Bronson West

Lover of horror. He/Him. Screenwriter. Yeah.

[Scott Myers @GoIntoTheStory]

Here it is! The "Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025" eBook. And it's free! Let me know what you think! https://t.co/tNYUhUasyO #screenwriting

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

@BrooksElms Yeah, I’d say it probably hovers around 100 for me, as well.

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

I'm incredibly proud to say my most recent horror screenplay, Assignment, has earned a "Double Recommend" from @Stage32 / @Stage32Scripts.

It'll be featured in the next edition of their "The Best of Stage 32" lookbook.

I'm so excited to see what's next for this script!

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

@BrooksElms I guess that's reaction-dependent. If there's something they'd want from the read that they aren't getting, I can see if I can find some agreement. Other than that, I might be inclined to set it aside, work on the next script, and keep writing.

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

@BrooksElms Ahhh, gotcha. For where I am right now, getting reads and seeing if those reads create relationships.

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

@BrooksElms I'm always tracking causality and making sure the scene I'm writing forces the next. I let the characters lead the way, but I'm always trying to stay on course and keep structure on my mind. If I read it after and can see the shape of it, that's success. Writing is rewriting.

[Joe Russo @joerussotweets]

Losing Hayden Panettiere at such a tragically young age makes me want to SCREAM.

A firecracker of a talent, she burned hot, bright and not for nearly long enough.

[Cheo Hodari Coker @cheo_coker]

Great article. And it comes down to this line:
“The audience has no idea how great a writer you have to be just to get the opportunity to write a bad movie.”

[John Zaozirny @johnzaozirny]

"Why isn't this exactly the movie I would have made!??" is a pretty boring way to engage with art, imo.

[Jamie Blanks @BlanksJamie]

Jamie Blanks, 29/11/1971 – 16/03/2026
FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT
https://t.co/7QNUHcHUmj

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

If you do this thing, "they will know you're an amateur" seems to be the scary threat of so much bad screenwriting advice.

But trust me, the reader knows where they got the script they're reading.

They know whether an agent sent it to them, whether they requested it from a logline, or whether a colleague slipped it to them because they loved it.

They already know if you're a professional or not.

They don't care. They just want a good script.

Earn the reader's trust through specific choices, emotional truth, and all-around good storytelling.

Do that with confidence, and I guarantee you, they will be willing to work with everything else.

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

I don't doubt AI can probably match the average low-level reader right now. All I want from them is a synopsis.

It will never match a skilled reader. It will certainly never match a person truly gifted in story development.

So why not replace the low-level reader with AI right now?

Because that's how those other, more skilled people learned their skill. By first being low-level readers. That was how they trained.

We will have a debilitating knowledge gap within a generation, with few people knowing how to help develop stories.

It's incredibly short-sighted to turn the industry over to models with a primary skill of knowing what words usually go next to each other.

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a screenwriter, it’s this:

Don’t let notes dictate your voice. Use them for the information given, even if they try to inject their own take.

Your voice as a writer is the most unique aspect of your writing. Use it.

[PUPPET COMBO 🎃 @PuppetCombo]

Official poster for the first PUPPET COMBO MOVIE

NIGHT SHIFT

Shot on 16mm, and set in the 1980s, the story follows a serial killer targeting late night gas station clerks.

Get tickets in my replies

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

Populating your screenplay with supporting characters can be intimidating for anyone.

I was hit and miss most of my screenwriting career, focusing on too many random things.

I finally found consistency when I learned to ask the right questions.

This is how I do it now. 🧵👇

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

Finally going to see Weapons this weekend.

Just have to avoid spoilers until then - that’s the hard part.

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

The three cardinal sins of the outline phase for your screenwriting:

1. Impatience (I just want to write.)
2. Laziness (It's easier to write it.)
3. Indecisiveness (I can't make a decision.)

Often, we tell ourselves we're not good at something because it creates discomfort.

We're not used to it, so something must be wrong. We go back to what is comfortable.

But once you get comfortable with outlining, it will feel as natural as writing the scene.

But you have to cross the chasm. Do the work. It will make everything else easier.

You can’t tell a story if you don’t know what story you’re telling.

[Bronson West @SlackerBronson]

Just finished the outline for my next script.

Such a good feeling.

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

Stories have themes. Themes do not have the stories.

Find the story first, and it will tell you its theme. It will scream it from the rooftop.

But if you start with theme and try to cram a story into it, you're going to make your screenwriting substantially more challenging.