Screenwriting

Looking for a quiet, focused space to write? Come be part of our writing group—a dedicated time just for writing alongside fellow writers in your community. No readings, no critiques, no peer-review—just you writing within a supportive atmosphere. 6pm-6:15pm: Find your seat, set up your writing station, quick intro's. 6:15pm-7:45 pm: An hour and a half of silent focused writing. 7:45pm-8pm: Quick debrief, pack and head home. Can't wait to see you! :) Disclaimer: Shut Up & Write! is not affiliated with the Loudoun County Libraries or any other entity.

Join us for another optional writing session! Feel free to bring a project you're already working on or start something new with us. If anything interesting comes up while you're writing, you can share it with the group, but no pressure!

**Community Tuesdays at Refraction** are a free weekly program designed for job seekers, professionals in transition, and aspiring founders to access resources, connections, and coworking space in the heart of Northern Virginia’s tech corridor. Each Tuesday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, participants gain complimentary access to Refraction’s collaborative workspace, career mentoring, resume and job-search support (including proven AI prompts to navigate applicant tracking systems), and a welcoming community of innovators and peers. Whether you are refining your next career move or exploring entrepreneurship, Community Tuesdays offer the space, guidance, and tools you need to move forward with confidence. For complete details and easy (non-Meetup) registration, please visit: [https://www.refraction.one/ctues](https://www.refraction.one/ctues).

This popular and accomplished Toastmasters club (#4787) is open to everyone, with an average of 25 people per meeting, mainly business professionals from the Reston/Herndon area. Meetings are held on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Tuesdays of the month from 6pm to 7:15pm at Conference Room #2 of the Reston Community Center: 2310 Colts Neck Rd, Reston, VA 20191. Some of the group's members are accomplished professional speakers, while others are just starting down their path of improved public speaking, including many non-native English speakers. Whether you're just starting out and looking to improve your speaking or overcome some nervousness...or looking to gain connections and sharpen your skills, you'll feel connected with the members of Reston Town Center Toastmasters. Stop by. Check us out! Chances are you'll like us so much that you'll be back! For more information: http://towncentertoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org/

This event is inspired by a suggestion from one of our members. I'm curious what we'll find, as I've never been to Roggenart. Join us in Reston for good vibes on a midweek morning, complete with essential fuel! (No discussions on politics, religion or potentially controversial topics. We're here to relax and have fun. Just be respectful and we'll be alright. Pay your own way, and enjoy!)

> Join the first **FILMS MADE IN NOVA** meetup! We’ll get to know each other, share ideas, and plan our first collaborative film project. > This group is for actors, writers, editors, cinematographers, and storytellers of all kinds who want to create original films and actually finish them. > Come ready to brainstorm, collaborate, and turn ideas into completed projects. Whether you’re experienced or just passionate about filmmaking, this is a place to connect and make films happen.

**FILMS MADE IN NOVA – First Meetup** 📍 Centreville Regional Library (Conference Room) 🗓️ Sat, Apr 25 • 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM > Come out to the first **FILMS MADE IN NOVA** meetup! We’ll get to know each other, share ideas, and start building our first collaborative film project. > This group is for actors, writers, editors, cinematographers, and storytellers of all kinds who want to create original films—and actually finish them. > Come ready to meet, collaborate, and brainstorm. We’ll aim to put together and shoot a simple 5-minute scene during the meetup. > Whether you’re experienced or just passionate about filmmaking, this is a place to connect, create, and make films happen. > To see some of my previous work, feel free to visit: - https://www.youtube.com/@stevenlawsfilms

