197 episodes
The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna
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- TV & Film
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4.9 • 874 Ratings
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Welcome to The Screenwriting Life, a podcast where Oscar-nominated writer Meg LeFauve and Emmy-nominated writer Lorien McKenna discuss not only the craft and business of Screenwriting, but also the emotional life: the ups and downs of being a creative, to remind you that you are not alone and to keep writing.
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191 | Writing Visually On The Page (And Connecting To Your Theme) ft. Linda Seger
Linda Seger basically created the job of independent script consultant. After years of exploring, she discovered that her gifts lie in making a good script great, which is the name of her first book: "Making A Good Script Great." Since then, Linda has become one of Hollywood's most sought after and celebrated consultants, because her ability to distill down what is needed on the page.
For Linda's Books: https://lindaseger.com/screenwriting-books/
Join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
190 | Getting Candid About The Business of Hollywood (ft. Navid McIlhargey)
Navid Mcllhargey has been a studio executive and producer for over 20 years, and over the course of his impressive career, he has seen the business change dramatically. Today, we get an inside look into the life of a studio-exec-turned-producer, and more importantly, what it looks like for a producer to puzzle together a movie in today's dramatically different Hollywood.
JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
189 | Create Your Hollywood Game Plan w/ Carole Kirschner
Carole Kirschner, the director of the CBS Diversity Writers Program & WGA Showrunner Training Program, is passionate about helping creative professionals build thriving Hollywood careers. Whether you're an emerging writer of a pro, Carole will offer you PRACTICAL advice as to how to approach this ever-changing business.
FOR CAROLE'S BOOK: https://www.carolekirschner.com/book
FOR CAROLE'S BOOTCAMP: http://ckbootcamp.com/
TO JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
188 | Playwriting (and some BTS Behind the Making of Coco) ft. Octavio Solis
Octavio Solis is among the most celebrated playwrights discussing the Latin American experience, but he wasn't always a writer. Octavio began his artistic journey as an actor-turned-writing-teacher. But when his students started succeeding, he felt an emerging feeling; a need to take his own advice and get to the page.
Since then, Solis has written dozens of celebrated plays, in addition to culturally consulting on Pixar's COCO, which we discuss today.
JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
187 | Writing For Multi-Cam Sitcoms (w/ Lopez vs Lopez Showrunner Debby Wolfe)
Even though Debby Wolfe began her career writing "edgy, brooding feminist shorts" (her words), but really found her lane as a writer when she wrote a Modern Family spec that launched her career. Since then, she's written on a number of multi-cams, eventually arriving on Lopez vs. Lopez, which she's currently showrunning. Today, Debby discusses how she manages to produce at the pace Network TV requires, how she staffs, and the importance of character-driven comedy.
Watch Season 2 of Lopez vs Lopez starting on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 with back-to-back episodes at 8/7c and 8:30/7:30c on NBC. New episodes air next day on Peacock. It will continue in those time slots going forward — which means, yes, you'll be getting two new episodes of the show per week!
JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
186 | A Crash Course For Showrunners (And Their Staff Writers) ft. Jeff Melvoin
Jeff Melvoin is - for lack of a better word - a legend in TV. He's an award-winning television writer, producer, showrunner, and educator who has written dozens and produced hundreds of one-hour episodes on over a dozen television series. He's also the founder and chair of the Writers Guild of America's Showrunner Training Program, now entering its 19th year.
Jeff's incredible book RUNNING THE SHOW, the focus of our convo today, is part memoir, part playbook, and part cheat sheet all about TV writing, from staff writer all the way to showrunner. It's a must read.
BUY JEFF'S BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Show-Television-Jeff-Melvoin/dp/1493075292
JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife
Customer Reviews
I found my holy grail of writing wisdom
I wish you can hear the sound effects I’m making. Ironically, it’s hard to put into words what this podcast means to me and how to describe these sounds - sentimental? Relief? I’m new to screenwriting so I am very glad I found this podcast. I work in healthcare and for more than a decade of helping others, I took my own wants and needs off the stove, not even on the back burner! After a personal crisis (talk about lava), I finally decided to do something for myself again and that was opening my laptop to write something other than medical notes. This podcast is my companion in my screenwriting journey and a validating friend when I go into my doom spirals of imposter syndrome, analysis paralysis, anxiety, and other fun brain drama. Thank you so much Meg, Lorien, and Jeff. I’m happy to have found you to keep me company as I drive from patient to patient or when I curl into fetal position when I have a “I’m not going to write but still want to be writer productive” day.
Not Alone
I used to think writing was a lonely artform. Isolating, private, secret. I hated it, despite feeling compelled to do it. I made it my goal last year to change that narrative and find my community. And there's been no community more welcoming, more inspirational, and more empowering than The Screenwriting Life. The way Meg, Lorien, and Jeff bare their souls on the podcast as they explore their craft, careers, and personal growth has been invaluable. The way their leadership has brought together this many writers to share their triumphs, mourn their losses, and ask questions together has made me not only a better writer, but a less lonely one as well. Thank you. I am not alone. I will keep writing.
Incredibly insightful and empowering. Must listen for all emerging writers.
Thank you Meg, Lorien and Jeff for your wisdom, generosity and devotion to the craft. I discovered the podcast about 6 weeks ago and I have listened to it constantly since. I am 30 years old and an attorney by trade. My only education in filmmaking comes by way of my lifelong obsession with movies and cinematic television. I learned how to write in the context of academia where I developed a voice and a perspective, but learned very little about the the elements of storytelling with respect to plot structure and character development (and learned even less about the more basic components of screenwriting like how much detail to include in a scene description or character introduction). As a result, I kept getting stuck in the middle of various screenplays I started. Listening to this podcast has helped me get unstuck, so to speak, in that it has provided me with, among other things, a general blueprint for proper story structure and character development and a different perspective as to the emotional components of story telling. This podcast has been my film school and it has empowered me to get into the lava and get past my mental blocks to continue writing a story which is quite personal to me. This is a must listen for all aspiring/emerging writers and filmmakers generally.