Reflections of 2024 Black List Feature Writer’s Lab Participants

Writers who participated in this year’s Black List Feature Writer’s Lab reflect on their experience.

Every year since 2013, the Black List has held an annual feature writer’s lab. The 2024 event took place in Ojai, California from October 14–18. Once again, I was pleased to participate as a mentor and workshop facilitator.

Here are the reflections of the 2024 Black List Feature Writers lab writers.

Emily Adams

The Black List Writers’ Lab was, and will remain, one of the best weeks of my life. Yes, Ojai was beautiful — a true oasis — and yes, the food was incredible — they don’t have produce like that in New York — but ultimately, the real highlight of the week was the people I met. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I was surrounded by writers and by people who love writers and want to support writers. Our lovely Writing Captain Scott Myers and the Black List team cultivated a space where my cohort could share, learn, and grow side by side. My fellow writers were talented, kind, generous people who I hope to keep in my life as long as they’ll have me. Over breakfast with our mentor screenwriters, we broke down our scripts and came up with a revision action list. We bonded in cozy editing meetings; we ate Cheetos until the cows came home; we watched the sunset over the California mountains; we gathered around the campfire to swap stories, compare notes, and discuss the futures we hoped to have as Hollywood writers; and we slept not at all! There were many brilliant minds abound, and my script MARGOT will be immensely better because of them! I spent five entire days consumed by the craft, fueled by tasty Canyon Coffee (please sponsor me @ Canyon), talking Carl Jung and Pixar genius with Scott by the pool. Spoiler: Scott Myers is a gift from the writing heavens and everything he says is worth writing down (or getting him to email you a PDF version). Thank you to the Black List. I have never felt prouder to be a writer and more inspired to get back to my keyboard! I will spend the rest of my years longing for those Ojai mornings, when all I had ahead was writing, snacking, and writing some more!

Colton Childs

When I first heard the Black List Writers Lab described as “summer camp,” I had already been accepted and it was too late to back out. For me, summer camp was the kind of place where you were forcibly baptized in a murky lake by a counselor named Lance who, despite his boyish charm, would one day play a pivotal role in the January 6th insurrection.

Needless to say, I never expected to voluntarily attend anything associated with summer camp in adulthood — unless it somehow involved me writing a remake of the ’90s classic Heavyweights (in which case I’m absolutely available and willing to do extensive research).

My fears were immediately quelled when I arrived in Ojai, smelled the above-my-tax-bracket scent of palo santo, and received word that the motel pool was closed (thus, any forcible baptism was seemingly off the table).

I was drinking wine with my fellow writers, mentors, and Black List staff in no time. Shelby gifted me a handmade bracelet. A group of us sang Neil Young songs while Scott strummed his guitar. Megan and I swapped ghost stories (okay, gossip…) around a campfire so smoky I ended up googling “emphysema symptoms fire?” twice afterward. Each night ended in the private jacuzzi of my motel room, where I had multiple epiphanies while watching Divorce Court. If this was summer camp, I never wanted to leave.

Every mentor I met had a unique approach to writing and feedback (and thank God for that). I came away with three entirely different perspectives on my work and how to navigate my place in the industry. As I sorted through their feedback — some consistent, much of it conflicting — I brought it back to my cohort to make sense of it all. Which brings me to my fellow writers…

I was told astrology wasn’t a factor in selecting our group, but whatever process The Black List uses is working, because it took less than an hour to feel a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants dynamic amongst our group. Each writer brought a piece of themselves so personal, that it felt more like exchanging fragments of our souls than feedback. I’m not sure we would have arrived at such a place of order and vulnerability without our supportive leader, Scott Myers. Although he’s a craftsman of the form, Scott is driven by curiosity — the hallmark of a good writer and, perhaps more importantly, a great teacher.

The Black List Writers Lab was the summer camp every writer deserves — a place to escape, play, and engage alongside other creatives who want nothing more than to see your movie come to life. And okay, I fell a little in love with Ojai, too, with its overpriced pastries, outdoor bookstore, and even its refusal to acknowledge ranch dressing as a legitimate condiment.

