Producer Scott absolutely rocks...it's like the Hulk of screenwriting has arrived...

Yeah, but Producer Scott is a cheap SOB and can't afford caps lock like Hulk can.

Jeff, be careful Producer Scott doesn't come after you for copyright infringement.

Hi Scott, I'm really excited about The Quest. It would be a dream come true to participate. Reading through these posts has me thinking you may inspire a few logline, something like: A blog writer sets out on a quest and develops a cantankerous alternate personality! I think that has potential… Actually, I have a question. You might address this in the loglines post but since it’s also related to concept I figured I’d ask now. I have participated in some other contests that supplied loglines. (Cyberopen, Industry Insider) From that I’ve developed original story ideas. I’d like to submit some of these to The Quest. I would, of course, create new, totally awesome loglines that more accurately reflect my story. Is it ok to submit an original logline for an original story that was inspired by a logline from another contest?

Patrick, that concerns me. The last thing I want is a rights issue and if those contests could prove through what you uploaded to them the idea you worked on with me originated with them, then I'm pretty much in legal hell. When lawyers get involved, that's when Producer Scott starts throwing stuff around in his office. Not pretty. Come up with something original, that's your best bet.

I laughed at the idea of a father trying to get to the birth of his child when he has septuplets who can still be called "infants." Or just when he has septuplets, period. Question -- what would you call Nicholas Sparks-type chick flicks? Romantic drama? Is that a subgenre?

Producer Scott made me want popcorn.

Romantic drama. That works. All these categories are - at the end of the day - artificial because stories are organic. But when dealing with them on the business side of things, you have to be able to categorize them SOMEHOW. So genre, cross genre, sub-genre. Sparks is so ubiquitous at this point, studio execs will doubtless refer to those type of projects as "you know, a Nicholas Sparks kinda thing" as shorthand.

I'm also fairly certain I haven't seen anything of the sort in the spec script sales you have reported since I started reading GITS several months ago. Is this because fewer such specs exist, or because studios are more likely to tap existing talent than to buy a spec in order to have these chick flicks on the menu?

We were typing at the same time -- please see my quick question below this.

Dear Producer Scott, I've been honing my motherfucking concepts and tightening my motherfucking loglines. Just wanted you to know. Regardless of whether I get chosen or not, this little exercise has already made me a better writer. Fuckin'-a.

There are no rules on this. The studios are well aware of the fact that 52% of the world's population is women. They also know that women can influence the movies men -- particularly their mates -- attend. So romantic dramas are something they will always develop as they figure a certain percentage of women will be drawn to that type of story. My guess is many if not most of the projects in development in that sub-genre are based on novels a la Nicholas Sparks. There the buyers have a bonus because if the book is popular, the studio has a built-in audience. In Hollywood, this is called 'pre-awareness.' But if you write a killer romantic drama spec script, and it's got a great story concept, there's a good chance they'll buy it. Again there are no rules other than this truism: "If you write a great script, it will sell."

A note from Producer Scott to Nick: "Just hit me up with a great story, okay? My prostate is killing me because I ran out of Flomax and I need some goddammed good news. So stop talking AT me and start working FOR me, awright?"

Hi Scott, a question about the teleconferences. Can you tell more about how they work? I wonder about possible time-zone differences. Just in case, you know. Apologies if that's been mentioned already. I've tried to catch up on posts and comments but could have missed it. Thank you!

Dear Producer Scott, Thank you for sharing your prostate with us.

Anne, we use Skype because I can record the sessions and make them available for review. This is important especially when we are in Prep and Pages because oftentimes, the ideas we come up with when critiquing story elements or script pages are terrific, and this way they don't get lost in the ether, the writer can always go back and check the 'tape' to transcribe those notes. Also the recordings are important because sometimes writers aren't able to make a session. Now specifically re the schedule for teleconferences: I have been teaching screenwriting online since 2002 and using live teleconferences or live text-based chat sessions the entire time. I have worked with writers from England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, Switzerland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Mexico, all over the United States, and even a U.S. soldier during the war in Iraq. [I'm probably forgetting a few countries, too]. Somehow we always figure out a teleconference schedule that works for everyone.

Note from Producer Scott: "That's a pisser."

Thanks very much. I've been wondering for a while about the lack of my chosen genre in the sales. Can't wait for the big database/list.

Hi Scott! I was just wondering if there's a limit to how many loglines each writer may submit. I'm assuming it would be extremely tedious for you if every writer sent upwards of five. And, of course, thank you for this opportunity!

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Scott!

[...] * Email address: GITSblog at gmail dot com. * In the subject heading, type “QUEST”. * Present your story as a logline. If you need guidance on what a logline is or how to write a logline, go here. * If you have a title for your project, please include it. * If the genre of your story is not clearly indicated in the logline, please note that in your email. If you need guidance about genres, go here. [...]