lyric nelson
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Riverside, California 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? I truly can’t remember what inspired the story because it’s one of my oldest stories, it’s about 12 years old now. When I was in high school I wrote it as a novel but the story has evolved and grown this extra head and I just thought, visually, it should be a movie. 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’ve been tossing around the idea for over a decade and writing and rewriting but since I physically sat down with the determination to write a screenplay of the story, it took me, all and all, just a few months to write. My process is to make an outline in my notes and follow that outline as if it was a season of television. That process helps me to compartmentalize and focus because instead of saying “okay, brain, write a whole screenplay” which overwhelms me, I say “what’s the story I’ll write this week that’s gonna help the overall arc?” It helps me focus. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? My ultimate goal is to have my own production company, be making my own television shows and movies. And to revolutionize movies as a whole because I do see the industry being in trouble in the coming years with attention spans going down and movie theatres going out of business around me. Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? Writers who inspire me all surround TV like Shonda Rhymes, Tina Fey, Issa Rae. Each of their writing styles are very different from each other but they are in a league their own and that’s my aspiration. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? My favorite movie, as hard as it is to say, is Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2. Favorite show is Scandal or Futurama, depending on my mood. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? I’d say get to applying. Once you’ve got your story down, you’ve read it, someone who isn’t you has read it, then send it in. I initially wrote into this contest for the notes and look how it worked out! You never know until you try and with this contest, they’ll tell you if they feel like you’re ready and how you can get ready if you aren’t quite there yet. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? I’m always working on too many different projects which is both good and bad. My next project however is to compile interviews with my family and make a story out of that. I never got to know my dad's mother who was a white lady raising ten half black children in the sixties and seventies. Just from what I’ve been told so far, there’s a lot to unpack there so I’m excited for that. |