In the end, the Lab’s greatest gift was community. Writing is often solitary work, and these past few years have been especially isolating. But in Ojai, I felt protected, seen, and uplifted. I can only hope I offered the same to my fellow writers.

Brittany Harris and Caitlin Grillo

We don’t think we’ve completely come back to reality since our time in Ojai. It is a rare thing in this business — especially in the current landscape — to find a group of people that still loves and values writers. And yet in the loving embrace of the Black List (and our true north, Scott Myers), we have.

You’ve heard it a million times and felt it, too, but writing can be a lonely endeavor that is as isolating as it is rewarding. Luckily, we have each other so there is rarely a dull (or dare I say — quiet? Sorry fellow lab participants! Haha) moment. But still, the act of writing is internal for everyone. Before you say anything out loud or write anything down, it’s just in your head swirling around, waiting patiently to live up to your vision once released on the page.

We have been writing together for six years now but we’ve been friends since we were 18 years old as college students in NYC. We’ve been in a ton of classes and writing groups, both individually and as a pair. But never have we had an experience like the Black List Lab. The support that we felt from not just the Black List but also our fellow lab participants was unlike any other group/class we’ve done. Scott’s kind but strong leadership made us feel instantly like we were in wise, capable, and (perhaps most pivotal to creativity) nonjudgemental hands. It was such a validating feeling to be able to be surrounded by others who speak our same language in terms of “the Biz” and who we could laugh, bitch, and cry to at the wee hours of the night around the campfire.

What the Black List has created is not just inspirational but also practical in terms of career support. We came away from the week as a gang that continues to build each other up — a cohort that we feel safe to say anything to, to ask any question. There is no pretension — they just love writers.

If we could do this lab every single year, without question we would (even just for Scott’s jam sessions by the fire and his endearing love of the movie UP.) Writing may be a solitary pursuit but moving through this career surrounded by community is essential. We are so lucky to have found ours with the Black List.

Danny Hogan

I recall reading some time ago a thought from the legendary film producer Lindsay Doran: she posited that the satisfaction we feel at the end of a happy film is not so much the accomplishment achieved but rather the moment the hero gets to share it with others. This bit of positive psychology came to mind when I began to reflect upon my time at the Black List Writers Lab. Don’t get me wrong. As a writer on the verge, the validation that comes with being a lab fellow is wonderful and inspiring and feels like a big flashing green light to keep going and to not hang up your things to move to Greenland and write sad philosophical fiction just yet. But all of that paled in comparison to the relationships forged between our cohort of writers during that weeklong Ojai bootcamp, not to mention the myriad of mentors, visitors, organizers and guests immersed with us during that time (including Scott Myers himself; truly the most dedicated, earnest, and thoughtful workshop teacher one could imagine). It was a blur of deep thinking, writers bonding, script and career development and an exorbitant amount of fireside drinking and eating to fend off the lack of sleep. All in all…it was one of the most rewarding and productive weeks as a writer that I’ve had in my dozen years of screenwriting. From a professional perspective, the thing I am most impressed by is the attention and follow up that the Black List has provided in trying to help us writers utilize both the publicity and productivity of the lab to reach the next rungs of the ladder in our respective careers. Don’t get me wrong. Writers Lab is not going to sell your script; it is not going to land you that agent; it isn’t the thing that launches your career. But it has been so much more than a line in a resume. I am still in awe at the level of thought and intelligence that went into the feedback I received on my lab script from our mentors and fellow writers. Creatively speaking, I came away from the lab not only inspired to get my ass back in the chair (despite *waves hand* the general horrors in the industry and the world at large), but I felt I was able to take a good script and make it great within a single pass afterward. Now, a month later, the Ojai retreat feels like some sort of long-lost fever dream that I wish I could escape to as the real world becomes a more and more uncertain place to inhabit. But what remains now is an incredible and brilliantly talented group of friends who will be able to lift each other in both our creative and personal journeys as we move forward, and for that I am forever grateful to the lab and the environment that the amazing folks at the Black List were able to foster.

Jade Song

They say that sleep can make you happier, but clearly those scientists have never been lucky enough to attend the Black List Feature Writers lab, where every silly attempt of mine to get to bed at a reasonable hour was thwarted by a late-night campfire chat, a delightful dinner, a laugh under the Ojai night sky. It was a dream of mine to attend the Lab. Better than any dream I could have conjured asleep.

