Preparing Your Story Inventory

We're all aware of how much the writers' strike slowed things down in 2023. That only means that things are going to speed up more and more as we move into and through 2024. What we as writers need to do - other than continuously write - is plan as much as we can for where we can send and submit each of our scripts in the coming months and years. Traditionally, the ISA's Director of Education and Co-VP of Development with Creative Screenwriter Prods, Max Timm hosts his final free ISA webinar on a topic related to loglines or brainstorming or some kind of, "You can do it!" inspirational topic to end the year. While some of these elements will be covered in the December free webinar, he is also going to detail how you can organize your plan and approach to 2024. Max calls it a Story Inventory, but it's much more than just a list of your project loglines. It's outreach plans, contest submission plans, industry contact organization, and so much more. If we are going to make a career out of this endeavor of screenwriting, we need to act like the CEO of our own writing company. 

So let's get on Zoom one last time in 2023, make some resolutions, and get organized for what promises to be one heck of a new year.

Max Timm is the Director of Education with the International Screenwriters’ Association, Co-VP of Development for Creative Screenwriter Productions, and the President of The Story Farm Coaching service. With nearly 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry and in developing written material and writers’ careers, his focus with the ISA is to shepherd writers to industry professionals, offering exposure alongside career-long education. He has coached and consulted on material written by writers ranging from beginner to A-list actors creating their own vehicles. His online class, The Craft Course in Screenwriting, offers writers an in-depth yet easy to understand approach to professional full development. In order to connect with as many aspiring writers as possible, he also helped create and launch multiple webinars, workshops, and the ISA's 30-Day Screenwriting Challenge.

Aside from focusing on education, Max has joined forces with his ISA cohorts to launch a production and development company called Creative Screenwriter Productions where they develop and produce low to mid-range budgeted films and TV series written by ISA’s top members.

Max is also a screenwriter and author. His debut novel, a young adult fantasy adventure titled The WishKeeper, about a teenage fairy with broken wings, won the YA category of the Los Angeles Book Festival, released nationwide and internationally, and is now being shopped as an animated series. Max has also served as a part-time instructor at UCLA, and travels nationally speaking at various industry events such as the Sundance Film Festival, Nashville Writers Conference, and the Napa Valley Film Festival.