Enjoy this next installment of exclusive behind the scenes interviews with key members of The Storyteller production. Learn more about how the film was made and see footage of the making of!

This video features the incredible Rachel Noll, co-writer and Producer of The Storyteller.

Sure, you won’t be able to find any non-fiction literature about this exact topic, but there are ways around that. You can break it down. Science already knows what would happen to earth if humans were taken out of the equation. Or the worldwide impact of a nuclear war. There are also documented cases of different species crossbreeding. Or you can research an emotionally similar situation, like a well-documented mixed-race relationship in a 1920’s segregated America. Then let your imagination do the rest. Research can give you the building blocks for any kind of script, but why is it important, when do you do it and how much is needed?

Why?

If you write about something you know nothing (or very little) about, chances are it will feel fake. Remember that interesting characters are products not just of your creative whim, but of their own situation. Their place in the world. Their lot in life. The choices they make. If these places, circumstances and choices aren’t rooted in at least their own reality, then everything that character says or does will feel fake. Similarly, if you base your post-apocalyptic love story on your own ten favorite post-apocalyptic movies, then the world you’re creating will feel like a rehash rather than a rich, deep environment.

When?

The script pros might tell you that a good script begins with a great idea. A spark, as they say. I would agree. Instead of researching your way into a good story, research your way out of it. Know the basics of what kind of trouble you want to put your character in first, then use research to truthfully and accurately get her out of said trouble. If you start researching blindly, hoping to stumble across a good story, you could be looking for a very long time. Which brings us to the final question:

How much?

There are different thoughts on this and I think it’s important to distinguish between researching the world in which you are playing out your story, and the details pertaining to your plot. Once you have decided on a time and place for your story, you will need to do your research on the social, political, cultural and technological zeitgeist. Your characters will have different motivations and make different choices based on the environment you put them in, so make sure you know enough about that environment to sustain your viewer’s suspension of disbelief. If you’re writing about an American family in the 60’s, don’t have them plan their dream vacation to Cuba. And definitely don’t have them look up flight deals on their cellphones. You get the point. The research you need to do for the world of your story should be extensive, unless you’re writing about a time and place you are already very familiar with.

If you know enough about the world your story is set in, the plot should fit right in. The research needed for your plot details will then be more of the creative kind. It can be to give your language flavor and depth, like accurately naming the kind of spear an Amazon warrior uses to wound your protagonist as she treks through the jungle, or using factual, historical events as inspiration for what might happen to a homosexual character serving in the military.

For both kinds of research, however, the experts recommend giving yourself a limited amount of time before you need to bring your attention back to actually writing the damn thing. When researching the world, you might give yourself two months. That’s two months of documentaries, non-fiction literature, novels, articles – maybe even interviews with people who have lived in the time and place you are researching for. When researching plot, you might give yourself as little as one hour to go digging for clues whenever you need the inspiration. Google searches, wikipedia, trips to the library, call a friend – then back to work.

Creating your own system

So there you have the grand thoughts about doing research – but what about the nuts and bolts? Here are some tips and tricks.

 1. Carry an idea workbook. This is a place you can jot down thoughts, facts, to-do lists and anything else that might come in handy when you sit yourself down to type. This is not so much your story bible, as it is your knowledge bank of everything you’ve gathered along the way. It’s unfiltered and full of creativity. It can be a Dropbox folder you can add to from both smartphone and laptop, or it can be – which I would personally prefer – a beautiful, leather-bound notebook.

2. Write down your overall plot summary. Then let that be your compass when doing research. If you feel yourself going down a rabbithole, return to your plot summary and ask yourself how this research benefits your plot. If it doesn’t, get back on track.

3. Set up interviews. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you think will be able to offer an interesting perspective on the particular subject you’re researching. It’s part of the human psyche – we love talking about what we do or what we have done.

4. Know your stuff and don’t cut corners. You can use creative license, of course, but only do so when you’re doing so intentionally and not simply out of a lack of knowledge. Chances are that someone out there – a reader, a viewer, a producer, an actor – knows just as much as you, or more. Remember, you need to suspend disbelief, not create it.

