RAY KELLER
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 PictureRAY KELLER
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Boulder, Colorado, 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?
For my script, NATIONAL INSECURITY, the inspiration came from wondering what might happen if an NSA agent decided to use the powers of their massive data collection system to try to win back a lover who jilted her.

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 wrote the first draft over three months. I start with an initial idea, refine it while I’m working on other things, then I put it into an outline and rehash that for a while. I create a text document with the outline, but on other scripts I have used the index card method. When I did
get writing, it took a couple weeks and I had a first draft. After I have a first draft I go back and rewrite it a few times, then I get a U.S. Government Copyright and then I’ll show it to others.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
Get my screenplays made in to films that everyone can see.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
The Wiki Screenplay Contest – I’d entered the ten page contest before with another script and did well in it and additionally got good feedback, so I figured the full script contest would be even better.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
My favorite film is Juno. Mainly because the story is so fun and interesting and the dialogue is whip-smart. Also, it has something to say.
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What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Keep working at writing. Many beginners create one screenplay and then never go on to a second one. This is a mistake. You need to put in the 10,000 hours of writing to start to become an expert in it and to find your voice. Other writers can write the same sort of story that you are writing, but only you can write it in your voice.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I have a dozen other screenplays that I’m working on. Some are just being put together, others are going through their first rewrites and still others have had dozens of rewrites and are getting the final polish.