STACEY ALAN SPIVEY
BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY WINNER
OCTOBER EDITION
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Can you please tell us about yourself?
I have worked in the medical field for thirty years in radiology. I currently live in Tucson, AZ and work a few days a week at a local hospital.
How do you motivate yourself to write?
A lot of my inspiration comes from things I’ve experienced in my own life as well as things that I’ve seen in my line of work. Being in the medical field gives me an endless supply of stories that I can build from and recreate in my writing.
How does it feel to have your work recognized?
Considering the fact this is the first screenplay that I’ve entered into competitions, the recognition is extremely satisfying and humbling. Dissension has won first place in competitions around the world and has been a finalist in over a dozen other contests. The feedback has been positive for the most part and I’ve actually enjoyed “rewriting” based on judge’s comments.
How did you come up with the idea for your winning project?
I am a veteran, as are my father and both brothers, so I’m comfortable writing about life as a soldier as well as being in the medical field while on active duty. The protagonist in the story is ex-military and is in the medical field. He was an Army nurse stationed in a war zone. After the military, he became a nurse practitioner and worked with neurosurgeons in private practice. The lead character also suffers from PTSD and addiction which I witnessed firsthand with one of my brothers and countless patients and friends who were in the military. Building a story around these issues came naturally.
Do you recommend that screenwriters submit to Golden Draft Awards?
Absolutely! I was impressed with the personal nature of the feedback and the email announcing the awards. Also, great communication after the competition was over. Golden Draft Awards seems genuinely interested in the writers who enter.
Did you find the feedback helpful?
Yes, however, several of the suggestions had already been addressed because I submitted an earlier draft so it’s good to know I was on the right track with the final rewrite.
What are the best thing and most challenging things about screenwriting?
The best is when you receive positive feedback and people are genuinely excited about your work. I love when someone says they were touched by something I wrote. The challenge is finding the time to write, especially when you are in the creative phase and the ideas are popping into your head all day but you can’t stop what you’re doing (working) and sit down and get the thoughts on the page.
Can you please give us a few screenwriting tips?
Try your best to write down ideas as they come if possible. Lots of times I’ve thought to myself “I’ll remember this and write it down later”, but when later comes I have no idea what that awesome idea was. I’ve actually written ideas down on paper towels at work and then transcribed them when I got home. Take feedback with a grain of salt because not all feedback is quality, actionable feedback. If you get feedback from several different sources and several readers are mentioning the same issue with the script, then it’s probably going to be beneficial to listen and tackle those issues in the next draft. But often times the “readers” will get on a tirade about an inconsequential detail and go off on it in a way that is just not helpful. There have been several times that I was pretty sure the “reader” hadn’t actually read the entire script and got a lot of things factually wrong. Those are the most irritating ones and it took a while to convince myself that not everyone analyzing the script is on the same level as far as experience, education, and professionalism. If your gut tells you the reader was rushed or obviously out of his/her element, take it for what it was (a waste of money) and move on.
How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine?
When I’m creating a screenplay, I write every day, sometimes for hours on end. But when inspiration is not flowing so freely, I might leave it for the next day since it’s not something you can force. I don’t usually have a set routine because of a few factors… I have to write when I’m not at my day job, and I need to write when the ideas pop into my head, so it’s a balancing act.
“
STACEY ALAN SPIVEY
BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY WINNER
OCTOBER EDITION
Can you please tell us about yourself?
I have worked in the medical field for thirty years in radiology. I currently live in Tucson, AZ and work a few days a week at a local hospital.
How do you motivate yourself to write?
A lot of my inspiration comes from things I’ve experienced in my own life as well as things that I’ve seen in my line of work. Being in the medical field gives me an endless supply of stories that I can build from and recreate in my writing.
How does it feel to have your work recognized?
Considering the fact this is the first screenplay that I’ve entered into competitions, the recognition is extremely satisfying and humbling. Dissension has won first place in competitions around the world and has been a finalist in over a dozen other contests. The feedback has been positive for the most part and I’ve actually enjoyed “rewriting” based on judge’s comments.
How did you come up with the idea for your winning project?
I am a veteran, as are my father and both brothers, so I’m comfortable writing about life as a soldier as well as being in the medical field while on active duty. The protagonist in the story is ex-military and is in the medical field. He was an Army nurse stationed in a war zone. After the military, he became a nurse practitioner and worked with neurosurgeons in private practice. The lead character also suffers from PTSD and addiction which I witnessed firsthand with one of my brothers and countless patients and friends who were in the military. Building a story around these issues came naturally.
Do you recommend that screenwriters submit to Golden Draft Awards?
Absolutely! I was impressed with the personal nature of the feedback and the email announcing the awards. Also, great communication after the competition was over. Golden Draft Awards seems genuinely interested in the writers who enter.
Did you find the feedback helpful?
Yes, however, several of the suggestions had already been addressed because I submitted an earlier draft so it’s good to know I was on the right track with the final rewrite.
What are the best thing and most challenging things about screenwriting?
The best is when you receive positive feedback and people are genuinely excited about your work. I love when someone says they were touched by something I wrote. The challenge is finding the time to write, especially when you are in the creative phase and the ideas are popping into your head all day but you can’t stop what you’re doing (working) and sit down and get the thoughts on the page.
Can you please give us a few screenwriting tips?
Try your best to write down ideas as they come if possible. Lots of times I’ve thought to myself “I’ll remember this and write it down later”, but when later comes I have no idea what that awesome idea was. I’ve actually written ideas down on paper towels at work and then transcribed them when I got home. Take feedback with a grain of salt because not all feedback is quality, actionable feedback. If you get feedback from several different sources and several readers are mentioning the same issue with the script, then it’s probably going to be beneficial to listen and tackle those issues in the next draft. But often times the “readers” will get on a tirade about an inconsequential detail and go off on it in a way that is just not helpful. There have been several times that I was pretty sure the “reader” hadn’t actually read the entire script and got a lot of things factually wrong. Those are the most irritating ones and it took a while to convince myself that not everyone analyzing the script is on the same level as far as experience, education, and professionalism. If your gut tells you the reader was rushed or obviously out of his/her element, take it for what it was (a waste of money) and move on.
How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine?
When I’m creating a screenplay, I write every day, sometimes for hours on end. But when inspiration is not flowing so freely, I might leave it for the next day since it’s not something you can force. I don’t usually have a set routine because of a few factors… I have to write when I’m not at my day job, and I need to write when the ideas pop into my head, so it’s a balancing act.