MELANIE VILLINES
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Los Angeles, California, 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? When I moved to Los Angeles in 2007, I worked for seven years ghostwriting memoirs for minor celebrities – producers, directors, editors, and others who wanted to capture their experiences as they reached their twilight years. The work offered a wealth of quirky experiences that found their way into my TV pilot script, HOLLYWOOD GHOSTWRITER. I wrote the script as part of a One-Hour TV Writing Class taught by Jacqueline Zambrano at UCLA Extension. 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 worked on HOLLYWOOD GHOSTWRITER during three 10-week courses at UCLA Extension. I developed the concept and outline in One-Hour TV Writing III, the script in One-Hour TV Writing IV, and the rewrite in One-Hour TV Writing V. The script was my initiation into TV writing – and much of that 30-week span was learning the process of creating one-hour TV scripts. All classes were taught by TV veteran Jacqueline Zambrano. In the classes, we follow a process for writing the script – 10 plot points, beat sheet, outline, and script. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? I’ve written plays, screenplays, novels, and nonfiction books. My current ambition is to develop a variety of TV pilots. Since HOLLYWOOD GHOSTWRITER, I’ve written two additional one-hour pilots and hope to complete a few more this year. TV has come a long way during the past decade. I love the long-form series – exemplified by TRUE DETECTIVE, Season 1 – where the story unfolds, like a novel, over many episodes. I want to create in this space. Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice? I submitted the full script of HOLLYWOOD GHOSTWRITER because the story takes many twists and turns – so I felt you had read the whole script to understand where it was going. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? Columbo is my all-time favorite TV series. What a character! What an actor! Never gets old. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? Be open to all comments. You don’t have to take every comment at face value. Sometimes a remark will spark a useful idea that feels right for the script. Just listen. Don’t get defensive. Enjoy the process of living with your characters and refining the script. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? Since the start of 2024, I’ve completed two hour-long TV pilot scripts – PENNY (about a social media influencer wrongfully convicted of her husband’s murder) and NO SMALL PARTS (about an actor that loses a defamation suit to her former husband). I’m currently working on a period piece set in Chicago during 1955 that involves sci-fi pulp writers and medical experiments. |