And speaking of actors knowing their stuff, check out this list of 10 Actors Who Conducted Insane Research For Iconic Movie Roles.

Last time we discussed ideas – where they come from and which ones to pursue. Once the light bulb has come on and the idea has formed, the journey to the first draft begins. Books, articles, websites, even entire classes are devoted to understanding and giving writers tools to navigate this daunting and, at times, hair pulling journey. Every writer’s method is unique to his or her writing process. In addition, a writer’s process is always in a state of development. One story might suggest a more outlined approach, while another might be hindered by it. This process is even more unique when two writers collaborate.

For the majority of the writing process, Joe and I would have a long conversation about the world, the characters, and the scenes, and then I would take all of this and begin writing. Usually I would stop after 15 or 20 pages and send to Joe to make sure it was moving in the right direction. Joe would read over the pages, make detailed notes, he and I would discuss them at length, and then I would implement them, and write forward on the next 15-20 pages. After we had a “complete” first draft, and could see more clearly where the story was headed, then Joe and I began trading drafts. He would take the most current draft and go through it, making changes and adjustments, he would send to me, I would do a pass through it, and we traded back and forth until we both felt satisfied with the flow. – Rachel Noll, co-writer and producer of The Storyteller

To write beat sheet or not? That is the question.

A typical fictional story has THREE ACTS, simply the beginning, middle and end. The beat sheet – a method famously explored in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat – is at its core, a breakdown of your main characters progression through those three acts.   There are a total of 8 beats (or sequences) in any give story. In a nutshell:

Each sequence is a portion of the story that leads the character to the next. Writing down your characters predicament in each sequence and whether they succeed or fail allows you to outline the entire story.

And check out this helpful video to learn more about 8 sequences:

It’s important to get ideas down on paper, but a lot of it has to happen in your head first. Most of my ideas come at strange times during the day – while I’m out in the woods walking or in the shower or when I wake up in the morning lying in bed. It’s a form of meditation for me – I never was too good at meditating and stopping the “monkey mind” by emptying it – I’d prefer to calm it by tapping into a story or a character or a concept. – Joe Crump, co-writer and director of The Storyteller

For some writers, a beat sheet is the most outlining they will do. Others prefer to expand that outline and break each sequence down into the individual scenes that will make up each sequence. This is most famously done on index cards, one card equaling one scene.   And some writers prefer to take their idea and find the structure during their journey of writing the first draft. A writer’s process doesn’t mean getting from point A to point B will be easy – it means you’ll get there.

Even if you don’t write a beat sheet or outline, breaking down other movies, similar in tone or character arc to yours, is a great way to sharpen your storytelling skills.   Wondering where to start? Check out this article by yours truly that broke down The Graduate.

Let’s Be Clear: Your writing process is YOUR writing process! Understanding a three-act structure and/or diving into an 8-sequence structure does NOT make your story formulaic.   Think of it like this: every person on this planet is unique, but we are all made up of bones that connect to make our skeleton. So too is a three act structure your story’s skeleton.

Communication is key is ANY kind of collaboration. This is especially true in writing because a story can’t be developed when its writers (no pun intended) aren’t on the same page. But when two writers come together, they can bring out the best in each other and create something special.

Talk about a collaboration! Remember this great scene?

For me, the benefit is having someone to bounce ideas off of. You can get stuck in your own head sometimes and circle around a problem scene or moment. With two people, there is always an alternative perspective to be shared. We help un-stick and inspire each other. Collaborating can be tricky though. I have had a really hard time collaborating in the past… Joe and I have found a very natural rhythm, and we are very much on the same page about the stories we are working on, and the way we delegate the work. In my experience, this kind of an easy partnership is a rare thing. Its like finding a romantic partner, or a dance partner…. you have to be in sync with each other, and if you aren’t, it can be more detrimental than helpful. – Rachel Noll, co-writer and producer of The Storyteller

First draft = vomit draft.

Whether you have outlined every detail of your story or took to the page having no idea where the story would end, the first draft is ALWAYS about getting the story out, hence the term vomit draft. The first draft is not about making the script pretty or even having every moment make perfect sense. It’s about getting the idea written.

