Event Location:
700 E 45th St , Long Beach, CA
Event Times:
Starting time: 4pm
Ending time: 9pm
Join the Event:
About the Event:
What a fantastic way to top off your Thursday!
Great stories, food, coffee, people and fun!
Hi, I’m Eric von Mizener and I’m an organizer of the Coffee House Writers Group. Our Script Writers Group on Thursday evenings is from 4:00pm to 9:00pm. 4-5 is for socializing and getting settled in. (It’s good to meet with your tribe and know you are not alone in this lonely craft.) From 5-9 will read and critique.
This group is different in that we are dedicated to screenplays, teleplays, stageplays, radioplays, animated, gaming and all scripted works. So you will be working with people who face the same unique challenges of the form. (We do poetry and prose at our Wednesday Meetups.) Also, everyone is welcome. It doesn’t matter where you are in your career now, we’re all working towards the same goal. We will have a sign-in sheet if you would like to share your script. We read in the order of the sign in sheet, so it’s first-come, first-to-read. After pages are read, we go around the room for critiques and feedback. If we do not have time for everybody’s pages, those we missed will be at the top of the list for the following meeting.
As we are following the Coffee House Writers Group format, all works will be read aloud. If you have enough ink and paper, feel free to ask people to read various roles.
As far as rules go, there are only a few.
• There is NO official time limit on reading, but we ask that anyone who brings pages to be considerate and respectful of how many people are present and would like feedback. So if there are more members attending, you might want to read a shorter time than when there are fewer. Everyone is encouraged to read and join in. (As a practical matter, 20 pages/minutes seems to work as a maximum for the best feedback. We will, on occasion, read a full-length work when the macro view is necessary. Check with me and we’ll work it out.)
• You may share pages and ask others to read roles, or you may read aloud yourself. My experience is that I receive the best feedback when using industry-standard formatting and asking others to read. But your mileage may vary. • Please take criticism only as it works for you. If someone’s critique makes sense to you, take it and use it, if it doesn’t, you can leave it at the table and that’s just fine too. There is no need to defend your work. We are all here to help and support each other, so it isn’t a question of “right vs. wrong.” Everyone has their own opinions and you’ll find some helpful to you.
• When giving feedback, please try to avoid using the word “boring” because it doesn’t really help the writer in finding out how to improve their work. So please be constructive. This group is a safe place for writers. (If you want to rip people apart, this is not the place.)
• We are open to all manner of work. But please remember that we are in a public space and there may be children nearby. So if your language or content is particularly strong, it may be best to bring copies and ask people to read those scenes quietly.
• Lastly, and most importantly. Please be aware that we all need to purchase something to eat to support our venue. They are kind enough to have us, we want to return the favor. I hope to see you all and hear your work!
Eric von Mizener – CHWG Vice President