Interview (Part 5): Melissa Iqbal (2014 Nicholl Winner)

U.K.-based writers Melissa Iqbal wrote the original screenplay “The Death Engine” which won the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. Recently Melissa and I had a transatlantic phone call in which we covered a lot of territory in an excellent conversation.

Today in Part 5, Melissa talks about the craft of screenwriting and what it was like to win the Nicholl Fellowship:

Scott: Let’s get to some fun stuff here, the Nicholl. You finish the script, you send it off, then what happens?

Melissa: You forget you enter! [laughter] I must have entered in February and it wasn’t until August or October that I heard anything. It’s a long process. You make the quarter finals and you think, “That’s cool,” then you forget about it and make the semi-finals and you think, “Even cooler,” and before you know it someone’s calling you telling you you’ve made the finals and it’s like, “Oh, my God!” [laughs] I was so shocked. I’ve never had much luck with screenplay competitions, so it was quite incredible.

Scott: I read an article where you were quoted as saying, “Winning the Academy Nicholl Fellowship has been absolutely amazing. The influx of requests I’ve received from producers and agents eager to read my work has been incredible. I’m excited to see what new opportunities arise as a result.”

Of course, you also recently went to Hollywood and had the celebratory experience of being at the Academy. What’s all that been like?

Melissa: It’s been so amazing. It’s hard to get people to read your work, so I can’t express how incredible it was to have people approach me. Everyone was so excited and passionate and it meant so much when people said they enjoyed it or they loved Anthony or whatever. You know, no one’s handing you a career on a silver plate, but it’s like you’ve been recommended, so doors start to open and opportunities come about. It’s super exciting.

The week itself was fantastic, a once in a life-time kind of thing. I don’t imagine I’ll ever be the center of attention in the same way again in my career. And it was a unique experience for Sam [Baron] and I because we got to be flown out there and feel like we were living this incredible dream. You spend months alone at your computer and then suddenly you’re in this amazing place where everyone loves film and wants to meet you. It was exciting, but quite overwhelming too.

Scott: What are you working on now?

Melissa: I’m working on a couple of things. Another sci-fi film, an adaptation and I’m hoping ‘The Death Engine’ will find a home.

Scott: Great. Let’s move onto some craft questions if we could. How do you come up with story ideas?

Melissa: I guess I usually start with a science fiction or fantasy concept and start to imagine a world that operates in a unique way. I always think the characters should feel like real people regardless of whatever heightened reality they’re operating in, so that’s usually why they come second. In a way the conflicts that come out of imagining a world different from our own points to what kinds of characters would be the most interesting to have face those conflicts.

Scott: How important do you think the story concept is to the overall commercial viability of the spec script or screenplay?

Melissa: I think in genre it probably does help sometimes to have an intriguing concept, something that will grab people and give them an idea of what to expect. But there’s so many different types of films, I’m not sure it’s always necessary.

Scott: You talk about your prep writing a little bit earlier on and mentioned the outline. What do you tend to do or spend most of your time in prep writing on?

Melissa: I usually do a lot of handwritten notes. It helps me flesh things out and really explore where a story could go. I’ve figured out that I often start huge and then it’s a gradual process of whittling down and condensing things, so it feels focused, but rich. Sometimes it’s bullet points or prose, sometimes it’s ideas for scenes or a dialogue exchange.

Scott: How do you go about developing your characters?

Melissa: I’m not sure. I do like to have an image of them and at some point I’ll write a bio. Sometimes I write scenes for them or a bit of dialogue.

Scott: Talking about dialogue, how do you go about finding your character’s voices?

Melissa: I might just have them talk to each other or write an inner monologue for them. Sometimes whole scenes occur to me. For example, the bathtub scene with Lily and Anthony, which they read at the…

Scott: That’s the stage reading, right?

Melissa: Yeah, which was really super amazing for me, because that was the first scene I wrote, purely to get into their voices, and I ended up liking it so much I found a way it could be in the script.

Scott: How about theme? How important is that to you? Do you start with themes or are they something that arise in the context of developing and writing the story?

Melissa: Good question. I guess sometimes you tap into them consciously and sometimes they emerge during the process or afterwards. Sometimes other people have to point them out to you, which is great because it means you’ve written something that has a richness to it and lots of ideas that resonate.

Scott: How about when you write a scene? Do you have specific goals in mind?

Melissa: Sometimes. It’s not as concrete as it sounds, but I try to have every scene do at least three things. It’s not an exact science, but I would be nervous about having a scene only do one thing because I guess it’s more likely to get cut, if not by me, by someone else. I also think audiences are pretty smart, if a scene isn’t doing enough they’ll probably get bored watching it.

Scott: One thing that struck me about your script is that you clearly love language, and you have also watched a lot of movies because there are some very interesting cinematic transitions. Do you have any keys in terms of writing scene description? Are you actively thinking of things? Writing action in mind?

Melissa: I think it’s so important to write in the language of cinema. It should always evoke the experience of watching a film. And I love writing that way, I love considering how it might be edited, how it might look and feel and sound. All these things are at your disposal and I think you’ll probably need them if you’re going to succeed at making the audience feel something.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Melissa provides advice to aspiring screenwriters.

For Part 1, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Part 4, here.

Melissa is repped by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates.

Twitter: @Azureix.