CHARLIE BASSETT
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 PictureCHARLIE BASSETT
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Most of my life was spent in Oklahoma but for the past five years have lived in the United Kingdom, which is very much home now.

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?
The script, Life So Perfect, is an adaption of a novel I wrote several years ago. The story is rooted in my experiences as a therapist working with troubled teens in a psychiatric hospital. My desire is to honor the experiences of hurting and damaged teens and reflect on the hope that is always before us: Damaged but never broken.

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?
With the story already developed, the script has taken about 4 months from draft to a fairly polished screenplay.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
To create stories that explore the realities of our human condition, while embracing the hope that carries us forward.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
While it is complete, I entered the first ten pages to get feedback and see if the analyst saw potential in the script, which, to my surprise, received praise.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
The film and novel, Ordinary People, is one of my favorites. It was an inspiration in my decision to become a therapist. And, though I am not usually enamored with musicals, The Greatest Showman and Les Misérables are two works that move me as they explore and celebrate themes of acceptance, diversity, community, forgiveness and our potential for growth.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Remember that less is more; be willing to trim those scenes and dialogue which you are so proud of, but end up slowing the flow.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I am working a fantasy YA script, again based on a novel written a few years ago, The Last Dreamweaver. After a devastating school tragedy, a grief-stricken teen meets a Native American boy who claims he can enter dreams and alter the past. When the Dreamweaver succeeds in saving the boy’s brother, reality ripples into deeper loss and the fear that fate can’t be repaired. The Last Dreamweaver is a haunting, poetic journey through trauma, friendship, and the fragile boundary between mercy and destiny.