ERIKA STONE
​

​Where do you live?
Jordan UT, United States, just outside of Salt Lake City.

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 is about a feminist horror screenwriter who is taken prisoner in her home by a men’s rights extremist who is acting out violently against her work. He is enraged that a woman would dare to write material that reverses the typical horror narrative (women as victims/prey who are hunted), and he wants to see the screenwriter along with her feminist characters put back “in their place.”

I wrote a horror prior to this that was subsequently optioned, and I imagined what would happen if that really took off. Many times, women who veer outside of traditional gender roles, or who are opinionated and outspoken, are punished for that. This is true for women across the spectrum of careers, from politicians to on-air personalities, to athletes. Our society tends to admire women who are soft and docile and sweet.  When women don’t adhere to that expectation, in many instances they are publicly ridiculed, and sometimes this goes as far as receiving threats of violence or even death threats.
I took that idea and bumped it up a notch (or two) into a fast-paced thriller.
“An Axe to Grind” is about a particular woman in a particular circumstance, but it is a universal experience many women have had on large and small scales – being told what to do, how to behave, how to look, and experiencing negative consequences for daring to step outside of those expectations.
The narrative was longer than a short story, and I am very visual, so writing a script is a bit more natural for me than writing a novel. I also have been performing as an actor for almost my entire life, so I am familiar with the medium.
 
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?
It took me about two months to write a first draft, and another month or so to edit and tighten.
In the past, I generally haven’t started with an outline, but I did this time, and I actually found it really helpful. I could sort of lose myself in writing a scene, and when I came up for air, instead of pausing to figure out, “what next?” – I could just refer to my outline. Having an outline actually gave me the feeling of having more freedom. But I don’t think it’s necessary.
 
One of the other things that helps my process is WALKING. I walk and walk and kind of watch the film in my head. I take notes on my phone as I go so I can sit down and get everything onto the page when I get home, but walking releases my brain to just wander and watch the characters do what they are going to do.
And I talk to my characters! They tell me when something isn’t working. If I try to put a line of dialogue or an action onto them that isn’t right, they let me know. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
I want to tell women’s stories from women’s perspectives. About 49% of popular films over the last 40 years pass the Bechdel test (a test to measure the representation of women in film with the following criteria: at least two women are featured, these women talk to each other, and they discuss something other than a man). Conversely, 95% of films pass a reverse Bechdel test.
For much of my life, in films, so often men did the things and women were their cheerleaders and/or girlfriends. I want to make films in which women do the things, are the heroes, are the villains, are the bad@$$es.
 
Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
I submitted a full script. It was completed, so it just seemed logical to submit the whole thing rather than just a snippet.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
My favorite film is probably “Jaws.” I watch it every year to kick off the summer. I grew up in New England shortly after the time the film was made, so it is a really a nostalgic film for me. I have paid homage to it in some way in every script to-date that I have written.
My favorite show is “Mad Men.” The writing is so incredibly crisp. The characters are messy and flawed. There are no heroes or bad guys, kind of like most of actual life. Rather, everyone is a hero and everyone is a bad guy. They are all just struggling in the circumstances life has served up for them.
I particularly like the arcs of the women in the show. They are living in a time when women had little to no power (in many cases they couldn’t even open a bank account without a male co-signer!). They all use their own talents and gifts to eke out some small sense of control over their lives. It’s fascinating.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Write what you love. Write what moves you. Tell the stories you want to see on the screen, but aren’t yet being told.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I have another script, “To Bits and Pieces” that is actually sort of an unconventional prequel to “An Axe to Grind,” although both stand alone as well. It was optioned last year by KNR Productions, a small production company, so I am hoping that can go into production in the near future.
And I am about a quarter of the way through a family drama that highlights the effects of intergenerational trauma, and the various avenues out of that cycle.

---