Join us for some focused writing time. All writers and all experience levels are welcome and don’t worry, no one will see what you've written. This session is about getting your writing done and meeting other writers in your area. Bring your writing materials (such as a notebook or a charged laptop - outlets are limited.) And if you'd like to tune out other patrons at Sonny's or any overhead music, we recommend bringing headphones or earplugs. BEING LATE IS OKAY: Just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! When you show up, I will be sitting at a table with folded "Shut Up & Write" table cards. Say hello to everyone, grab a drink, and get your writing tools ready. Once you’re all settled, take some time to chat with your fellow writers. Once everyone’s arrived, I will lead quick introductions and then set the timer for our quiet and focused writing session. Afterward, we’ll have time to chat and get to know each other. We often talk about our successes and challenges as writers. If you don’t have time to stick around, no worries! **A note about the format** We don’t host critiques or readings. These events are a safe space for writers of all skill levels and genres to work on their craft, so no one will read or critique your writing. For our full event schedule, visit [https://shutupwrite.com](https://www.shutupwrite.com). **Other Important Details:** **WiFi name/password:** Name - Sonny's/Doubles Guest; Password - pingpong **Travel / Parking info:** Sonny's is on the D40/D4X bus line and about a 15 minute walk from either the Columbia Heights or Georgia Ave/Petworth metro lines. There is limited on-street parking. **Venue Guidelines:** Please thank our hosts by purchasing something.

**💻 Reimagine Your Second Half of Life – AI Vision Board Immersive Experience (Ashburn)** ✨ **Early Access Rate: $35 (5-Hour Immersive Experience — Lunch, Coffee & Snacks Included)** 🗓 Saturday\, April 25 \| 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM 👥 Limited to 10 participants **“This was such an awesome event! … Once you see that you can’t unsee it. It’s in the making and you will start to discover ways to make that dream materialize.” – Tracy J.** (Comment from January 2026 AI Vision Board session) *** **☀️ Not Just a Vision Board — A Mirror** Midlife isn’t a crisis. It’s your comeback story. This immersive is built around the **R.I.C.H. Quadrant™**: • Relationships — who you let in • Ideal Life — what you actually want • Career/Finance — how you show up • Health — the energy that fuels it all If you’d like a deeper look at the framework, you can preview it here: 🔗 [https://midlifereinvention.co/blog/f/the-rich-quadrant%E2%84%A2-living-with-clarity-in-every-part-of-life](https://midlifereinvention.co/blog/f/the-rich-quadrant%E2%84%A2-living-with-clarity-in-every-part-of-life) **In under 5 minutes, you’ll uncover your values.** And when your vision board is aligned with that truth? It stops being decorative — and starts becoming directional. People often have multiple “aha” moments during this session. Not because it’s dramatic — but because something quietly clicks. *** **🕐 What the Day Feels Like** This isn’t a lecture. It’s structured, but human. It’s focused, but energizing. **Morning —** Identify your core values + 2 priority quadrants. **Midday —** Lunch + intentional networking. **Afternoon —** Complete the remaining 2 quadrants + short coffee reset. *** **💻 Laptop Required — Please Ensure ChatGPT Is Logged In Before Arrival 💻** This workshop moves quickly and works best on a laptop. • **Laptop required** (phones will not work well for this experience. **iPads** may be used, but the experience is significantly smoother on a laptop.) • **ChatGPT account created and fully logged in before arrival** (please bring your login credentials with you; free version is fine) To protect everyone’s experience and keep the session on schedule, ***we cannot pause for account setup***. Please arrive fully prepared. If you need help setting up ChatGPT in advance, message me after RSVP. *** **🧠 What You’ll Walk Away With** • Clarity on which area of life needs alignment • A personalized AI-powered vision board • Defined 3, 6, and 12-month direction • Better prompts to use AI intentionally • Real conversations with people who are building, not drifting *** **🥗 What’s Included** • Full 5-hour guided immersive • Pizza + salad lunch • Coffee + curated snacks • All prompts and digital templates • Small-group collaboration *** **👥 Who This Is For** • Divorced/Separated professionals rebuilding intentionally • Entrepreneurs mapping their next chapter • Adults in a season of reset • People who prefer clarity over vague motivation This is thoughtful work — done in community. *** 📍 Ashburn area (exact address shared after RSVP) 💵 $35 Early Access Rate 👩‍💻 Bring laptop + ChatGPT ready 🔔 These are early-access rates as we expand the format. Future sessions will be priced higher. Space is intentionally limited to 10 to keep this interactive and meaningful. Come design what’s next — with structure, clarity, and a little help from AI. 🌐 [https://midlifereinvention.co](https://midlifereinvention.co)