Rewriting is probably the most important part of the process for me. We will work on a script until we think it’s the best it can be. Then we send it out to friends and to a few paid script readers, who don’t know us, for feedback. They come back with comments – some of them aren’t helpful, but when you start to look at multiple comments from several people, you can sometimes see a pattern and discover things they never articulated, but are buried beneath the surface. When that happens, we do another draft – and then we follow this same process again and again until we shoot. It’s never really done. There is always another layer, another nuance that can be added. - Joe Crump, co-writer and director of The Storyteller

Typing the words ”the end” is a victory, one that not every writer gets to. And it’s after that victory that the refining process begins. This doesn’t mean adding pages or coming up with a twist ending. It means going back and analyzing “what works in this draft? What doesn’t work? What is this story really about?” Again, you can plan and plan and plan, but once you have that story written, only then can you really take a step back and see the difference between the story you envisioned and the story you wrote. It’s then that the process morphs into taking the story where it wants to go!

Join us next time when we’ll discuss copyrighting – how and why do you copyright your script? Until then here’s a fun clip that shows the benefits of collaboration:

The following interview was conducted for the Boulder Writers’ Workshop by Lori DeBoer. Lori is the founder of the Boulder Writers’ Workshop and works as an independent writing teacher and coach. She is a contributing editor for Short Story Writer and has had more than a thousand articles and essays published in newspapers, magazines and literary journals, including The New York Times.

Erik V. Wolter is a screenwriter, author and producer with more than twenty screenplays to his credit. If you haven’t already, be sure to also read Part I of this interview.

Is it possible to be a screenwriter working in Colorado, or do you have to fly to the West Coast a lot?

The sources available online make it possible to be a screenwriter anywhere. Being in LA and in a position to make personal connections is certainly a plus, but in no way is it necessary anymore.

Your most recent novel, Break the Stage, is based on screenplay you wrote for a movie that is now being filmed. Can you talk about that story and its genesis?

Getting hired to write the screenplay for Break the Stage came as a result of striking up a conversation with a director while working out at a fitness center. That assignment led to them optioning a series of scripts and even some unfinished projects of mine they liked because they are looking for movies with a positive message for young people.

Both TV and feature filmmakers have fallen in love with adaptations of novels, especially but not exclusively true stories. Because of my first book and the adaptation of a novel I did for a production company with the rights to The Trials of Adrian Wheeler, I now get asked to adapt other books to screenplays or the reverse, novelize a script. Break the Stage, the book, is a novelization of the script. As a result, it reads more like a movie but with details, back story, and personal reflection of the characters that sometimes fail to come across in a visual medium. Although I always admired real novelists for their prose and poetic style, I was (still am) thoroughly intimidated. Novelistic style in a screenplay is verboten, so lucky me. I am most comfortable with screenwriting, but willing to work on the skills of writing one finds in a traditional novel.

What has it been like to live the Hollywood life? Have you been involved with the shooting?

The closest I’ve come to living the Hollywood life was watching Entourage on a regular basis.

Break the Stage is being shot entirely in and around Orlando, and I was on set for the first week of filming. Seldom do screenwriters get to enjoy seeing first-hand the process of taking what they have written and making it come to life. It was a treat to say the least. Typically, directors are reluctant to have the writer on set for fear of having the writer interfere with the director’s vision. In my case, the relationship I had with the director was positive. He wanted my input. And the fact that I was also executive producer didn’t hurt either. That said, I may have ruffled a few feathers of actors and crew a couple of times by stepping in when I saw dialogue or action of the actors straying significantly from the storyline. The younger actors in particular sometimes didn’t realize that nuances in behavior or dialogue shouldn’t be dismissed or changed with an ad-lib. It could alter their character or some other thread in the story down the line that would make no sense. Scenes are not filmed in the order they appear in the script so it is easy for less experienced actors to miss the big picture. Call backs for retakes days later because the story has been compromised are expensive.

