We are gearing up to celebrate our 10th anniversary here at Glass City Screenwriters! October 17th on our normal meetup Saturday, we will meet at Film Toledo’s office downtown at 1pm. Flyer below. Everyone is welcome but space is limited. Please Rsvp by replying to this email: glasscityscreenwriters@gmail.com to let us know you are coming!
After some home projects have taken me away from my writing, I plan to dive in and finish the first draft of another feature soon. Cooler weather is coming and brewing a pot of coffee in the morning is great motivation. What are you working on this fall?
Don’t forget to join us to see the film we created at the Tree City Film Festival on Halloween this year! You can see all the 50 hour films October 31st. Tickets available at Sylvaniaarts.org Come support local filmmakers and dress up for the costume contest.
Over the past 10 years since I started this group, I have made so many creative friends. The motivation to keep writing under challenging personal and business related obstacles is the result of having a group like Glass City Screenwriters where people come together to help each other.
If you are new, or have ever been a part of this group, please join in our celebration 🍾 😊 on October 17th at 1pm at Film Toledo. Rsvp at glasscityscreenwriters@gmail.com
** Rush Call
This Saturday is our September meetup at the Oregon Library and we need actors for the Maumee Film Festival Table Read! We are in need of a few more male actors for the read. Please show up at 12:30 as we will be assigning roles at this time. The festival read will take place the following Sunday 12:30, call time at the Maumee Indoor Theater.
Here is why the month has been busy. As soon as I came back from the GenreBlast film fest in Virginia, I unpacked and got ready to dive into the 50 hour film challenge in Sylvania. It was my very first time doing some of the camera work and editing. Not perfect, but that’s the point! As usual I put a feature sized idea into a short. With the help of fellow Glass City Screenwriters Tre Simms in LA, and Beth Vaughn on her first film. We had Timothy Henkle on camera and sound and two actors Olivia Petoney and Davion Cameron.
You can see all the films at the Tree City Film Festival October 31st. Details at Sylvaniaarts.org
Again, don’t forget this weekend is our September meetup at 12:30 at Oregon Library .
Looking ahead, October 17th will be the 10th Anniversary party at FilmToledo offices.
And November we will bring back the Coffee Shop meetup.
Challenge yourself to do more writing. Come roll the dice and play our one to three page screenwriting challenge this month. Good practice to get your creativity going! We will also talk about upcoming festivals and theTree City 50 hour film competition.
We are finally going to do it, but we need some help! The weekend of September 11th is the Tree City (Sylvania) 50 hour film challenge. This year sounds extra fun because the fest happens on Halloween (October 31st). That’s when you get to watch the films and party together. If you are or know of any talented crew, we will need to add to our team.
***SAVE THE DATE
The 10 year Anniversary of the Glass City Screenwriters will be celebrated at the new Film Toledo offices in downtown Toledo on Saturday October 17th (our normal 3rd Saturday meetup day) At 1:00 pm. More news to follow, but save that date!
Can you believe it’s been 10 years? Virginia started this group to gather creatives in the area and share her love of the screenwriting craft. Through many changes over the years, Glass City Screenwriters has maintained a community who gathers and supports each other in the long and challenging pursuit of a writing or creative career.
Thank you to the many members of this group who show up, participate, and help one another with a generous spirit. That is why we are here, for each other! Writing is a lonely pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be.
Saturday August 15th at 12:30 pm at the Oregon Branch Library 3340 Dustin Road.
We celebrated the 250th with fireworks and a heatwave here in Toledo. Hope you are keeping cool and thinking about your writing projects!
The Horror Hotel Film Festival was a fun time as always. The connections we make at festivals can develop into friendships that fuel our creativity and careers. Don’t miss out on any Festival within your means to attend. Hang out and share stories and battle scars from living a creative life.
Our July meetup is Saturday July 18th 12:30 at the Oregon Library. We are reviewing the submissions for the Maumee Film Festival Table read, thank you to everyone who shared their work with us!
A while back we did a one page challenge. Create a super short concept into a one page script . Limit cast to one to three characters and simple location, that can easily be filmed. This is an excellent way to play around with your writing.
Toledo Talent is always looking for easy to film short scripts for their actors to break down and perform. At the meetup we will show the one page example Film created with Toledo Talent and Glass City Screenwriters.
This Saturday is another webinar from Lee Jessup. She gives excellent advice for career minded screenwriters. Building Your Screenwriting Career: Selling Your Screenplay
Keep thinking about your stories, keep pushing the needle forward on your projects. Even a little progress will get you closer. Come to the next meetup and get motivated with us!
I was about to hit publish on this month’s blog when I heard what happened in the Old West End. I wasn’t able to attend the festival this year. I’m devastated for the whole community and pray for those who were affected by what happened. The story is too fresh to comment so I will not detail it here. But keep in mind the actions of a few do not reflect the majority in a city or a community. It seems like most people in our area have some type of connection to the Old West End, I will briefly tell you mine.
As a young college student, many creative people I knew lived in these big old houses with big porches which were the best places to hang out in the summer. It was called The Old West End, one of the largest collections of Victorian historic homes in the country. It was always fascinating to me, so a few years ago I wrote a short screenplay set in the neighborhood. I convinced some talented friends to create the film with me and we had amazing support from members of the Old West End community. We even screened the film during the annual festival in 2023. That same year I was also hired to research and write development material and a short narrative script for a documentary about a prominent member of the Old West End community. Needless to say I was immersed and obsessed with the culture, the people, and every aspect of this dynamic and resourceful community. I’m just really sad about this.
Now for your regularly scheduled screenwriting blog for June. Thanks for listening!
Summer has arrived in NW Ohio. Pools are open, gardens are growing, and writers get distracted. I see you out there enjoying the weather and getting that yard work done. I include myself in this distraction too. We have to get our vitamin D while it lasts and experience the joy of a life well lived, in order to write.
Look for ways to keep yourself on track with your writing. Sign up for a webinar, set up calendar reminders or read a good screenplay!
We are inviting anyone who is able to join us at the International Horror Hotel Film Festival in Cleveland, Ohio the weekend of June 20th. Come for a day or the whole weekend, this will be in lieu of our June meetup. Information at this LINK.
Final call for our annual tableread at the Maumee Film Festival. If you have a pilot or short film script to submit, please send it to glasscityscreenwriters@gmail.com by July 1st. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear your script performed by local actors at the festival in September!
We will have a regular monthly meetup in July and we are still planning the 10 year celebration, details to come!
Stay inspired to keep working on your writing ❤️ See you soon!
May your writing be prolific like the flowers after April showers.
Happy May everyone!
We had an inspiring meetup in April with a fun table read and discussion. Let’s keep the momentum going this month as we open submissions for the Maumee Film Festival table read.
We are seeking a pilot or short film script (properly formatted) up to 30 pages. Any genre, we will prioritize active members of the group for this opportunity. PDF can be emailed to glasscityscreenwriters@gmail.com If you have any questions feel free to email them.
The festival is in September so we will end submissions at the end of June with a decision to be made in July. Happy writing.
The next meet-up is Saturday May16th at the Oregon Library at 12:30. If you have any questions about the festival table read or other screenwriting questions join us! With all the distractions in our non-writing life, how do you stay focused and get things done? Let’s talk about strategies to keep working toward that next draft or new project.
Do you love horror? Looking ahead to June, instead of our regular meeting we invite everyone to join us at the International Horror Hotel Film Festival in Cleveland. Ohio. Here is a LINK
It’s a great place to watch films and network with other writers and filmmakers, and the drive is less than 2 hours. We will be there Saturday and Sunday June 20-21st. Tickets are very reasonable at 25 for Saturday and 35 for Sat/Sun.
