Home Base: Los Angeles, CA
Bio: Hailing from Boston, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career in television/film.
Prior to that, I worked as an EMT and served in AmeriCorps, which gave me a long list of random skills that somehow aren’t as useful as I’d hoped.
Spec Script Portfolio:
Criminal Minds, “Salvation”
Logline: While the BAU team works in Anaheim, Will informs them that J.J. has been abducted from their family vacation at Disneyland. With J.J. a perfect fit in their UnSub’s victimology, Hotch and his team must work even faster to identify and catch the killer before one of their own becomes the next dead body.
NOTE: Finalist in the UCLA Extension Television Spec Competition
Original TV Drama Pilot: “Basics”
Logline: After a nervous breakdown forces her to re-evaluate her life, a recent Harvard grad joins the blue collar ranks of EMT-Basics in a dysfunctional ambulance company, where between the ridiculous calls, her loose-cannon coworkers, and a running tally of who can hook up with the new girls first, she finds her sanity more at risk than ever before.
Screenplay: “Rebuilding Ben”
Logline: Anti-social Benji spent the last four years hitting the books so that he could graduate early from high school. On the brink of reaching this dream, he is forced to join a senior trip to New Orleans and prove that he can form connections with his peers, otherwise the powers that be are afraid he could become psychologically unhinged as a fifteen-year-old attending college. But when a beautiful, quirky girl takes an interest in him, fitting in and going to college take a back seat to experiencing his first love.
Screenplay: “Apocalypse Beta”
Logline: After much harassment from her fun-loving best friend, a passive and introverted young woman agrees to beta test a mind-blowing virtual reality game that simulates the zombie apocalypse. But when the players get stuck inside the game, threatening their lives in the real world, and her team makes a plan using her as the key component, she must suck it up, face her fear of inadequacy, and kick some zombie butt.
Why I Write: The deeper I dig into a character, the more real that person becomes to me and enriches my life, helps me understand myself, helps me understand others. It’s like finding a new friend (or sometimes enemy). There’s catharsis, when I both view and create these character moments. And when those pieces that connected me to a story also connect with someone else, that to me is the greatness of writing and what I strive for. That, and escapism.
What Inspires Me: Discovering that a story I felt so personally and passionately meant the same thing to others. Even though it might seem like it makes me less special, it actually makes me feel less alone. I like to think that even when you’re all alone, someone else somewhere feels what you feel, and knows what you’re going through, and you’re connected through that.
My Brand: Edgy drama, dramedy
My Process: Something very specific will usually strike me – a character, a scene, a theme, a conceit. From there, I puzzle together the missing elements, maybe free write a couple scenes, then plot out a beat sheet. I try for a first draft that’s whatever comes to mind as long as it follows what’s laid out in the beat sheet, and that’s where I find plot holes, character holes, moments to explore, etc. And once I’ve gone through that process, I’ll make an outline that really fleshes everything out and provides a much better blueprint for an organized, concise second draft.
Writing Schedule: I prefer to write between 10pm and 4am, but when I’m at a regular 9-5 job, I tend to write a few hours each evening on weekdays, plus 2 hours each afternoon on the weekend and 2-4 more hours those nights.
Actions I’ve Taken to Further My Career: Since I can only afford a handful of classes, I’ve tried to balance between ones that help me become a better writer and ones that help me navigate the entertainment industry. I’ve entered screenwriting competitions that offer feedback or coverage as part of the judging process, so that I can get a better idea of how the industry will respond to my work (and how to make it better). I’ve also bugged a few of my friends who currently work in the industry and had them read my work.
What’s Worked: Pretty much all of the UCLA Extension classes that I’ve taken have been hugely helpful. At the very least, it’s good practice, and you have the eyes and ears of someone who’s been out there and knows how to critique your work. Plus the feedback from your peers, whether you agree with them or not, is always a good way to understand how people will react to your work. I’ve also found script coverage helpful. I recommend entering one of the competitions that does this, because you kill two birds with one stone: You’ll get feedback, but might also win some money! I’ve heard contests in general are not great at breaking people in, but if you go about it realistically, you can get something out of it.
What was a Waste of Time: Early on, I took an “Intro to Screenwriting” class that was far too introductory for me. We spent way too long talking about the elements of a story, and not a single one of my classmates seemed to have had even a basic writing class in high school or college. This might seem a little harsh, but it was a waste of my time since I was beyond the “What is a story?” part. We spent so long going over those elements that we never even talked about the basic structure of a screenplay. From that experience, I learned to do better research on classes and that sometimes you’ve gotta suck it up and pay more if you really want to get something out of it.