You’ve done well recently in a competition for screenplay writing. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

There is one school of thought that screenplay competitions are a waste of time and money, partly because the number of entries is mind-boggling, making chances of winning slim. Many contests are criticized as being nothing more than money machines for the organizers. There is a flip-side to that cynicism. They do offer a chance of getting a script read, usually by someone who can make a difference. Odds are better if the script advances to the later rounds. Some contests offer feedback for a little more money, so if you request feedback you’re practically guaranteed they have read the entire script. Unless the contest rules state otherwise, the read of your screenplay may end after ten or fifteen pages. And in the final analysis, some contests stand out from the rest. Page, Nicholl, BlueCat, Austin, Screenplay Festival, Script Pipeline, Tracking Board, Final Draft, Scriptalooza all have excellent reputations. If that seems like a long list, there are many more out there who aren’t in the same ballpark.

I go for long periods of time not entering, but whenever I like to get a sense of where the script stands compared to what else is out there I will enter. There is always hope that it will do well enough to not abandon the story and take a shot at another rewrite. If what I have doesn’t advance past the first round, I know it has serious problems. But I never enter with any thoughts of winning. In the first place, winning is no guarantee that your script will get made. Many never do. Making the finals will at least make your script worthy of a writing sample that may open a door to a writing assignment somewhere in the industry.

A screenplay based on Loyalty on Trial made the Finals of the Page Awards in 2012. I have had a few others place in the semi-finals of contests. This year Footsteps of My Father was a Finalist in BlueCat and the Screenplay Festival. And I was honored to receive a first place in the 2015 Ink Awards for my screenplay, Break The Stage, and in the nonfiction category for my book, Loyalty on Trial: One American’s Battle with the FBI.

Do you have a genre that you prefer to write in? Can you speak about the differences between the genres?

Serious drama is my preference. Maybe that’s because I’ve never been a fan of anything not grounded in reality, meaning Sci-Fi might have a realistic story just set in the future. A thriller may be scary yet realistic, but horror too far-fetched. Fantasy and supernatural don’t do anything for me either, but mystery and suspense do. And I have to admit, I do enjoy those so-called “chick flicks,” love stories or romantic comedies.

What writers have influenced you and why?

Jack Kerouac, Salinger, and Kurt Vonnegut made my head spin when I was very young. I admired Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck as a high school student. Emerson and Whitman made me think. I envied Frost and Sandberg as poets. Bertrand Russell set my head straight. And when it comes to screenwriters, I would love to have just a fraction of the talent of Mamet, Sorkin, Simon, Lucas, or Spielberg.

How have you gone about improving your writing craft?

I began by reading as many books on screenwriting as I could find. I still look for anything new that has been released. There are more blogs and websites offering advice than one can keep up with, but Script Shadow by Carson Reeves is one that I read daily. Reading screenplays that are made available on line is a great way to learn what works and what doesn’t. Coverage and feedback from professional analysts has been invaluable.

What do you find most challenging aspect of writing and how have you overcome that challenge?

In screenwriting, structure has been a challenge. Establishing characters distinctive voice in writing dialogue is a continuing struggle. In my brief adventure in novel writing, I constantly fumble POV. I’m afraid that overcoming these challenges is a work in progress. Oh yes, commas. Commas do me in more often than I like.

Do you have a writing routine?  

I’m usually at my desk by 5am. From then on, my day may or may not be solid writing, but it will be definitely related to my work. With projects in development or like now with a script in production, emails, texts, and phone calls intrude with focused writing. I may be working on a new script, researching, pitching, and rewriting a couple of projects all at the same time. Which ones get the most attention will depend on deadlines, some self-imposed, some real. If I feel compelled to shut out all these other distractions, I will block out a few hours to just write, deal with all the non-writing necessary nonsense, then return to writing setting aside another block of time, either late afternoon and/or late at night.

Are you a “plotter” or a “panster”?

I create a rough outline of the story or beat sheet. I like to script the opening and ending based on my logline. In the outline I try to identify the inciting incident, first act turning point, the midpoint, and all is lost moment that begins the third act. I will also write up a brief bio and back story of the main characters. But once I start into actually writing the script, I don’t allow myself to be bound by that outline. If the characters take me in a different direction, I will see where it takes the story and change my storyline or scene sequences if need be.

