R.J. AIRAMID SELRAHC
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 PictureR.J. AIRAMID SELRAHC
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Right now, I’m somewhere in Arizona. Could be for the weather, could be because of witness protection. I ain’t saying which.

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?
This was a concept that I had with a friend a long time ago. But, since we were very new to screenwriting, we wrote it in the completely wrong format of three-camera sitcom, which means it needed to be twice as long. So at that moment, I decided that not only did it need a rewrite, but a lot more had to be fleshed out for it to be a viable one-hour series. For all intents and purposes, this pilot started as a writing exercise to see if I could actually double the length and fix what was missing, then got more and more interesting to me as I began writing it.
I like to try and ground my stories in something factual, be it a historical person, an actual event… something real. (A supernatural series engine was the result of recent CIA declassifications.) It would seem the old adage “truth is stranger than fiction” still holds true. As for why I write screenplays and not novels, I can only say that I tend to think more visually. Writing a story as a movie just makes more sense to me than writing it as a novel. A book is meant to be read, a script is meant to be seen.

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?
First, I’m a huge fan of praying. After that, I spend a lot of time working on the outline. Figuring out what the story beats are, what the hero wants, what his real problem is, and what is standing in his way that would be interesting enough for someone to want to watch it, be it a pilot or a screenplay. For In The Dark, once I added a supernatural element to it, more pieces began to fall more naturally into place, absolutely no pun intended. The rewrite on that took a few weeks, because most of the groundwork had already been laid.
Normally, a script will take a month or so of writing. The outline, however, is another story entirely. That can take a lot longer. However, I find it a lot easier to wander with purpose if I am holding a map and a compass than just a compass alone.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
To stop having to pay for coverage would be nice. Also, I look forward to the day when I can look a studio executive in the eye and say, “That’s the dumbest note I’ve ever heard in my entire life!” and still be allowed to stay in the meeting.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or "the first ten pages"? Why did you make that choice?
The Wiki has consistently given me the best coverage notes that I have ever received (way better than anything I’ve gotten from The Blacklist, truth be told), so I prefer to submit a final draft and then see what their readers have to say, rather than just the first 10 pages.
The notes I get from Wiki are thoughtful, insightful, and helpful. So I am genuinely interested in what they have to say.
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What's your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
Sadly, I don’t have a lot of time to watch television and I’m not a fan of the Marvel series… So it’s been a while since anything has popped up on my radar. I find myself reading more scripts than watching movies. The most recent script I’ve read was Obsession by Currie Barker.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
A long time ago, a friend of mine, who was working in the industry, was walking past a dumpster in the parking lot of where she worked. Someone had thrown away a bunch of scripts, probably just cleaning out the files. She picked up the one on top and looked at it. Her jaw dropped. Then she saw that the coverage notes that were also with the script. After reading the coverage, her jaw dropped further.
The coverage was from a very well-known production company, and they absolutely hated the script. The reader lambasted it in every possible way. They ended the coverage by saying that, and I’m quoting here, “I see no way for this script to be made into a movie that anyone would ever pay money to see.”
The title of the script was GOOD WILL HUNTING. And my friend told me that she read the script that night, and every single memorable scene that made that movie what it is was in that script. It was practically the shooting script. And they not only passed on it, they took several pages to tell everyone why they hated that script. So my advice is this: before you even entertain the notion of becoming a professional screenwriter, know that you are entering into a profession that confidently rejected Good Will Hunting, but somehow found it in their hearts to green light Howard the Duck. And if that in any way bothers you, I suggest you find another line of work.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
Currently, I'm working on a Southern Gothic horror screenplay called MISTY. I hope to be getting notes from The Wiki on that soon. I can tell you I feel far more comfortable writing a screenplay than I would ever feel writing for a television show, though. There’s more freedom in it. So I will probably stick to those in the future.
Looking at the blinking cursor just under FADE IN on a Final Draft document is just an invitation to inhabit another world for a while. And it’s an invitation that should never be ignored.
Website: https://www.stage32.com/profile/1363054/about