DEBRA TOBIN
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Lincolnton, N.C. 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? As a reporter, I was inspired to write the story after covering the trial. It was such a horrific tale I knew it needed to be told in order to help other victims of abuse. So much has been done to bring attention to children in situations like this, but still it goes unnoticed by the system, by neighbors, even by other family members. I felt a screenplay would reach more people. 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? I’ve been working on this script since 1998! Obviously not continuously. I got copies of all court records and kept it for several years before I ever sat down to write it. I covered the trial as a reporter for a television station and was in court for most of it. The documents helped me understand the background of the main character who was convicted of murder and other crimes such as abuse and enslavement. I knew from the beginning the trial had to be a base point of the story because of its sensational story line. I built it around that and of course added scenes that I thought would make the story more relatable to the victims. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? I want to create stories that help us understand ourselves as most writers do, and ultimately would love to able to call myself a writer among my other professions in my career. Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? I’m always about novels and films from them. I look for writers a bit like me in their thinking. Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina I always looked for writers from there. When I read Charles Frazier’s, “Cold Mountain”, it blew me away. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? “ Sophie’s Choice” will always be my gauge for making the heart truly ache. I’m a bit of a fatalist. My favorite author is Thomas Hardy. That should explain it. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? We all know the advice of rewriting and rethinking your story. I think you should feel moved every time you read something you’ve written, even if it’s the 47th time you’ve looked at it! What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? I’m working on stories that I grew up hearing about. Some true some myth but great stories that stirred my imagination as a child. I’ve written another, a romance set in the 1960’s in the mountains of North Carolina. |