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Doom and Dinosaurs,”** a look at how mass extinctions shaped the dinosaurs and what research on these events tells us about Earth life’s long-term prospects, with Ian Wilenzik, paleontologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at George Washington University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-dino-doom](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-dino-doom) .] Pity the poor dinosaurs. They lacked both scientific research to help deal with potential environmental catastrophes and places where they could have a beer and discuss it. You, on the other hand, have the opportunity to come to Profs and Pints to hear a fascinating talk on the impact of mass extinctions on dinosaur evolution and what research on dinosaurs tells us about biodiversity and Earth’s current biodiversity crisis. Dr. Ian Wilenzik, who has studied and taught courses on dinosaur evolution, population spread, and extinction, will leave you with a greater appreciation of the resilience of life on earth and how we’re both the product and source of biologically catastrophic events. Many of us are familiar with how a big meteor impact about 66 million years ago wiped out the Earth’s dinosaur population, leaving us only with their feathered descendants, birds. Less well known is how the Earth actually has undergone five periods of mass extinction that wiped out nearly all life, and how dinosaurs arose from one and endured another—both caused by volcanic activity—before meeting their match in the third. To ground his discussion, Dr. Wilenzik will talk about how we study mass extinctions by looking for geologic evidence of volcanic activity, meteoric blasts, and other catastrophic activity and of gaps in the fossil record after them. He’ll also discuss what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, describing their distinct anatomical features. He’ll talk about how they and other forms of life evolved over long periods of time and were affected by extinction events. We’ll look at how the meteor-caused mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous paved the way for the rise of mammals and the emergence of primates, and, eventually, us. Looking ahead to future mass extinctions and what might survive them, we’ll talk about how that plant you forget to water might have the last laugh, as well as why crocodiles might be around a while. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: A *Triceratops* mounted skeleton at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History (Photo by Allie Caulfield / Wikimedia Commons).

Hey, Everyone. Let's get together online for our first online movie night. Discussion to follow. I know it says in person, but meetup is giving me some issues with posting the link. So here it is bellow Click [https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88586157113?pwd=U9c65iL1m7iBKt12hX4FkBklYA3QRj.1](https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88586157113?pwd=U9c65iL1m7iBKt12hX4FkBklYA3QRj.1) to start or join a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Come by for an hour of evening writing with fellow creative folks. Everyone works on their own thing, no obligation to share — just show up and make any kind of words happen. If you're spending too much time thinking about writing, join us for an hour of focused writing. Guidelines: * While some discussion is encouraged to get to know one another, strive for silent, focused writing from 6:45 PM - 7:45 PM. * Generally avoid disruptive sensory input/behaviors, such as repeated or unpleasant noises, smells, physical movements, etc. (if you have health-related reasons, or some other aspect out of your control due to which this could become an issue, show up anyway and explain that potential disruptions are not intentional.) * Repeated breaking of the above rules without a valid reason may result in dismissal from the group at any point during a session. **Why is Shut Up & Write(!) so effective?** [http://arsenalofwords.com/2015/10/14/why-i-shut-up-write/](http://arsenalofwords.com/2015/10/14/why-i-shut-up-write/) **LOCATION:** Gaithersburg Library, Study Room 2 (if we aren't in 2, check 1!) **SCHEDULE:** 6:30 \| Pre\-session check\-in \- What will you work on? 6:45 \| Shut up and write for 1 hour\! 7:45 \| Post\-session check\-in \- How did it go? Feel free to keep writing and finish your lingering thoughts past this point, but know that the library closes at 8 PM! **BRING:** Whatever you need to be able to write! ***If you are interested in a more collaborative and discussion-focused writing group, the Gaithersburg Library hosts such a group on Sundays from 4:00 to 5:30 PM! Ask Chris or the library staff for more details.***

Shut Up & Write! meets at Cascades Library Room D We hope to see you there! Shut Up & Write is not affiliated with the Loudoun County Public Libraries.

Join us for another optional writing session! Feel free to bring a project you're already working on or start something new with us. If anything interesting comes up while you're writing, you can share it with the group, but no pressure!

