Interview: Liz W. Garcia — Part 6

Liz W. Garcia is an American television producer and writer. As a writer, her credits include “Dawson’s Creek,” “Wonderfalls” and “Cold Case”. With her husband, actor Josh Harto, she created and produced the TNT series “Memphis Beat”. Most recently Liz wrote and directed the independent feature film The Lifeguard starring Kristen Bell which will be released in 2013.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak at length with Liz.

Today in Part 6, Liz continues her thoughts on the craft of screenwriting:

Scott: How about characters, how do you go about developing your characters? Any specific tools or techniques you use?

Liz: When a character starts to come to me I will try to think if they remind me of anyone in my real life, or if they remind me of an actor. If I can lock into either of those things it really helps. Then I have a mental image. Sometimes I’ll pull photos, whether it’s an actor who is inspiring me for this particular role, to put them on the desktop of my computer. Because then I am able to have that actors voice filter through. It helps me get very specific with how the character might speak.

Scott: That’s tied very intimately then to how you fashion the dialogue. Right?

Liz: Yeah. I think that’s where I start with a character, how do they speak.

Scott: How about theme? This is the one subject that I hear the most varied opinions about. How would you define theme and how important is it to you in finding theme or themes in your stories?

Liz: Theme is very, very important to me. What I love the most about dealing with theme in my writing is that I will let my unconscious tell me what the theme is. It’s always there fueling a particular project. I don’t necessarily have to articulate to myself like, “This is about you can’t go home again.” I try not to do that. Again, unless I’m collaborating with my husband where you have to discuss out loud those things, when I’m writing on my own, I let it come out. For instance in “The Lifeguard,” the characters were just talking to me about time. They all had different opinions about time.

I don’t know, that was how, then I started to see that that was, “Well, this is what this movies about. This is what I’m wrestling about in this movie.” That becomes something that all the characters are wrestling with. When you go to do a rewrite, then you know it’s out there. The characters have let you know this is what the theme is. Then you can be more conscious about making sure that it’s explored correctly.

Scott: What do you think about when you’re writing a scene? Do you have specific goals in mind, or approaches that you take when you’re writing a scene?

Liz: Sometimes I’ll just dive in and start the scene and just write a really bad version of the scene. Usually that’s what happens. I write the bad version of the scene and then I look at it and go, “What happened in this scene?” Or, if nothing happened in the scene, then I go, “What needs to happen in this scene?” So that each scene is about something. The way I learned about film at Wesleyan was that films are essentially about the distribution of information. Each scene is giving new information to the audience. Each scene has to have information in it and it shouldn’t be repetitive information. It should be information they already know and you want them to learn about it in an interesting way. A scene that’s telling an audience what they already know, or it’s not telling the audience anything, is not a scene.

Once I’ve written it, and it’s terrible, then I try to go back and make sure that…actually, this has happened in the outline process, that you know at least where the scene takes place, and what happens in it, and what the information is. But if I’m just flying by the seat of my pants and I write the bad version, then I go back and I say, “What was the scene about and what did I learn that I didn’t already know?”

Scott: The Lifeguard has got such terrific scene description. I know sine you’re directing it, maybe you take a little more latitude with it than you would say with a TV script or a feature assignment. What are some keys that you found to writing entertaining and good scene description?

Liz: That’s interesting. I just write whatever I want to write. What inspires me or moves me. Of course I was taught, and on some level I try to obey the idea that your scene direction should be spare and it should be clear, but sometimes I’m compelled to disobey that and I have to write description that is either evocative, but not necessarily clear. Or that its really minimalistic. I love prose, and I know I’m not a novelist. So I really can’t really indulge my love of prose, but the scene description is the only place you get to do that. Sometimes I have to sneak that in.

Scott: When you finish a first draft, of course, you’re faced with the inevitable writing is rewriting phenomenon. Are there some keys that you have to rewriting your scripts?

Liz: I ultimately give it to my husband and my best friend who went to Wesleyan with me and is a script consultant. I’ll give it to them and they give me notes and really try to listen and not be defensive, and be open to the possibility that there are things that are really not working. Then discuss what I want, what the alternatives are, and just be humble about it. That can so hard. Truly, rewriting when you’re getting notes from people you really trust can be exciting and liberating. It’s hard when you’re rewriting and getting notes from people whom you feel are just giving you notes to justify their job, and certainly I’ve been through that process too.

Scott: What’s your actual writing process? Do you use it every day, sporadic bursts? Do you work in private, or go out to coffee shops? Do you listen to music? Does it have to be quiet? How do you write?

Liz: Well, I’m so excited because just a month ago, my husband and I got an office outside of the house, which I haven’t had in a long time. We’ve been working in tiny little office in our house, but once our son got old enough to run down the hall and bang on the office door, we were like it’s time. We need to get out of here. So, we go to the office every day. I try to write for as many hours as we are paying our wonderful nanny to watch my son. I want to be writing and working. A, because it’s my job. [laughs] And it’s what I have to do. B, because I love writing.

It pains me when a day goes by when I don’t write. I hate it. There are other things of course, there’s the weekends, or days when we have a lot of meetings or something, but I try to be writing every day.

Scott: This question always gets some interesting responses. What’s your single best excuse not to write?

Liz: [laughs] Oh, that’s so funny. I never consciously make an excuse not to write, because I always want to be writing, but there are those days, when you are in a scene that you don’t really understand. You’re just going back to it, and get stuck over and over, and going back to the Internet and getting lost on Facebook or something and before you know, the day’s over. My mother is a painter and she is a teacher, and one of the classes that she’s taught over the years is a creativity class, about tapping into your creativity. She has a great suggestion about this particular subject that I tried to obey as much as I can, which is, when you know you’re nearing the end of your day or the point when you’re going to have to stop working, try to stop in the middle of something that you love.

So rather than stopping in the middle of a scene that’s been intimidating you all day, just get through that scene, even it’s a bad version of the scene. Get through it and start a scene that you understand, so that the next day you’re jumping back into something that you love and that’s welcoming and accessible, rather than opening up your computer and looking at something that’s daunting that will inevitably cause you to procrastinate even more.

Scott: That’s funny. I have this little series I run from time to time, “Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work,” and something similar to that, which is, don’t finish the scene. Stop your writing day in the middle, so that when you come back in the next day, you know what you’re going to do and you finish that scene and then off you go. [laughs]

Liz: Yeah.

Scott: Well, this has been great. Let me ask you one last question. Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years? In an ideal world, what are you doing?

Liz: Oh, that’s such a nice question. This used to be one of my favorite questions as a kid. [laughs] Well, in the next 5 or 10 years, I would hope that I’ve made three or four more movies. I loved directing. I loved it. It reminded me of the first time I wrote a screenplay and I felt like, “Oh, this is where I’ve been heading. This is where I’m meant to be.” That’s what I felt on the set of “The Lifeguard” like “This is the job that I’ve been working toward.” I hope to write and direct more films with my husband and flesh out our production company, to make more movies together and write more great roles for him. He’s in “The Lifeguard.”

And I hope to be living in New York City, because ever since I moved to LA I’ve been trying to get back home [laughs] . So I hope that I make it there.

For Part 1, go here.

For Part 2, go here.

For Part 3, go here.

For Part 4, go here.

For Part 5, go here.

Please stop by comments to thank Liz and ask any questions you may have.

Liz is repped by CAA and Madhouse Entertainment.

Twitter: @lizwgarcia.

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