What motivated you to become a writer?

I’ve been writing since I was about seven years old. It must be in my genes. My mother had articles published in magazines, my sister is a singer/songwriter, and my nieces are artists. I think creativity just runs in my family. I wrote short stories, poems, and songs when I was younger, but I fell in love with screenwriting after taking a course in college. It was the first year it was offered at my university and it was taught by my journalism professor so needless to say, I didn’t learn much. However, I enjoyed the writing process. After college, I partnered with Ed Hansen Productions and later, producer David Sheldon on a couple of big budget films that didn’t amount to anything. I took a break from screenwriting for marriage and a baby, but decided to return after inspiration struck for a romantic comedy. I hired a writing coach and haven’t stopped writing for over a year. People who have writing within them can’t stop completely.

Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?

Life experience is the best way to create an idea. You never know what will inspire you. It could be a video on YouTube or meeting someone for the first time or a new experience. Once I have an idea, I find that meditation is the best way for me to calm the chatter within my brain and get motivated to write. I think the morning is the perfect time. The brain and the body have been recharged and it’s easier to find focus, specifically on writing as well as life goals. I also find that taking nature walks is another great way to spark creativity and find inspiration for my writing, especially if I’m stuck on something.

Do you write projects knowing that so many other factors need to happen to get it to screen and does that come into your project creation?

When I begin the preliminary work for a new project, my writing coach and I discuss the marketability. Is it interesting enough to gain the attention of producers, production companies, and investors? If that’s the case, then it will most likely bring an audience in the event it’s made into a movie. My coach and I also talk about the characters and the relevance to trends in the movie industry. For example, since I’m a female writer, my main characters are mostly female and female actors are in demand currently. Those are important things you have to consider.

What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.

My project demonstrates my desire to see more films with unique characters. Though this project focuses on religious diversity, you will find characters in my work that are also racially and sexually diverse. Not only do I believe that characters like this create more interesting stories, but there’s so much more to explore in the way of people interacting with other people who are different from themselves. Plus, you’ll bring in revenue from people who would go to see a movie with someone like them in it, even if there are other characters that aren’t of their own race, sexuality, or religion, that they might not otherwise see.

Something in Common:

A co-dependent American Muslim music teacher accepts her dream job at a private school in her small Alabama hometown hoping to find acceptance, but when she changes the annual holiday show to include songs from a variety of religions, the town’s conservative residents push back, forcing her to end her friendship with a younger man and move back to NYC “where she belongs.”

How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?

I entered two or three contests this year, but the results have yet to be determined.

If you could stand in a room full of investor partners looking at many projects what would you like them to know about you and this project?

This project has the universal theme of acceptance, something I have struggled with for most of my life as an artist. I have only been able to find peace within myself over the last couple of years. Like me, so many people struggle to find their place in this world as well as their purpose and maybe this is the reason it’s hard for them to accept others who are different from them. That’s a difficult task until you learn to come to terms with who you are.

Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?

I’m on social media, but until recently, when I finally polished a couple of scripts, I thought that websites were for actors or produced writers. At the moment, I’m working on getting myself on IMDB.