On The Page

Writer/ director Drew Feldman is also a financial planner who specializes in helping creatives. Hear what he has to say about smart budgeting, planning for a successful future and navigating the "whiplash" of variable income.

The "first five second rule" and "cliff hangers that force the swipe." Writer Isabel Dréan discusses her new book,  How to Write a Vertical Series in Ten Days .

Hanelle Culpepper's career as a director spans dozens of series and a variety of genres. Here, she talks about her character-driven approach to directing and how she often "falls in love" with the script. She also discusses her latest project, "Red White and Blue" a series of short films inspired by the Bill of Rights.

Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the industry changes and writing trends of 2025 and shares what's ahead for the new year.

Pilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn't make the top fifteen lists for the 2025 Logline Contest.

Pilar and Aadip read, evaluate and vote on feature and TV loglines sent in by listeners. Which ones will win and which ones will make the "bonkers" list?

Vilma Llaguno's dream of making her movie  40 Before 40  was accelerated when she won a Kickstarter initiative, placing her film on Tubi and forcing her to learn very quickly.

Actress/writer Corbin Reid shadowed directors and learned what went on behind the scenes of the shows she acted on, making her ready when the opportunity came for her to pitch and executive produce. Her movie  The Christmas Showdown premieres on the OWN Network this weekend. 

It's time for the very  last On the Page logline competition! Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.

Filmmaker/social scientist Dena Seidel talks about how her digital lab brings the story of scientists and scientific work to the public.

Filmmaker Landi Maduro walks us through the elements of her  Ultimate Feature Film Production Planner which give creatives a timeline to help stay on track and concrete strategies to make their work profitable.

Writer Brett Melnick ( King of the Hill, Dave ) walks us through the different jobs and duties of the "support staff" in a writers' room: writers' assistant, showrunner's assistant and script coordinator.

Writer/director Rhona Rees knows what she wants to say before she writes. Here she talks about her award-winning dystopian thriller and her newly completed high-concept comedy, both driven by big issues and a strong message.

Entertainment attorney Britton Payne talks about his work with  The Autism Scene , a nonprofit advocating for the inclusion of explicitly autistic characters in kids pop culture. Check out his new competition the  AuSPEC AWARDS , a kids animated series spec script competition which requires a series regular meaningfully interacting with an explicitly autistic character.

What happens when you're feeling discouraged in your writing career? You "persevere" and eventually carve out a career like writer-producer LaToya Morgan (Shameless, Parenthood, The Walking Dead, Duster). We read her fifteen-year-old letter to the podcast and talk about what happened next!

Writer Lori Rosene-Gambino does not back down from adding social commentary into her fictional narratives. Hear what she has to say about her movie  Anniversary , directed by Jan Komasa and starring Diane Lane.

Krista Knight discussed her work as a playwright, screenwriter, and new media artist, including scripting a ride for Tokyo Disneyland, adapting  Trolls for DreamWorks/Music Theatre International, writing a stage musical with the late Jill Sobule and creating a VR puppet play during the Covid lockdown.

Writers Jake Emanuel and Willie Block talk about the "epic intimacy" they created for their fictional podcast  Edge of Sleep which went on to become a book and television show.

Rae Benjamin ( The Witcher, Sirens of the Deep ) says she's "inspired by stories and characters" and isn't afraid to explore any medium to get there.

What happens when fire breaks out on the first day of your film shoot? Writer/director John W. Kim talks about that and other challenges that went into the writing, directing and producing of his independent film  Reunion (currently in post-production).

Filmmaker Michelle Muldoon joins Pilar to talk about all of the ways your storytelling and creativity can be applied to other creative work that, in turn, helps fuel your script writing.

Producer Lauren Vilchik talks about the love and hard work it took to make the movie  A Little Prayer , currently in theaters.

Writer and UCLA Professor Paul Chitlik talks about his newest book,  The Screenwriting Sensei , which takes screenwriters from start to finish.

As she did with her mother, Pilar learns about her father through a series of "loglines" discussing the movie-worthy moments in his life.

This week's writing wisdom is brought to you by the writer/producer of  Speed, Broken Arrow, From The Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, Sneaky Pete, Slow Horses, Silo and more!