Whether it was workshopping our scripts, or listening to a brilliant industry worker tell us everything they know, or even just walking to town with a fellow writer-turned-friend, the five days turned into connections that will last a lifetime. What a privilege it is to learn, to write, and to be with people who love the same things I do. People who are so much smarter than me. People who are so generous, so kind, and so fucking fun. Eternal thanks to the Black List team, the mentors, Scott, and of course, my brilliant cohort.

Theo Wanderydz

Even though it’s only been a few weeks since the lab ended, I already feel like it’s changed my life. Not because of any external validation (okay, maybe a little…), but because it gave me a renewed sense of belief in myself.

As screenwriters, we carry this strange, sometimes irrational self-belief — and we have to. Without it, we wouldn’t endure the constant ups and downs of the craft. Trust me, I’ve been hit with “no’s,” knocked out by “we love this, but…,” and plenty of other blows (there are probably other boxing metaphors, I don’t know — I’m not really into boxing). Yet despite all that, we keep going, fueled by this underlying “I can do it” mentality.

But this time, it feels different. Coming out of the lab, I really believe it. And that’s thanks to the Black List team and the other writers, all of whom I can now call lifelong friends.

Even though we were all strangers at first, there was an immediate sense of generosity that flowed through the group. You could tell the Black List team had carefully handpicked a diverse and talented writers — each of us very different authors, with very different stories — but somehow, we instantly felt like a team, united by our shared passion for storytelling. These are people I can now bounce ideas off of, collaborate with, and lean on for advice. It’s a bond I didn’t expect to form so quickly, but one I now deeply value.

For me, one of the most surreal aspects of the experience was seeing how my weird, crazy, personal story connected with so many strangers. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that I was part of this lab and that this seemingly unmakable story — that started as “werewolves on a train” — was now an experience everyone had shared. Writing something so close to my heart and having it resonate with others has been incredibly surreal, and humbling, but also deeply validating.

Speaking of our work, Scott and all the mentors that the Black List had assembled were incredible. Each of them had read our scripts and prepared thoughtful notes. It’s rare to find people who genuinely get what you’re trying to do, especially when you’re writing genre in a place like Sweden, where horror and action still feel like bad words. But in Ojai, I found myself talking non-stop about horror, entertainment, escapism, and even deep-diving into 90s/00s Denzel Washington movie marathons. It was a dream — to finally have conversations about the kinds of stories I’ve been trying to get off the ground for years — and feel supported to continue toward that goal.

Finally, there was a sense of community. They told us, “You’re now part of the Black List family,” and honestly, that’s exactly what it felt like. What Megan, Shelby, Claire, Kate, Elisa, Scott and Franklin created reminded me of that first hug you get when you come home for Christmas — warm, welcoming, and comforting. They treated us like royalty, wining and dining us every day, while introducing us to some truly amazing people who were not only incredibly talented but also genuinely kind and supportive.

I’ve made friends for life, and the next time I’m in LA or New York, they’ll be the first to know I’m there. This experience didn’t just boost my confidence in my work — it gave me a new family of fellow creatives, all sharing the same crazy dream of bringing stories to life.

I can’t wait to see watch them!

Here are some photos of the lab scene.

This was my 24th Black List feature writer lab or mini-lab. When I was as a musician, I lived in Ventura from 1981–1985, and even performed in Ojai several times. It was great to revisit that part of my past. More important, the retreat experience really helped create a special experience for these writers. I trust they will be friends for life.

Reflections: 2023 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2022 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2021 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2020 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2019 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2018 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2017 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2016 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Update: 2015 Chicago, New York, and Toronto Black List Screenwriting Labs

Update: 2015 Los Angeles and San Francisco Screenwriting Labs

Update: 2014 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Update: 2013 Black List Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2021 Black List New Zealand Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2022 Black List/Women In Film Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2021 Black List/Women In Film Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2020 Black List/Women In Film Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2019 Black List/Women In Film Feature Writers Lab

Reflections: 2018 Black List/Women In Film Feature Writers Lab

For more information on the Black List educational programs, go here.