Interview (Part 6): Sallie West (2014 Nicholl Winner)
Sallie West wrote the original screenplay “Moonflower” which won the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. I had a great conversation with Sallie about her background, the writing of her award-winning screenplay, and how she approaches the writing craft. This week: That interview in 6 parts.
Today in Part 6, Sallie shares some thoughts on her approach to the screenwriting craft:
Scott: Let’s jump to some craft questions here, if you don’t mind. How do you come up with story ideas?
Sallie: What a great question. I don’t know. I think of things that interest me and wonder if they could possibly be saleable. That’s what I’m trying to figure out now. Do you have any ideas? [laughs]
Scott: I think everybody’s different on that front. There’s always room for stories that have compelling characters and richly drawn characters that have heart and emotion and depth to them.
Sallie: I hope so.
Scott: Yeah. Let’s talk about prep writing, because you said 18 months you spent on this process. Do you do outlining at all?
Sallie: Yes, I do. That helps me to get things plugged in where they need to fall. I tend to write so lean that I struggle to populate 100+ pages.
Scott: Of all the people I’ve interviewed, you may be the best to ask this question. How do you do research?
Sallie: With the Internet, you can find anything you want in about four clicks.
Scott: Just using the Internet?
Sallie: Don’t say that?
Scott: [laughs]
Sallie: No, I read books, as well. I’m sure film school is the best approach, which is why I didn’t know what the hell a logline is! I started with the Internet and bought books — that doesn’t mean that’s how it should be done.
Scott: Your characters are so wonderfully drawn. How do you go about developing them?
Sallie: I invent people I like, people with whom I would like to spend time. People with depth and humor and humility, hopefully.
Scott: That’s an interesting point. It’s like if you do that, then you’re more likely to finish the thing.
Sallie: Right. If you didn’t like your people, it’d be hard to spend time with them. You’d want to whack them. [laughs]
Scott: That also extends to dialogue. I would think that if you actually enjoyed the characters and liked them, given their faults and everything else, that you’d be much more likely to find their voices. Is that fair to say?
Sallie: I think so.
Scott: How about theme? Do you have a take on that?
Sallie: I think Moonflower touches on:
- Excellence in one’s artistic vocation
- Redemption
- A variation of romantic love
- Autumn romance
- The Stradivarius mythology.
Scott Myers: I thought there was something interesting going on with this moonflower idea. It blossoms at night, is that what you said?
Sallie: They do, they bloom at night.
Scott: So in a way, isn’t that symbolic of what emerges? They kind of miss each other. They have this experience in an almost transcendental way, but not in the daylight, the daylight of real life. You know what I mean?
Sallie: Yes, I was drawn to the imagery it evokes. It is a vine and not only does it bloom at night, the blossoms are large, white, and round, they look like the moon. They are mysterious and sensuous. And most important, of course, Muriel named the cello for Gabriel Moon.
Scott: You can run with that from now on.
Sallie: [laughs]
Scott: You can just ibid. me.
[laughter]
Sallie: Thank you.
Scott: What do you think about when you’re writing a scene? Do you have any specific goals in mind?
Sallie: You have to figure out what needs to happen in that scene. I would probably proceed from a list drawn from one’s outline and then play with it and redo it and redo it and redo it. It doesn’t just roll right off. It’s not easy, it takes a lot of doing to get it right and then to get it pared down so that it, I don’t know, resonates properly.
Scott: What’s your actual writing process?
Sallie: I write at home. Sometimes I play music. A lot of times music helps me get into that writing zone.
Scott: Here’s a fun question I like to ask writers. What’s your single best excuse not to write?
Sallie: I’m not in the mood. No. But you know what? I’ve been writing long enough to know that there’s really no writer’s block. You just sit and you make yourself do it. You sit down until you do it.
Scott: What do you like most about writing?
Sallie: Oh gosh. Getting the words right. When you get it right, it’s so satisfying, but it takes quite a bit of crunching to get there. It’s worth it.
Scott: So in an ideal world, Sallie, what are you doing in 5 years, 10 years?
Sallie: Hopefully, I’m still vertical and writing screenplays that somebody wants to buy.
Scott: Finally, what advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters out there about learning the craft, working the craft, breaking in?
Sallie: Don’t listen to that negative voice on your shoulder that says you’re wasting your time because you’re not good enough. Every writer in the world is visited by that same voice. When it shows up, brush it to the floor and squash it.
For Part 1, go here.
Part 2, here.
Part 3, here.
Part 4, here.
Part 5, here.