How do you come up with your ideas?

I have found that my own experiences may often serve as a foundation of an idea. Social issues and relationships with others tend to get my attention. I may see something in the newspaper, on TV or the internet that sparks a “What if?” I used to take my dog to this dog park in Florida. There was a wooded area adjacent to it where you could wander through as well as the normal open area that fronted a lake. It looked like an ideal spot for a homeless person to set up camp. Totally separate to the dog park, I often saw a homeless man on a bike while I was on my way home from school. He had a little basket on the front of the bike. There was an ongoing controversy of a historic home about to be demolished in town. Next thing I know, I’m writing a romantic comedy about a homeless guy who puts his little dog in the basket on his bike who lives in the woods at the dog park. A young teacher who is fighting to preserve her historic home encounters this mysterious charismatic homeless guy at the dog park. Their dogs, although polar opposites, like each other, and then… What was the question again?

What intrigues you the most about writing and storytelling? Characterization? Plot? What?

Characterization and dialogue intrigue me the most. If I go into why, this interview will never end and I will have a ton of emails to answer, fallen further behind in my latest project, and anyone still reading this is already about to click that x at the top of the page and go back to their own writing.

Do you ever get discouraged and why? What keeps you going?

As an older writer, one who started so late in life, I take rejection with a grain of salt. I don’t get discouraged, I look at it as a learning experience and plod on, keeping in mind the sense of urgency that I have to catch-up, if you will, before “Father Time” declares FADE OUT:

How have you grown as a writer over the years? What do you know now that you didn’t know when you started out?

Admittedly, I am a long way from being a “household name” as an author or screenwriter, but after ten years of effort, and if all goes right during the next five years, it looks like I’m in a position to make a few movies and write a few more books. It’s been a fun ride.

One thing I told a class of students recently that is a lesson I learned and may be worth repeating. “Whether you are wanna-be writers or dream about some other career; talent is way over-rated. The cliché is accurate. Take advantage of the opportunities given to you to learn the skills required, work at them harder and longer than you ever thought possible, seize the chance to take advantage of luck that may come your way, and stay the course, as long as you love what you are doing. You may not win the Oscar, be # 1, or super-rich, but you will have a level of success that allows you to feel good about yourself and to live your dream.”

That pretty much sums up my journey.

What can we expect from you next?

How about if I keep it short and simple next time I’m asked a question? Seriously, I have a sequel in the works to Break the Stage the movie, and high hopes for a couple of scripts in development. I am in the process of collaborating with another writer to novelize some of my existing scripts, and collaborating with a writer to revise a script. And then… never mind, I’ll keep you posted.

A big thanks to both Erik V. Wolter and Lori DeBoer for sharing this wonderful interview with us!

The following interview was conducted for the Boulder Writers’ Workshop by Lori DeBoer. Lori is the founder of the Boulder Writers’ Workshop and works as an independent writing teacher and coach. She is a contributing editor for Short Story Writer and has had more than a thousand articles and essays published in newspapers, magazines and literary journals, including The New York Times.

Erik V. Wolter is a screenwriter, author and producer with more than twenty screenplays to his credit.

You have a background in education and taught for many years. Have you always been writing or is this a second career?

If writing a few articles for my grade school and high school newspaper counts, then I’ve been writing a very long time. Like so many writers, I was encouraged by a high school English teacher who took me aside and said I should be an English major in college. I failed to heed her advice, focused on history and political science, only to decade’s later regret it when I found myself scrambling to hone those fundamental skills other writers take for granted. My interest in political and social issues did serve to prompt me to write frequent letters to the editor on controversial issues, causing me to parse every word out of fear that it might actually appear in the paper or evoke the wrath of someone’s rebuttal that would allow them to get the last word. Today, as a result, I’m not one to write quickly in a stream of consciousness style. I tend to dissect every scene and strive to get it as close to my version of perfection before moving on with the story, typically not recommended, especially if you can’t handle sleep deprivation.

