Happy 6th Birthday to Go Into The Story!

Scott Myers

16 May 2014 • 4 min read

Six years ago today, I launched Go Into The Story with this humble little post. The very first paragraph I wrote was this:

Welcome to Go Into The Story! Right now, it’s nothing but a humble, threadbare blog, but I hope it will evolve into an active resource for aspiring screenwriters, as well as a community for anyone interested in storytelling and the creative life.

Since May 16, 2008:

I have uploaded over 14,500 posts.

I have posted for 2,192 consecutive days.

There have been over 8,000,000 unique visits to the site.

There have been over 14,000,000 page views.

I currently have over 24,800 Twitter followers.

Beyond the numbers, when you get a chance, take a look at the archives:

I asked Franklin Leonard if he would provide a reflection on the 6th birthday of the blog. He was kind enough to send me this and I thank him for it because these words mean a lot to me:

“Simply put: The Black List partnered with Go Into The Story, because I thought it was the best screenwriting blog on the internet. Nowhere will you get more, better information on both the dream and the reality of being a working screenwriter in Hollywood. Scott Myers is the cheerleader who tells you you can do it, the disciplinarian who reminds you the inordinate amount of work that’s necessary to do so, and the philosopher who reminds you why it’s important.”

So as to the blog evolving into “an active resource for aspiring screenwriters, as well as a community for anyone interested in storytelling and the creative life”… I think it’s fair to say: Mission accomplished!

But I’m not done yet. Got a few big ticket items on the horizon, one of which should be exciting for those of you who enjoy my interviews with screenwriters and filmmakers. More on that as things shake out.

One fun thing I thought I’d finally pursue involves two original writing mantras I bring up again and again on the blog. One I came up with myself several years ago:

Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages.

The other generated by my then almost three year-old son Luke and in many ways an inspiration for this blog:

Go into the story and find the animals.

For years, people have been asking me to do the whole T-shirt and coffee mug thing. I think now is the time to test those waters. So a question for you all: I’m pretty sure folks would like the first mantra, but I wonder if there are enough people out there who would embrace the second one? If not, I’ll probably just go with the Movies, Scripts, Pages mantra. However if there is a flood of requests for the Story, Animals version, I might explore that, too.

My thinking is this would be a limited edition sort of thing, but truthfully I have no idea. If there’s any marketing or sales guru out there with advice, please hit me up via email. Maybe I should be thinking big like the side of the Goodyear blimp…

As I say, there are other more substantial things in the works, but for now, let me just acknowledge each and every one of you for your interest and support over the years. Having been a complete outsider to Hollywood when I sold a spec script to break in, and having virtually zero training in the craft of screenwriting, it’s almost like a default setting for me, to provide daily information and inspiration, an online place where anybody anywhere can come to read an honest, professional perspective about the movie and TV business, no pie-in-the-sky schemes and promises of quick riches, but rather my version of the truth. Combine that with an insatiable curiosity about and passion for Story, a commitment to the craft of screenwriting and those who practice it, plus a healthy dose of whimsy, and that’s pretty much what you get at Go Into The Story.

So thanks, everyone! The GITS community is wonderful. A quick birthday blast of creative juju for each of you!

As I like to say…

Onward!

Comment Archive

Sign up for more like this.