Interview: Dana Coen — Part 6

I have the pleasure of working with Dana Coen as a colleague through the Writing for Screen and Stage program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a dramatic writing minor for which Dana is the director.

Dana has an extensive background in television, penning episodes for “The Wonder Years” and “NCIS,” as well as eight seasons on the CBS series “JAG” [co-executive producer] and the Fox series “Bones” [co-executive producer].

Dana is also a produced playwright and freelance screenwriter, currently about to go out with an original thriller screenplay.

Today in Part 6, Dana provides several pieces of wisdom about the writing life:

Scott: What is your actual writing process? Every day? Sporadic bursts? Work in private? Go out to coffee shops? Do you listen to music or do you need quiet to write?

Dana: “Sporadic bursts” sounds like me. In my early playwriting days I would schedule my writing time and make elaborate preparations, such as putting Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” on the stereo, lighting a candle and pouring myself a snifter of cognac. Laptops, teaching, family and a more intrusive environment have significantly altered that process for me. These days I write when I can fit it in and where it’s convenient.

Scott: How do you write?

Dana: I’m a plodder. I tend to be anal retentive by nature, very detail oriented, always looking for multiple layers. I’ll work a line or sections of dialogue over until I’m satisfied with the rhythms. I always begin a session by reading and rewriting what I previously wrote. Sometimes I won’t get to anything new. I guess you can say I’m more of an organizational writer than a stream of consciousness type. The most important factor, regardless of one’s habits, is identifying and maintaining a process that’s comfortable and productive…whatever gets you to what works.

Scott: What is your single best excuse not to write?

Dana: Returning emails. But I have a whole list of them. There’s always an errand to run, a plant to water, a garden to tend or a pair of suede shoes to brush.

Scott: What do you love most about writing?

Dana: Every part of it…the journey for both myself and the characters, the strategies I use to exploit the reader’s expectations, venturing into the abstract, examining both existing and fictional worlds, viewing the movie in my head as I intended it, watching an audience react, hearing excited feedback…all of it vital for maintaining the level of creative excitement necessary to continue on. It’s not only why I write but why I teach writing.

Scott: Where do you see yourself in 5–10 years? In an ideal word, what are you doing?

Dana: I’ll be writing. That much I know. My next spec is a character thriller set mostly in Europe. I should be getting that one out by the end of the summer. But since we’re talking about a perfect world, I vote for having all of my feature specs produced and directed with respect and sensitivity. I’m also considering directing one of my earlier screenplays. Assignments, adaptations and rewrites are on the table. And, I plan to write a new full-length play or two. My intention has always been to create work that has value in addition to its profit potential and I don’t intend to stop now. I suspect my last moments will be spent hunched over my computer assailing the fortress of art.

Scott: Finally, what advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters about learning the craft and breaking into Hollywood?

Dana: This question is never easy to answer simply so here’s a list of insights and practices that have served me….

Talk to everyone.

Be present.

Good writers are good observers. Pay less attention to your phone and more to the world around you. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

To avoid aimlessness, and confusing possible employers, pick a discipline (TV, features, webisodes) and a genre (comedy, drama, docudrama, satire)…but allow the fates to intervene.

Write. Be productive. But don’t turn on your computer until you have something to say.

Join a writers’ group and participate regularly.

Develop strong research habits.

Learn and practice adaptation skills.

Find yourself a mentor and/or a responsible critic.

Seek representation (a manager, agent or lawyer).

Take seriously what the industry says it wants, but write for yourself.

If you write to sell, you risk selling your soul.

Avoid using film, television, plays and novels as templates as it’s likely to homogenize your voice

Don’t be afraid to be different. Recognition is half the battle.

Get your specs to work before you move on, but don’t linger.

Moving forward requires only that you put one foot in front of the other.

Patience is your single most valuable asset.

It only takes one yes to neutralize a hundred no’s.

Do not allow bad news to infect your attitude. Consider it a learning opportunity.

Embrace change.

Everyone gets his or her shot. But not everyone is ready for it.

Consider producing and directing your material, but only if you have full awareness of the time, energy, expense and talent required.

Learn about the history of American screenwriters.

Do not allow anyone to make you feel inferior.

Be collaborative but maintain the awareness that actors, producers and directors are interpreters. Unless you are adapting, you are the only one that can produce something from nothing.

Work your career but live your life.

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 Dana and ask any questions you may have.

Dana is repped by Rosa Entertainment.

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