MARK ROBYN
How did you discover The Wiki Screenplay Contest and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
I found the contest on Film Freeway, and it looked like a fun and worthwhile endeavor Where do you live (City, State, or Country)? Tacoma, Washington, in the USA 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? What inspires your overall journey into screenwriting? I am not only a screenwriter, but an author of many books, including my post-apocalyptic series Johnny Apocalypse and the Nuclear Wasteland. My book website is www.markrobijn.com. I have always loved science fiction, since I was in junior high. I grew up reading Issac Asimov, Edgar Allen Poe, Fred Saberhagen, Harry Harrison, and tons of others. My favorite book series was Jandar of Callisto by Lyn Carter. I am also a big fan of Farscape, and was really upset when they didn’t finish the series. I’ve never actually watched the final movie in a silly belief that if I don’t watch it, the series isn’t really over. I just love writing, period. I love creating your own world and thinking up adventures for your characters. How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes? I have always loved such books as I am Legend and On the Beach, which is probably what inspired me to write my Johnny Apocalypse series, and this TV pilot. The notion of hope seemingly to be gone, but a thread remaining that just might bring a ray of light into the darkness appeals to me. What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive? I carve out a block of time and usually have to leave my house and travel to a local college library. There I sit in one of their comfy chairs, where there are no distractions to stop me from writing, and sit there and write for at least an hour. 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 would say it took me six months to write this story. I usually start with an outline on paper, the beginning and the end and the most important scenes, and then I just start writing and let the adventure unfold as I write it. Once I have an idea, I get really excited and can’t wait to sit down and start putting words to paper. How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process? I don’t really believe in writer’s block, or at least I’ve never experienced it. I usually have more story ideas than I have time to write them. I believe you simply have to sit down and start writing. What comes out might be rough and crude, but it’s on the computer, and once it’s done, you can edit until your fingers fall off. The most important thing is to get the words down first to have something to work with. What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter? I use Final Draft, and find many of the tools in it to be useful. I have to admit, I don’t use a lot of outlines or templates to write my scripts, I just sit down and write. I started with short stories, which in my mind is a great way to learn to write scripts, because you have to learn how to grab readers right from the start and have a good story arc that comes to a good conclusion. How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests? Which contests have you entered...and how has your work been received overall? Have those contests been helpful to you in your writing? I have entered many different contests, and have received modest success. This script, The Grateful Dead Squad, was a winner in the Scriptoid TV Challenge in 2017 for Best Pilot of an Original TV Series. I’ve also won first place at the Seattle Film Summit in 2022 for my short “Death by Chocolate”. I find contests a great way to tell if your scripts are as good as you think they are. Can you share a specific challenge you've faced in your screenwriting and how you overcame it? I think rewriting is my biggest challenge, and being willing to “kill your darlings”. I have a tendency to think everything I write is perfect the first time, and have to learn painfully that is not the case. If you are balancing your “writing time” with a “day job”...how are you managing that? I just make sure to carve out a specific time frame at night when I do nothing but write, no matter what else I want to do. Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter? I would love to see my TV series or one of my scripts on the screen. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? To see my writing produced so I can see people enjoying it. The greatest thrill for a writer is to see people enjoy what they labored to produce. The film and television industry is constantly evolving. How do you see the role of screenwriters changing, especially with the rise of streaming platforms and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence? Have you used A.I. in your writing; if so, how have you used it? I don’t use A.I., I’m an old-fashioned kind of writer I guess. I worry that A.I. will not only take work away from real writers, but make it hard to tell what was actually written by a person and what was mass produced. Already I feel Hollywood does not have as much original, entertaining movies than they had in the fifties and sixties. I think A.I. may end up meaning mountains of bland copycat movies may be produced. Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? I love Steven Spielburg and Ron Howard. Their movies are amazing. I love A.I., it’s one of my favorite movies. I’m also a Quentin Tarantino fan. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? My favorite movie has to be The Andromeda Strain. I love the scientific mystery they have to solve. My favorite horror movie is Scream and Scream Again, just something really creepy and scary about how quiet and unassuming it is, as the horror builds. What advice do you have for aspiring screenwriters? Learn all you can, but write from the heart. Don’t try to write by numbers. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?) As I said, I have a young adult post-apocalyptic series called Johnny Apocalypse and the Nuclear Wasteland. People buying my books keep asking me, “When is it going to be a movie?” I and I believe my book fans think it would make a great movie or young adult TV series. I have some short films I directed with local actors from Tacoma Filmmakers. If you check out Fun on Film Productions on Youtube you can see them. I am currently working on a sci-fi comedy whodunnit called “Lay Down and Play Dead”, which I think is pretty funny. I also have a romantic comedy called, “How to Train your Girlfriend”, which is quite entertaining. Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.) My email address is [email protected] My website is www.markrobijn.com My TikTok account is @johnnyapocalypsenow My Twitter handle is @luv2tellstories My Instagram name is johnnyapocalypsebooks See a theme here somewhere? On Facebook, you can look me up by my name or find pages for all of my books, and Fun on Film Productions, as well as a page for my TV series hopefully filming sometime in the future called Midnight at the Diner. Thanks and hope to see you at the movies or at a bookstore near you! |
