In the eighth chapter of Screenwriter Survival Guide, I sat down with my friend and colleague Axel Arzola to talk about 'development hell'. Axel has been developing shorts and features for over ten years, and I thought he'd be an excellent guest for today's episode considering we're actually developing a pilot together right now. We talked about what you actually do when developing a pilot or feature, how to find the best partners for your project, and why you can't be afraid to just go out and make stuff.

Connect with Axel on Twitter or Instagram (@axelarzola).

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PART I: Axel's Story

• How Axel defected to the US from Cuba.


• How to start making your own projects.

PART II: Starting a Production Company

• Develop a wide breadth of content


• How to curate your development slate


• Make the small projects and the big projects

PART III: How to Develop Projects

• What does the day-to-day of development look like?


• People. Product. Process


• People are more important than the project

SCREENWRITER SURVIVAL TIP: Work on the project you’d make if you only had six months to live.