Do Scribblers Need a Brand?
I pitched my agent an idea for a Western. He paused, then said, "It’s a cool idea, but it doesn’t really align with your brand, and a period piece like that could confuse buyers."
It got me thinking: What is my brand? Action setpieces that move like cinematic puzzles, fascination with emerging tech, ordinary characters dropped into extraordinary circumstances, and vice versa. I realized that even without meaning to, I’d been building something consistent.
Building your screen scribbling brand is about owning what you’re already obsessed with. Consider my resume:
Lost
Alias
Heroes
Hannibal
Star Trek: Discovery
American Gods
Citadel
Every one of these stories is circling the same core themes:
People realizing they're not who they thought they were
Reality twisting in unexpected, unsettling ways
Characters scrambling to redefine themselves in a shifting world
Sydney Bristow discovering her entire life was a cover story? Lost island being more than it seems?
Regular people in Heroes waking up with superpowers?
Will Graham in Hannibal grappling with the fragility of his own identity and the terrifying possibility that he's not so different from the killer he's chasing?
Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery trying to redefine herself after her mutiny and fall from grace, only to discover deeper truths about her past and her place in a fractured universe?
I never sat down and said, "I want to be the ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances guy.” It just happened.
On Alias, J.J. Abrams always said we’re doing action, but what makes it work is how grounded and emotional the character arcs were. We weren’t tracking explosions. We were tracking hearts breaking, loyalties shifting, and identities unraveling.
Your brand isn’t about trend-chasing. It’s about truth-chasing. What truths keep you coming back to the page?
When you get clear on your storytelling DNA:
You stop trying to be all things to all people. Instead of “I can write anything,” you say, “What if suburban moms are actually sleeper agents who don’t even know it?”
Execs don’t just think, “Good writer.” They think, “Perfect for that identity-blurring sci-fi thing we’re developing.”
You trust your gut. No more scribbling what you think the market wants. You write what you can’t not write.
Once your brand is defined, it travels.
When I consult on the video game VALORANT, I’m not just helping build lore, I’m exploring how identity and reality function in a high-stakes, near-future setting.
What does worldbuilding look like when it has to support player agency and real-time choice?
How do characters convey emotional truth in a game where action and backstory intertwine through design, voice, and story architecture?
Your brand becomes a lens. A story engine. A creative compass.
I scribble high-concept genre thrillers that tap into the cultural moment, stories driven by mystery, grounded drama, and emotionally charged action, structured for serialization and steeped in immersive worldbuilding.
Now, it's your turn.
Go through your scripts, produced or not
Highlight the themes that keep showing up
Ask yourself: What stories won’t leave you alone?
Are they about control? Family? Power? Redemption? Whatever it is, that’s your brand. Don’t dodge it. Don’t dilute it. Double down and get back to scribbling stories you love. Always.
