I could not be more thrilled to have HBO Max & Deadline reveal this news. 2022 winner Matt Thomas’ pilot Debbie is on its way to the small screen, packaged by Finish Line. Huge Congrats to Matt. We’re all very excited. Enter the right competition, you just might get a tv show made.

PLEASE RT! If you were given a discount a few months ago because you placed in another competition, there are about 2.5 weeks left in this season's Finish Line Comp, so please enter. If you have placed in a comp this year and want a discount to enter Finish Line, please let us know! AFF, Shore, Page, etc...As always, we are looking for great pilots, screenplays & short film scripts!

I've been reading many pilots lately that need a lot of work structurally. Remember, this is one of what you hope will be 5+ years of a series. Pacing and structure can be different for different genres but in general you don't want to give away too much in the first episode. In fact, withholding information can be the engine of the show. A strong pilot sets up the central puzzle regardless of genre, plants a few fair clues, develops main characters in action and ends on a turn that makes viewers want episode two.

Getting closer to the end of this year’s Finish Line Script Competition. Latecomer Submissions open! finishlinescriptcomp.com

You have to block out the noise. You have to invest in yourself. You have to do your research. You cannot believe any hype. Verify. Focus on yourself and creating an undeniable piece of material. The only way to make it is to get your script read by as many people as possible.

"Be yourself. Find your style, your way; find the border and cross it, or else you'll be lost, or even worse, boring. Don't forget what you really want to say. There is no recipe. The recipe is you". Bela Tarr

One of our 2023 winner's script had been optioned by a major prod co., with the head of company set to show run. The champion of the project left the company recently. Is that the end of this project from almost 4 years ago? Nope, we're now out to two new showrunners. A lot of the top competitions out there only hang around for a few months or a year to see what they can do to help their writers. We're in it for the long haul. Great material doesn't have a shelf life.

Some Industry Pros include: Echo Lake Ent. Netflix CAA NBC Universal Shondaland Heroes & Villains Gersh Imagine Ent. Temple Hill HBO Artists First and many, many more.... LATECOMER SUBMISSIONS OPEN NOW finishlinescriptcomp.com

Some of the best words are possibilities, opportunities and curiosity. If you are curious, you create opportunities and then if you open the doors, you create possibilities. Some doors are big, some are small. They all count.

If the story you’re telling is the story you’re telling, you’re in deep shit. Robert McKee

This was on a friend's Instagram & I saw it at just the right time yesterday: Every time you replace "This is overwhelming" with "What's the first step?", you shift your brain activity from the amygdala (fear) to the prefrontal cortex (problem solving). Took me from anxiety to a productive afternoon in about 20 minutes.

There’s a difference between avoiding the grind and genuinely not being mentally prepared to write. Sometimes your head simply isn’t in the right place. If that’s the case, don’t write. That’s okay. There are some days I'm in a bad place and know I shouldn't make that important call or do script notes because I'm just negative or need a break. It will be there waiting for you tomorrow.

Author unknown. Great advice.

I saw a movie this weekend, not yet in theaters in the USA, that's a big swing. It works and is making great $$ in its home country. But if it didn't I'd still appreciate it because taking risks and thinking outside the box come from deep passion by writers & filmmakers. Think big.

Open for Latecomer Submissions! $10,000 grand prize 6+ pages of actionable script notes. Free resubmissions 54+ industry Mentors will read & meet our writers One on One Mentorship This is Finish Line