But to answer your second question, I began writing Loyalty on Trial in 2001 and it was published in 2004. Before I left teaching in 2011, I was fortunate to be hired to write two screenplays on assignment for a production company, wrote five original scripts, and acquired an agent. It’s only since then I could really claim a second career was launched. Being able to devote full time to writing had everything to do with five collaborations with other writers, an assignment to adapt a novel in development with another LA production company, six more spec scripts, and the Y/A novelization of my screenplay, Break the Stage now in the final stages of filming in Orlando, Florida.

“Get a life, Erik!” Feel free to say it out loud. I have heard that very comment in my own home and not from my two dogs. Seriously though, here’s the subtext for any writer frustrated with trying to find the time to write in the context of family, job, and still have a “life.” I play tennis, ski, and work out. I also have dinner with my wife nightly where we share out thoughts and discuss… you name it. When I was teaching, I made time to write by treating it as a part-time job that required a commitment of a certain number of hours daily. The fact that I couldn’t wait to get to that second job made it the best moonlighting experience ever. I’d bet that any fellow-writer reading this has had more formal training in writing than I have, and can run circles around me when it comes to pounding out pages on the keyboard. Therefore, you know what comes next. If I can do it…

Has your teaching informed your writing in any way?

What made this journey possible was the fact that I was a veteran teacher when it all began. I knew how to organize my time, had the work ethic to stay at it late into the night, and sacrifice summers and other holidays for time to write. And retiring in 2011 clearly gave me an opportunity to establish a second career, and unlike a younger person trying to break into this writing biz, I didn’t have the pressure to make a living solely off of my writing.

You’ve written in many genres—novels, screenplays, nonfiction. How have you come to be involved in so many different types of writing?

Most of the screenwriting gurus advise against writing for multiple genres because agents and managers claim they prefer to market a writer who has a track record of success in one genre. Develop the skills required in that one genre and you will acquire a following and be more marketable, they claim. That may work for some, but I wanted to experiment in as many genres and mediums as I could when I started out. And I couldn’t buy into the idea that I had to focus on one when in fact my interests and experiences were diverse. But I do agree that if you discover that you are really successful in one genre, it makes sense to focus most of your attention there.

Which genre excites you the most or do you like them all?

Other than horror, I like them all. Liking straight comedy though isn’t enough. Apparently, writing comedy works best if you are actually funny. I have had more success in drama than any other genre, but I still get tempted to take a chance and test myself in something new if I have a story in mind.

Tell us about Loyalty on Trial: One American’s Battle with the FBI, which is based on your father’s experience. Could you talk about the book and how that project came to be?

My odyssey from AP Government and Politics teacher to full-time writer began in the summer of 2001. I flew to Chicago to help my sister move my mother out of the house where our family lived since 1945. My mother, a German immigrant, who celebrated her 99^th birthday in March, was moving to Las Vegas to be closer to my sister. Dad, also born in Germany, died in 1994. Mom asked me to bring down a sealed box from a shelf in her closet. She said, “Dad would have wanted you to have this.” What the box disclosed became the catalyst for Loyalty on Trial: One American’s Battle with the FBI.

My father was that American. He chose to keep his experience with the FBI sealed in that box for nearly sixty years. The box revealed that he was charged with disloyalty and subsequently denaturalized after a high-profile trial in 1942, but on appeal to the Supreme Court the decision was overturned based on First Amendment rights of speech and association. In the box, I found a 700 page trial transcript, newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook of columns he wrote for a German language newspaper in the 1930’s.

After staying up the entire night and digesting it all, my sister said, “You should write a book about this.” My response was something like, “Yeah sure, me… write a book.” But after returning home to Florida, I was intrigued. How did this ever happen? And from what I read, it was obvious that there had been thousands of other German Americans and German nationals interned in camps across the country and many deported. As an American History major and U.S. Government teacher, I had to wonder how this slipped through the cracks. Here was an untold story from WWII that demonstrated how patriotic fervor can lead to paranoia, intolerance, and repression when government seeks expedient means to achieve an alleged “greater good,” only not to be found in any high school textbook.

