MICHAEL ELLIOTT
How did you discover The Wiki Screenplay Contest and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
Early in my writing so-called career I realized getting contest recognized was the quickest way to get traction. Where do you live (City, State, or Country)? Annapolis, Maryland, grew up here. 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? My first three finished scripts revolved around real events in my life. The 4th one, was the result of my doing a mental “what if?” From that simple question, scenes just began to flow mentally so I sat down and put together the First Draft. I don’t really believe in “inspiration”. Writing is hard work. It’s tough to put together scene after scene and have it all make sense. And once you’re done with all the re-writing and re-drafting then you need to be able to explain it all (aka pitching) in three minutes. Whew!! How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes? I have no idea. Some themes strike me as story-worthy and I pursue those. It surprises me how much of this I leave to sheer chance and happenstance.
What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive?
I have no set routine. I teach during the week, so I do a lot of writing on weekends and holidays and especially in the summer. 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 have no “process”. I assemble the outline mentally and then jump in and follow where the story takes me. I must admit, I just used ChatGPT to create the outline for my latest idea. I wrote the first draft of NOBODY’S HEROES in 2021, just did a rewrite two months ago. I wrote my first draft of I’LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER YOU in March 2023. Just finished the latest rewrite (April 2025). How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process? Whenever I get stuck, I stop and walk away from my laptop. I know I’ll come back eventually but I just don’t know when. What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter? Final Draft 12 and as I said earlier, I had my first encounter with ChatGPT. My wife is a computer nerd/genius so she’s helping me learn how to use it. How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests? I’ve scaled back on contest participation. I’ve won enough awards to validate my writing abilities Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter? Well, right now I’m 76. So in five years I’ll either be dead or still at it. I’ve faced and cheated death multiple times since I was 19. My parents and grandparents lived into their 90s, so I remain hopeful. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? To leave behind a finish piece of cinema so my grandkids and brag about me. 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? We need to be smarter than AI and harness it to our needs. I don’t really believe we’ll be replaced because human are too adaptable. Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? David Mamet, Eric Roth, Corey Mandell. They constantly hit home runs. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? Movies: The Magnificent Seven. The Usual Suspects. TV: Cheers. Laugh-In What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? Don’t send your work out too early. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?) A female-lead psychological thriller. Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.) Facebook. Stage 32. Coverfly. I don’t have the time or inclination to get too deep into social media. |
