The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

Today, we do one of our favorite things: answer YOUR questions. As is always the case, a theme emerged across your questions and our conversation, which boils down to one of the hardest and most important questions we face as artists. How are we supposed to feel validated in our work, especially when it's hard?Don't forget to join us for our FINAL DRAFT in Austin this year on Saturday evening at Stephen F's Bar & Terrace after our workshop. We are so exciting to be partnering with Final Draft!JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hosts discuss the concept of 'lava' for authentic storytelling, embracing the dynamic nature of the writing process, writing towards vulnerability, exploring sensitive subjects, and the Broadway show 'A Strange Loop'.

The Austin Film Festival is many things, but one if its most infamous opportunities is the annual 90-second pitch competition, where writers join to do just that: pitch their story in JUST 90 seconds. In the industry, we call this "the elevator pitch" and its more important now than ever.To help us unpack the nature of elevator pitching, we're featuring an amazing roster of guests: TSL veteran and super producer Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Department Director Alyssa Alvarado, and the five brave souls who are joining to pitch them!TO BUY YOUR AFF PASS: https://austinfilmfestival.com/product/film-pass-2/TO PURHASE FINAL DRAFT: https://www.finaldraft.com/TO JOIN OUR PATREON: https://patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast discusses 6 essential strategies for tackling a rewrite, including the importance of writing what you want, exploring character transformation and personal growth, finding and using your voice in writing, setting goals and deadlines, pushing scenes and exploring the depths of characters, and overcoming the challenges of rewriting.

Ted Hope, super producer, shares advice for living a successful creative life, emphasizing the importance of balancing multiple projects. Topics discussed include setting boundaries, managing expectations as a writer, prioritizing projects, embracing noble failures, supporting artists in production, and the importance of having a plan for future projects.

Award-winning independent film producer Ted Hope discusses whether a script is ready to send to producers and answers various questions. They also explore the joy of writing, finding inspiration, creating lasting work, the importance of finishing scripts, the dream of feedback, and navigating script development challenges.

The hosts discuss movies that influenced their writing careers, including 'Big Fish' and 'Sophie's Choice'. They explore the challenges of balancing personal experiences while writing and the benefits of Masterclass for aspiring filmmakers. They also delve into uncovering core influences of favorite directors and share their aspirations and fears of directing their own movies.

Though it can sometimes feel like a prison, screenplay structure is actually a very freeing element of the story process. Jill Chamberlain, a veteran script consultant, is obsessive about structure, to the point where she has created a popular technique to re-consider how we approach our work. On her technique, producer Callum Greene (Star Wars Episode 9) offers “the Nutshell Technique is like the Rosetta Stone: it cracks the code behind why we love the movies that we love. It goes way beyond tired old beat sheet ‘formulas’ and instead guides you to organically write the story you want to tell.”FOR MORE ON JILL (& FREE NUTSHELL WORKSHEETS): https://www.jillchamberlain.comTO JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Collaborators and showrunners, Kat Likkel and John Hoberg, discuss the importance of embracing the writing process, collaborative writing, therapy for writers, embracing unconventional ideas, meaningful goals in storytelling, embracing failure, and capturing ideas. They also share heartfelt stories of personal experiences and encouraging others.

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EPISODE WAS PRE-RECORDED & PRECEDED THE 2023 WGA STRIKE.**In today's TSL epsiode, Meg gets personal about her lava, and how a recent production of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George is helping her to rethink the beauty of moving on from a creative project.JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices