If you’ve heard this maxim once, you’ve heard it a hundred times – the first 10-15 pages of your script need to be killer. You will be judged by these first and foremost, so better make them good. Unfortunately, in recent years, many authors (big name pros and just-beginners) think this means that you need something to happen in that first act that literally makes the reader jump out of his/her/their skin from shock and awe. So, we get more and more opening pages with rapes, murders, incredible violence, suicide – anything to guarantee your bored, overworked 1st line reader
Andrew became involved in this project over ten years ago and it has gone through many script interations with no one satisfied. So, Andy stepped up to the plate to craft a new version. Join us on May 2nd to review his feature A Coach's Stand, chronicling a truly heroic tale. Logline: After a toxic exposure, leading to ALS, leaves him increasingly paralyzed, a college football coach confronts his toughest opponent ever in a fight for his life and career. Genre: Biopic, Drama Project: Feature film About the Author: Andrew Lemelman has been an attorney in Boston for over
Author Andrea Squires has had an obsession with Louisa May Alcott since the age of 8 and she first penned a script on her life back in the 1980s. To read Andrea's unique take on this beloved writer, join us for a review of Louisa's War. Genre: Biopic, Historical Drama Type: Feature Film Audience: Young adults–Seniors (history and costume-drama lovers, PBS lovers.) Logline: Determined to write a great novel but lacking life experience, Louisa May embarks on a singular journey of self- discovery by volunteering as a nurse in one of the bloodiest hospitals in the Civil War. There she
We close out the semester with a review of new author Casey Lynch's outline and the first two acts of her feature, Disordered. This is Casey's first script so we hope you'll come out to support her. It's been one heck of a semester in which, despite the trials of an ongoing pandemic, we have persevered. A strong coterie of members have attended regularly, helping to support one another through these challenging times and we thank all of you who have showed up to share your work and review the work of others. Your participation has been very much appreciated.
We start the new semester with a brand new script from longtime member Bob Tremblay, his first dramic feature project ever. So we hope you'll join us virtually on 9/12. Logline: When a struggling musician falls in love with a supremely gifted violinist, her troubled past imperils their relationship. Type of Project: Feature Genre: Drama About the Author: Bob has written more than 20 screenplays in multiple genres, including co-writing the script for The 6th Amendment, an award-winning short film available on Amazon Prime. He has also been a CineStory finalist for his black comedy Jack the Messiah, a Stage
Don't miss our next review of a brand new television pilot by Geoff Wilson called THE VISTAS. We hope you'll join us virtually on 9/19. Logline: Led by a disgraced former FBI agent, an unlikely group of retirees try to flip the script on a cunning scammer. Type of Project: Television Pilot Genre: Buddy caper, limited series, streamer About the Author: Geoff is an aspiring screenwriter and the treasurer of the Harvard Square Script Writer's board. He compares THE VISTAS to a combination of Only Murders in the Building and Sideways. SO SAVE THE DATE AND SIGN UP: simply pay
Join us virtually for Bill Holland's television pilot, CITY OF MASKS. Don't miss this exciting discussion of his thriller series. We hope you'll join us 10/3. Logline: A female investigator of paranormal phenomena goes to New Orleans to unearth--against fierce family opposition--the truth that will banish a ghost imperiling her client’s sanity and possibly her life. Equally daunting, however, is the challenge of freeing herself from the "ghost" of her dead husband. Type of Project: TV series pilot Genre: Psychological thriller/horror About the Author: Bill Holland started writing screenplays back in 1978, and life has never been quite the same.
Don't miss our next review of Daniel Schwartz's dramatic feature called COTTON FEVER. We hope you'll join us virtually on 10/17. Logline: A mosaic of interrelated characters struggle with addiction and love on the streets of Boston during the height of the fentanyl epidemic. Type of Project: Feature Script About the Author: Daniel Schwartz is a Boston-based filmmaker whose short films have played in festivals throughout the United States and Europe. Many of his films center around themes of class, social isolation, and addiction. SO SAVE THE DATE AND SIGN UP: Simply pay $10 via Zelle using the link moderator@hsswriters.com.
Don't miss our next meeting when we review Joel Karlinsky's feature script DITTO. We hope you can join us virtually on Monday, Nov 7th. Logline: In a climate challenged world, an alcoholic cooling expert must choose to save the woman he loves or the world’s backup seed bank from a dangerous mutant plant. Project Type: Feature Script About the Author: Joel is a graduate of MIT, Tufts Medical School and the BU School of Management and now a retired Professor of Medicine at BU. He’s been a member of the Harvard Square Script Writers for over fifteen years. Joel has
We hope you can join us virtually on Monday, November 14th when we meet to discuss Casey Lynch's short script, I'M GOOD. Don't miss this exciting review! Logline: When Charli (they/them) meets their long-term partner's new partner, their anxiety threatens to implode the non-monogamous arrangement. About the Author: Casey Lynch (she/they) is a current graduate student at Babson College. Her short fiction is forthcoming in NUNUM and Grand Dame. SO SAVE THE DATE AND SIGN UP: Simply pay $10 via Zelle using the link moderator@hsswriters.com. Indicate 11/14/22 review and include your email if you are new to HSSW. Or sign
Don't miss our next virtual script review of Allan Nadel's feature, THE OLYMPIANS. We hope you can join us on Monday, November 21st. Logline: Two women with nothing in common join forces to break up a sex trafficking ring. Project Type: Feature Script About the Author: Allan does obstetrical ultrasound for a living. This is his third screenplay about his protagonist, Roxanne. SO SAVE THE DATE AND SIGN UP: Simply pay $10 via Zelle using the link moderator@hsswriters.com. Indicate 11/21/22 review and include your email if you are new to HSSW. Or sign up right here, using PayPal/Your Credit
We start off December with a rewrite from Bill Holland of TWO ROADS TO RIVA. We hope you can join us virtually on Monday, December 5th for this exciting review! Logline: In the waning months of World War II, two ski troopers – one an American seeking redemption for having accidentally killed his fraternal twin, the other a secretly anti-Nazi Austrian determined to bring his boyish recruits safely home – are propelled into a tragic confrontation atop a mountain in northern Italy. Project Type: Historical About the Author: Bill Holland started writing screenplays back in 1978, and life has never