Shut Up & Write meets at Cascades Library in Room D. We hope to see you there! *Shut Up & Write is not affiliated with the Loudoun County Public Library.*

**Saturday • May 9 • 2–5 PM • Ashburn, VA** Many people say they want to write a book someday — **this session helps you start.** Your life experiences already contain stories, lessons, and insights that could become books. The real challenge is **how to organize those experiences and actually turn them into writing.** In this interactive session, I’ll share the approach I’m using to build a **multi-book journey based on lived experience.** So far I have: 📚 **2 books published on Amazon** 📖 **2 more books releasing this year** (mid-year and end of year) 📝 **16 additional books planned** — and likely many more. This session is not about writing **just one book**. We’ll explore how your experiences can evolve into **multiple books over time**, and how to **use AI the right way to speed up your writing while keeping your voice authentic.** *** ### What We’ll Explore • Turning life experience into book ideas • How one journey can become multiple books • Simple ways to structure stories and lessons • Using **AI to organize ideas and speed up writing** • Practical strategies to actually finish a book **Everyone will leave with the outline of their first book idea.** **You don’t need writing experience — just curiosity about how your life experiences might turn into ideas worth sharing.** *** ### Event Details 💵 **$25 RSVP — includes coffee + snacks** 📍 **Ashburn, VA** (exact address shared after RSVP) 🕑 **2:00 PM – 5:00 PM** 👥 **Max 12–15 people** for a small, interactive conversation. Most attendees are professionals, entrepreneurs, and people navigating reinvention or new chapters in life. *** # Background — Writing & Reinvention Journey Writing has been one of the most powerful tools in my own reinvention journey. What began as reflections during a difficult life transition gradually evolved into published books and a growing body of work focused on reinvention, personal growth, and life transitions. My goal is not just to write books — but to help others realize that their experiences may also hold stories worth sharing. *** # 🔗 Midlife Reinvention Ecosystem 🌐 Website [https://midlifereinvention.co](https://midlifereinvention.co) ▶ YouTube (400K+ views) [https://www.youtube.com/@midlife_mindfulness](https://www.youtube.com/@midlife_mindfulness) 💼 LinkedIn (4K+ followers) [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anju-debnath-0061524/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anju-debnath-0061524/) 🤝 Meetup Community (300+ Members) [https://www.meetup.com/ashburn-transition-meetup-group/](https://www.meetup.com/ashburn-transition-meetup-group/) 📚 Amazon Author Page [https://www.amazon.com/stores/Anju-Debnath/author/B0FFNBVZLQ](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Anju-Debnath/author/B0FFNBVZLQ)

What does it look like when ideas come to life? Join NOVA Scribes and MAFN for a full-day, in-person open house where the public is invited to step inside the world of facilitation. This is a come-and-go experience designed for curiosity, exploration, and conversation. Whether you are new to facilitation groups, you are welcome. The space will be set up as a "theater in the round," (see the image) with facilitators working live around the room. Throughout the day, you will see different techniques, styles, and modalities demonstrated in real time, from visual templates, facilitation tools, and decision-support methods. You can observe, ask questions, and engage directly with the practitioners as the work unfolds. **What you can expect** * Live demonstrations of facilitation techniques * Multiple practitioners working simultaneously, each with their own approach and style * Short, informal demos and tiny teaches that explain how and why specific techniques are used * Opportunities to talk one-on-one with experienced facilitators * A chance to see how facilitation can support sensemaking, alignment, and group dialogue **What you might explore** * Methods and templates for planning, strategy, and reflection * Facilitation methods that support participation and decision making * Tools, materials, and setup considerations for live work This open house is designed to be accessible, hands-on, and inspiring. You do not need to stay all day. Come for 20 minutes or stay for hours. Watch ideas take shape. Notice how facilitation can change the energy in the room. Ask the questions you have always wanted to ask. If you have ever been curious about how facilitation works and supports groups, this is your chance to experience it up close. **Open to the general public. No prior experience required.** We’re not charging for this workshop, but we will be asking for donations!