162 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 • 764 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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156 | SPECIAL: The Elevator Pitch + Austin Film Festival Prep Workshop
The Austin Film Festival is many things, but one if its most infamous opportunities is the annual 90-second pitch competition, where writers join to do just that: pitch their story in JUST 90 seconds. In the industry, we call this "the elevator pitch" and its more important now than ever.
To help us unpack the nature of elevator pitching, we're featuring an amazing roster of guests: TSL veteran and super producer Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Department Director Alyssa Alvarado, and the five brave souls who are joining to pitch them!
TO BUY YOUR AFF PASS: https://austinfilmfestival.com/product/film-pass-2/
TO PURHASE FINAL DRAFT: https://www.finaldraft.com/
TO JOIN OUR PATREON: https://patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
155 | 6 Essential Strategies To Tackle a Rewrite
There is nothing worse than writer's block when facing a rewrite, but there's hope! Today we discuss 6 Essential Strategies To Tackle a Rewrite.
JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife -
154 | How To Prioritize Multiple Projects As A Writer (ft. Ted Hope)
We're back for part two w/ super producer Ted Hope! This week, we talk about some of Ted's top pieces of advices for living a successful creative life, and spend a long time talking about the importance of balancing multiple projects as a creative.
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153 | Is My Script Ready To Send To Producers? (ft. Ted Hope)
You finally get the meeting, make the connection, and a bigshot producer is excited to read your script. But you panic. Is it good enough? Is it READY? Today, award-winning independent film producer Ted Hope walks us through those always complicated questions, and answers TONS more along the way.
FOR MORE: https://tedhope.substack.com -
152 | The Movies That Made Us Writers
Every writer can point to a movie that made them say: "THIS. This is what I want to do." And today, Meg, Lorien, and Jeff share the movies that turned THEM into writers. Yep, we're movie nerds too.
JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/TheScreenwritingLIfe -
151 | Rethinking Screenplay Structure w/ The Nutshell Technique (ft. Jill Chamberlain)
Though it can sometimes feel like a prison, screenplay structure is actually a very freeing element of the story process. Jill Chamberlain, a veteran script consultant, is obsessive about structure, to the point where she has created a popular technique to re-consider how we approach our work. On her technique, producer Callum Greene (Star Wars Episode 9) offers “the Nutshell Technique is like the Rosetta Stone: it cracks the code behind why we love the movies that we love. It goes way beyond tired old beat sheet ‘formulas’ and instead guides you to organically write the story you want to tell.”
FOR MORE ON JILL (& FREE NUTSHELL WORKSHEETS): https://www.jillchamberlain.com
TO JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife
Customer Reviews
New to screenwriting
I’ve dabbled, (heavy emphasis), with screenwriting for several years. However, I’ve never actually finished a project or ever fully committed to anything. Listening to yours and several other podcasts on screenwriting I’ve become so inspired to actually take charge and just write. Your first episode on taking notes was actually a good starting point for me because I have a huge problem of taking criticism and that’s been a huge obstacle for me. After listening through and getting advice from a fellow filmmaker friend of mine, I don’t all of a sudden have unrealistic expectations for my writing however, I now can look at my work and know it can get better if I keep working on it. So thank you for being an inspiration!
Cheers!
Great tips!
The writing tips are amazing— but y’all, please fix your audio/Zoom quality!
Come on in, the lava’s nice this time of year
This podcast is a richly informative gem. I feel like I’ve snuck into a master class, not only on the craft of writing but also on how to take the driver’s seat in your own life. As a new listener, it is a daily struggle for me to avoid binge listening and instead, to truly take the time to absorb the content and to apply the lessons. Because this show is nutrient dense in the best possible ways. Meg and Lorien’s writing nutrition resonates so well because they are honest and vulnerable. A beautiful example of this is from an early episode (16, I believe), where Lorien abandons her need for perfection in favor of low-key unhinged honesty. It was the most relatable moment, for me, in an already incredible show. I will forever be grateful to these women for taking off their makeup or their bras, their masks or their pretenses, to show up as who they really are. (And during a national pandemic, nonetheless!) This is the Real Talk I needed to get me back into my own body and to get my words on a page in a way that feels authentic and true. Meg and Lorien leave a mark, one that we are all lucky to have. And they remind me, every listen, that I can’t live my wildest dreams through my stories if I’m too afraid to tell them.
(ps: Jeff, you’re pretty darn cool yourself. Keep shining that light.)
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