Go Into The Story Interview: Elizabeth Oyebode

2016 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Elizabeth Oyebode wrote the original screenplay “Tween the Ropes” which won a 2016 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth about her background, her award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl has meant to her.

Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview:

Part 1: “I do tend to write about outsiders who are singular in their abilities or misfits who defy expectations. I’m sure that relates to feeling like an outsider at such a young age.”

Part 2: “I wanted them to see her as a three‑dimensional, complicated human being with hopes and dreams, but also these realities and worries.”

Part 3: “I really wanted to explore the questions of who deserves love and how much of it do they deserve, and who deserves opportunity and how much of it do they deserve.”

Part 4: “I worked my way back to justify that ending. The purpose of this story was to get to that ending and to get to it in a way that felt organic and truthful.”

Part 5: “I’ll take the deep dive into research then make use of index cards and outlining. Almost always though, I start with a character.”

Part 6: “Apart from reading screenplays both new and old, it’s important to determine your strengths, so you can play those up and have something that is a throughline for you as a writer early on.”

For other of my interviews with Nicholl winning screenwriters, go here.