The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

On this edition of TSL, Meg and Lorien giving a wonderful mix of answers to some phenomenal listener questions, from detailed craft questions, to the business piece and everything in between.

What do you do with your script after you've written it?

How do you approach producers?

Animated vs. Live Action - How to decide?

How to get into the business if you don't live in a major market?

Mindset of a writer.

And so much more!

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh.⁠⁠

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Lorien is joined by founder of Parallax Audio, writer of audio fiction and television, Aaron Tracy.

Aaron is incredibly well spoken and clear on his process with both television and audio. They talk a bit about the differences and the similarities when it comes to putting both on the page.

Aaron debunks a lot of do's and don'ts when it comes to writing for the medium and he gives sage advice throughout.

Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh.⁠⁠

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Pixar's Hoppers writer, Jesse Andrews, joins Meg to dive into all things Pixar process.

They start with Jesse's intriguing journey into writing, from Art History in college to novels to adapting his novel (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl), to animation with his first film, Luca.

Then, they talk shop and craft through the lens of the recent fantastically hilarious, high concept, Hoppers.

Jesse's collaborative spirit is on full display throughout and really instills the reasoning behind why leaving ego at the door is the key to creating.

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh.⁠⁠

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*BRIDGERTON SEASON 4 SPOILER WARNING*

Lorien is joined by the fabulous and uber talented showrunner/writer Jess Brownell. Jess has been showrunning Bridgerton for Shondaland/Netflix since season 3, but it took her quite a while to get a shot in a writers room.

Jess walks us through her journey to one of the most popular shows in television history. She then dives into the mechanics and nuances of how she and her team crafts a season, specifically for season 4 and Benedict falling in love with Sophie, the upstairs/downstairs piece, the homages to iconic love stories on screen and oh so much more.

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Joe Forte dives DEEP this week with the singular and brilliant Oscar nominated duo behind Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt.

The two discuss their unique partnership which started with a tremendous appreciation and equal love of film in their late teens.

Joachim and Eskil are so eager and gracious to give such insight into their process and what they believe to be the importance of craft and how they shape a script that leads to Joachim's direction; starting with character and themes instead of plot. Not painting by numbers. And utilizing their individuality to craft a film.

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh.⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An incredibly fun episode today! Lorien is in the host driver seat, chatting with Meg and her husband and writing partner Joe Forte about the art of collaboration and the process of writing with a partner.

They both share with great vulnerability their challenges with it, and their absolute love of working together. What did they learn from another couple who does the same? What tools have they picked up along the way during their 30 years of marriage? Could they have done this when they were younger? And so much more. A delightful exploration of their journey together and the power of connection through story.

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh.⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fabulous duo behind Sing Sing and this years Oscar nominee, Train Dreams, Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley join TSL to talk about their inspiring partnership and the process of Train Dreams.

Greg and Clint give us a sense of their unique partnership; Who is the glass half full, how they decide who writes and directs and the intricacies of their writing process.

Joe Forte joins Meg on this episode to talk with Greg and Clint about the special film, Train Dreams, and all that went into the challenges of crafting a feature from a 118 page novella.

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chandler Baker joins us to talk about her hilarious and heartfelt Christmas adventure, "Oh. What. Fun."

Chandler has worn many hats in her life. She walks us through her journey of being a lawyer turned New York Times Bestselling novelist, and now an acclaimed screenwriter.

To finish off the episode, Chandler reveals to Lorien her devout listenership to TSL!

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Alcheh and audio engineered and mixed by ⁠⁠Urban Olsson.

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In this special craft supercut, we gather wisdom from recent guests on one essential question: how do you introduce a character?

From subtle entrances to defining first actions, writers including Sharon Horgan, George Saunders, Dana Fox, and Akiva Goldsman share how they think about character, voice, and point of view from the very first moment.

Featured writers:

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠- use code HOLIDAY25 for 50% off your first month.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Hurwitz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kate Mishkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and audio engineered and mixed by ⁠⁠Urban Olsson⁠⁠.

Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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IN YOUR DREAMS writer/directors Alex Woo and Erik Benson join us to talk about writing animated features - from storyboarding as a form of rewriting to building emotional stakes in fantastical worlds.

Alex and Erik break down collaboration in animation, adapting personal experiences for family storytelling, and why animated characters must be treated as real, complex people.

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Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠- use code HOLIDAY25 for 50% off your first month.

Episode Links:

The Screenwriting Life is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Hurwitz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kate Mishkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and audio engineered and mixed by ⁠Urban Olsson⁠.

Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices