So you started a screenwriting group through Notes Community. (Or outside of it? I don’t judge.)

People have clicked on your group name. 

They’ve read your group description. 

My god, they’re joining. 

Now they’re going to actually expect to be in a screenwriters group.

What to do??

Chill! Because this is the fun part.

Choosing Your Screenwriting Group Format

The Notes Community app is a place for screenwriters to gather and find one another. And congrats! If you’re reading this post, friend, you are likely a leader. That means people have found your group and want to start meeting up. 

Now you’re probably wondering how to go about actually setting up those meetings and running the group in a successful way. 

First, get over that. Success means whatever you and your group deem it to mean. Meet twice a year to exchange finished scripts? Fine. Get together at 5am every morning for a writing sprint? Also fine. (If you’re into that sort of thing.)

Truly, you can meet up however you want. But if you’d rather write than invent some new and novel way to administer a screenwriters group, here are some things I learned after interviewing 20+ screenwriting group members.

Sample Screenwriting Group Formats

Quick note: I guess it’s important to say here that the original groups formed via Ye-Olde-Spreadsheet-That-Is-Now-Notes-Community were for screenwriters to read and critique one another’s work. If you want to start a different kind of group-for-screenwriters with the app, that’s fine, but this article might not be super duper helpful for you.

When I asked screenwriters to describe their group formats, two main types of groups started to shake out:

“Script-a-Week” Group

In this type of screenwriters group, members meet once per week and discuss one person’s script. (Or treatment, pitch deck, outline, whatever.)  If you’re on deck, you generally turn in material a week in advance of your turn so everyone has ample time to read it.

These types of groups seem to meet more often, but for a shorter period of time. 

Example: My own screenwriting group is four writers who discuss one writer’s material every week, so that means we read one script a week and we each get critiqued once per month. The hour-long meetings are also short enough to fit into a workday.

Pros: 

• Each member gets the benefit of the group diving in-depth into their material for an entire meeting
• Group members can focus on one script per week rather than fragment their reading/note-giving attention

Cons: 

• Your material isn’t read as often as with the As You Write It group style, which can also steal momentum if you’re the type of writer who needs deadlines and accountability 

“As You Write It” Group

In this type of screenwriters group, members meet at a set interval (weekly, biweekly, monthly) and everybody who has something they want the group to read sends their material to the group in advance. 

In this type of group people are often sharing portions of material (scenes, acts) rather than the entire script. 

Also because you’re discussing multiple people’s writing, these types of meetings may last longer than Script a Week meetings. 

This type of group also allows you to get portions of your work read faster than in the Script a Week format.

To keep things running smoothly, you may want to do a couple of things: 

• Cap the amount of material per writer so the group isn’t reading 500 pages before every session. 
• Meet less often. Give people two weeks or a month to read material. (Keep in mind though that drafts often change over a month, though.)

Pros: 

• Each member’s material gets read and critiqued more often (up to every single session)
• Members gain writing momentum knowing they are on the hook to share material every session

Cons: 

• Readers will read more fragments than finished scripts, which can be more difficult to critique
• Writers will owe material more often, which could become unwieldy 

“Werewolf” Group

Or if you’re no fun I guess you could just call this a “hybrid” of the two other group formats.  

Maybe instead of discussing one person’s work every week for an hour, you discuss two people’s work every week for two hours. Or two people’s work every two weeks. Or three people turn in a page limit (10 pages) every week. Or half the group provides material for a meeting while the other half of the group critiques. 

In this type of group, the pros and cons are what you make of them. 

Summing All That Up

I get that twenty people isn’t the largest sample size in the world, so if you’ve found another format for your screenwriting group, please do tell! I’ll add it to this post and give you credit for your marvelous invention. 

Choose How Your Screenwriting Group Meets

Notes Community started in a pandemic. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. 

Because of that, the most common way folks in my little sample met was on video via:

• Zoom – paid if you meet longer than 40 minutes
• Google Meet – free with Google account but lower quality than Zoom 
• Discord – allows video calls up to 10 people
• Slack – paid plans allow group video calls

Some groups also reported keeping up with one another between meetings on a group chat or with a Slack or Discord server. 

My own group sometimes emailed one another or did 1-on-1 meetings when we ran into sticky story problems. 

I also assume that some writers groups will go back to those fabled “in person” meetings once Covid is under control. And for that reason, I’m hoping to add some fun “Find a Group by Location” features to Notes Community in the not-so-distant future.

Keeping Your Screenwriting Group Running Smoothly

Some more things to think about when you’re getting your screenwriting group started:

Limit the Number of Group Members

Sure you can let 9,000 people into your screenwriting group, but will you ever get any of your writing read? I ran the aggregate data on Ye Olde Notes Community Spreadsheet and by far the preferred number of members for a screenwriting group was 4-6. 

Set Rules and Boundaries

Seriously. People are just like (uglier and meaner) dogs. We want to know what the rules are for a particular situation and we thrive when we know what’s expected of us. Do not be afraid to lay down the law from jump. In fact, I encourage it. 

Some sample rules you can mix and match:

1. Give notes/get notes. You’ll be getting valuable notes here and expected to provide the same quality and level of notes to others. Anyone who takes more than they give will be asked to leave the group. This group only works if we all participate. 
2. People who miss more than three meetings in a row are out of the group barring extenuating circumstances. Unless the group is full, we’re always happy to welcome you back when you have more time!
3. Anybody who perpetuates racism, sexism, personal attacks and/or assholery will be removed from the group, no exceptions. If someone is misbehaving, bring it up with the group admin.

Look at it this way. A lot of these rules make you, the leader’s, life easier, too. It’s a lot easier to boot a jerk from the group if all you have to do is point to a rule and growl, “You knew what you were getting into, bub.”

Meet Consistently

It’s much easier to keep a group going when your meeting time/date stays consistent. If I’m in a group that meets Monday afternoons one month and Saturday mornings another month I’m going to get lost.

And yep, this can be hard if your group is made up of people who disappear into a writers room from time to time or who work those 12-hour days on set. That’s why it’s a good idea to set those rules and boundaries so you’re ready to deal with these issues when they turn up.

Experiment

Fully three quarters of the folks I met with about their writing group told me they started off one way but ended up switching up their format, or meeting cadence, or whatnot.

It’s totally fine and expected not to know what’s going to work for your group. Also, group members come and go. You may find that your group of college student writers all graduate and start day jobs and can no longer meet during the week.

Or, hey, start a group with 9,000 members.

I know you. You’re a smarty. You’ll manage to keep your group consistent while also rollilng with the punches as it grows and changes.

Other Screenwriting Group Resources

• 6 Ways You Can Start and Run a Writing Group (No Film School)
• Designing the Perfect Writers Group (Pipeline Artists) 

Got a foolproof screenwriting group design? Have suggestions to add to this? I’m all ears. Get in touch!