CATHY CIMATO
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CATHY CIMATO

Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Buffalo, NY

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
My story was initially a short story of mine that I adapted into a screenplay. I first wrote it for NYC Midnight Short Story contest 2023. The writing prompts were, character: rifleman, genre: spy and subject: collateral damage. I had 8 days to write a 2500-word short story and when I saw the prompt I went blank. Zero ideas, until I was washing dishes and pictured a Raggedy Ann doll stuffed with intel.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
The original story took eight days to write. But it needed reworking and editing. It sat on my hard drive for two years, until this spring when I decided to rewrite it. I rewrote the story, made the prose leaner and changed several scenes and the ending. Ten drafts later the prose was lean and cinematic, and I decided to also adapt it to screen. I will usually see a flash of a scene in my head playing out like a movie and I will just start writing. Pause, think about it. Pull my hair, drink coffee and then write some more. It’s a messy process, but I write and then shape it through multiple drafts.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
My ultimate ambition is to make a decent living as a writer and entertain people.

Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
Nora Ephron. When Harry Met Sally was one of the first screenplays I read when I was trying to learn how to write screenplays, and I just became enamored with her writing. The dialogue is sharp and witty. I can watch the film and read the script anytime.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
This is a tough question. While there are so many great films to choose from, I’d have to go with Back to the Future since it was the first movie I saw in theaters and really introduced me to cinema. There was something magical about walking out the theater afterward, and it’s that same sense of magic I want to feel and create for others.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Just keep writing, study the craft, read scripts and watch movies. Read scripts to get an idea of how scripts are written. Watch movies to get idea of structure and character and dialogue.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (be sure to include any links you want the world to check out)
I am reworking another short story which I also see as a screenplay titled Circus Trials of Love. Before a man can propose to his girlfriend, he must survive a series of outrageous circus trials—each one devised by her overprotective brothers, who just happen to run a traveling circus. This was another short story I wrote that as soon as I wrote it, thought of it as a screenplay as well.

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