How did the research and writing of that book unfold?

I filed a Freedom of Information request with the Federal Government, and two weeks later a box was at my doorstep when I came home. The 1,000 pages of FBI files, including, confidential informants, illegal “mail covers” and letters about my father signed by J. Edgar Hoover was enough to convince me that a book should be written, at least by someone. About that time, the horrific attack on 9/11 happened. The parallels of how German Americans and Americans of Middle-Eastern descent were treated based on societal hysteria and unjustified profiling by the government were striking. So I took the plunge into documenting my Dad’s story.

What was the biggest challenge in writing and publishing the book?

After months of pursuing university press publishers, only to receive praise for the work but polite rejections due to not having a PHD, I took the self-publishing road. By 2004 I was an author of a book that was positively reviewed in history circles and by First Amendment advocates, including the president of the ACLU. Without the resources of a traditional publisher, and despite my own efforts, marketing the book never amounted to much. But then I heard, and not just from my sister, “This would make a great movie.”

How did you move from that book into being involved in screenwriting?

While still teaching, I immersed myself into studying screenwriting. There was no shortage of material online, including how-to books, consultants, script analysts, and sample screenplays. But my early attempts to transform my book to a screenplay produced a script that frankly was quite awful. And that was a good thing because as you know, writing is rewriting and that is doubly true for screenplays. Ultimately, the fictional version of my book made the Finals in 2012 of the Page Awards. During that time, I gained experience as I wrote more scripts about that with which I was most familiar, teenagers and history. Coverage and contest results continued to be more positive than negative. One thing I learned along the way, making stuff up (or should I say creating), even if it is drawn from actual events, real people, or your own experience is much more enjoyable than writing nonfiction, at least for me. I tried my hand in other genres just to see if I could and discovered that only horror and straight comedy weren’t my cup of tea.

Was it difficult writing about something historical that had personal ties?

Despite having personal ties to the story, my training and experience as a teacher told me the best approach was to document the story from the perspective of the government acting in wartime versus an immigrant torn between his devotion to his new country and his attachment to the ongoing turmoil taking place in the country of his birth. Balancing those elements within the broader context of civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution would be my challenge. According to the Midwest Book Review, I was reasonably successful, “Loyalty On Trial relies so heavily on primary sources and the transcript of the trial itself that it does not pretend to read like a novel; instead, it offers the straight facts to the reader, leaving him or her to judge Wolter’s loyalty and the dubious American policy that almost certainly forced unjust imprisonment and deportation upon thousands of innocent German-Americans.”

How many screenplays have you written and what has been your experience in pitching them and getting them produced?

To date, my resume lists twenty-two screenplays. Five of those were collaborative efforts with other screenwriters, and another five were writer for hire assignments. Pitching the remaining original specs was time consuming and a never-ending process. Having an agent is a foot in the door when it comes to queries and credibility, but promoting your own work is a given. The film industry provides numerous opportunities to pitch one’s work online and in person via pitch fests in LA. I have had good results online from Ink Tip and Virtual Pitch Fest. Coverage services like the Black List and the Tracking Board are sources to get your work noticed, and screenplay contests, although extremely competitive, have been known to launch careers for those who make the finals.

Getting produced is the goal, but the reality is it is a long shot. Actually, it is more like a buzzer beater three-quarter-court desperation shot when your team, the lowest seed in the tournament after a Cinderella-run, is down by three in the national championship. You not only make it to tie the game, you get fouled and head to the free-throw line while the rabid home crowd of the undefeated #1 team in the country does everything possible to make you miss. All alone on the line, because the clock has run out, you clank it but somehow it bounces three times on the rim and finally rolls through. You now get to take the place of Christian Laettner as the most hated college basketball player. On the other hand, one of my former students, Jamie Linden, wrote We Are Marshall, and it was his first. Diablo Cody’s, Juno was not only her first but won an Oscar for original screenplay. Hope springs eternal on the court and for those pounding on the keyboard into the wee hours of the night on that last rewrite.

… check back for Part II of this interview with Erik V. Wolter!