Also in June watch for the FilmToledo open house! They have been working hard to create a space downtown that will be a creative hub for film in Toledo. Show them support if you can in the form of a donation. Later this summer we will have our 10 year Glass City Screenwriters celebration in partnership with them. So many positive things going on in Toledo!
So we all know that writing can be a solitary venture. Most writerly people I know, including myself, are very comfortable in that space, maybe to an extreme. Our meetups are a friendly place to keep pushing yourself to talk about your screenwriting, and to talk about yourself. I know that can be a scary thing to do. I struggle with it myself and have to really push to do some of the things people do without much thought.
Screenwriting involves a lot of interaction to move the needle on your career. You have to explain who you are (Writers Bio) and get people excited about your idea or script (Pitching). These are both skills to develop to be able to market yourself and have a screenwriting career.
This month we will look at examples of bios and pitches to get an idea of how to improve. Please bring your own bios and pitches to share with the group and get feedback. We are a very supportive group. And trust me, I find it awkward to talk about myself too!
This month we also have a table read! One of our screenwriters will bring a short script for the group to read and give general feedback. There are only four roles so we should have plenty of people and time during our normal meetup to do this for them. So excited for this writer to hear their work!
April’s meetup is Saturday April 18th 12:30pm at the Oregon library on Dustin road. I’m excited to hear what you all have been up to and what you have planned for your writing and filmmaking this coming summer!
So if you haven’t heard, the Jupmode Here for Good T-shirt sale started this week. If you are a screenwriter, or just want to support our group that works with local writers and filmmakers, you can buy a shirt. The modest amount we make will be used locally for our meetups and maybe a cake for our 10th Anniversary year (News on that later). While you are on the site check out the other cool shirts from local artists and nonprofits. The FilmToledo one is so cool, check it out. You’ve only got until March 22nd to order so don’t miss out!
On to screenwriting. What do you do to keep yourself motivated in this distracting world? I have to turn everything off and lock myself in my office. Lately the WGF (Writers Guild Foundation) library has been hosting online work sessions. This has helped me refocus on my new script development. Basically it’s a zoom call where you can ask questions in the chat but everyone is there to just work quietly.
What do you think about Glass City Screenwriters doing this on a weekly basis? At the next meetup we will talk about it and set the times and “rules”. Think of it as an accountability group. Like office hours to work on stuff and ask questions of the group.
The next meetup is March 21st 12:30 pm at the Oregon Branch Library. We are back in our normal Meeting room near the entrance, see you soon!
Momentum
Life has so many twists and turns, redirection, delays, explosions. Maybe not actual explosions, but you feel the boom!
What may feel like a setback should never totally derail your plans to move in the direction of your dreams. Forward Momentum Always!
This month our meetup is Saturday February 21st 12:30pm at Oregon Library. We are in the smaller interior room this time. Come share and get feedback on your work in progress or general questions, you know we love to bring positivity and motivation, we’re in this together!
The Jupmode Here for Good program will be kicking off in March. This is the chance to support your local businesses and nonprofit organizations (especially the art related ones) simply by buying a really cool Jupmode t-shirt. It’s only a short window for purchase so we will share it multiple times on social media. We have a new design this year and we can’t wait to reveal it soon!
2026 is already off to a busy start! So much so, this weekend is our meetup already. Saturday January 17th at 12:30 we meet at the Oregon branch Library. Everyone is welcome as we hit the ground running with our writing goals for the year.
There is no guilt or shame in this group, only encouragement as we cheer each other on to greater learning and accomplishment. Everyone has different levels of experience and time commitment ability. We share our experience and feedback as we stretch to new heights in our writing.
Think of our monthly meetings and Zoom check in’s as reminders to keep working toward those goals as a screenwriter. Exciting things to come this year!
This month I’m sharing the Scriptapalooza competition. This one has been around a long time, check it out!