Learn from accomplished Creative Executive and Producer Allison Margaret Reid who developed projects at Scott Free and Flynn Picture Co.

Walk away with practical tools, insider perspective, and a shooting script you can study to strengthen your own writing

The sci-fi genre offers one of the most expansive canvases in storytelling, where bold ideas, breathtaking worlds, and unforgettable characters collide. Today, producers and audiences alike are hungry for imaginative stories that feel both epic and emotionally urgent. But it is not enough to just have a great idea you need a production-ready blueprint that leaps off the page and convinces decision-makers to invest. In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, you will learn how to turn your most daring sci-fi concepts into scripts that are as compelling to producers as they are to audiences!

Too often, sci-fi writers with incredible ideas stumble when it comes to execution. It is easy to get bogged down in tech jargon, info-dump dialogue, or mysteries without payoff. Other times, scripts collapse under the weight of scale that cannot realistically be produced. These missteps cause projects to stall before they even get a chance to launch. This webinar will help you avoid those pitfalls by giving you a development executive’s perspective on how to balance big ideas with grounded characters, visual storytelling, and practical production considerations so your scripts stand out for the right reasons.

Your host Allison Margaret Reid is an accomplished Creative Executive and Producer with extensive experience in development and production across film and television. As Director of Development at Scott Free, she was the on-set Associate Producer for JUNGLELAND (TIFF). Previously, she worked at Flynn Picture Co. on HERCULES starring Dwayne Johnson and SOLACE starring Anthony Hopkins. Allison also Associate Produced TWO NIGHT STAND directed by Max Nichols and starring Miles Teller. With a career that began at Focus Features and Universal Pictures before moving into producing and development at top companies, Allison brings years of insight into what producers look for in sci-fi projects and how writers can deliver it.

You will walk away from this interactive Stage 32 webinar with a clear understanding of the essential building blocks of a successful sci-fi screenplay, from developing one bold, marketable idea to building plausible worlds and crafting characters that actors will want to play. You will gain tools to assess whether your idea is better suited for film, TV, or another format, learn how producers evaluate pages for feasibility, and discover how to make your script stand out in a crowded market. By the end of the session, you will have a clear path to writing sci-fi that excites decision-makers and audiences alike.

PLUS! You will receive the following handout to help you:

• THE MARTIAN by Drew Goddard (Shooting Script) based on the book by Andy Weir

• Understanding The 3 Pillars Of Sci-Fi Stories & What Format You Should Write

• The three pillars of standout sci-fi: speculative idea, human story, screen-ready world

• What works, what doesn’t? How producers assess your pages for feasibility and market fit

• Should your idea be a movie, TV show, or book, or is it something else entirely?

• Genre-bending and blending: Science Fiction vs. Fantasy vs. Horror

• How To Craft One Bold Idea That Is Clearly Expressed

• Crafting a premise that’s conceptually surprising and emotionally grounded

• The rules of your world: navigating the impossible while setting boundaries

• Mapping your sub-genre to fit the tone, scope, and audience

• How To Navigate The Plausibility Of Your Story Through Research 

• Using real-world science to build constraints that generate plot

• Fighting tech overwhelm: avoiding tech jargon or overly-technical exposition dumps

• When to call an expert: fast methods for getting the tools you need

• Looking “Five Minutes Into the Future” for story ideas

• How To Build Your World & Minimize Exposition 

• Visual-first world building while staying in the realm of production possibility

• Practical tips for keeping track of your scratch work without showing it on the page 

• 3 tips for exposition without the lecture: Clarity, Mystery, and Momentum

• How To Make Your Sci-Fi Story Stand Out To A Producer

• Crafting characters to care about (Even if they’re alien)

• Attracting actors: How to write roles that they’ll say “Yes” to

• Plot mechanics and set pieces that only your premise could generate

• Franchises and spin-off’s: Thinking about mythology as a launchpad

• Working within real-world budget constraints

• Q&A With Allison

Screenwriters at any stage who want to develop bold, production-ready sci-fi projects
Writers looking to avoid common sci-fi pitfalls and better understand what producers and financiers need to see in a script