What motivated you to become a writer?

Since I began “telling stories” as a precocious young child and continued to do so as a rebellious teenager (much to my mother’s dismay), excelled in English class and have always been a fan of the written word, especially the words of great philosophers, poets and authors, I believe that any “motivation” was innate to my core being.  During my entire 30 plus years making a living as a producer, I always longed to be sitting in the writer’s chair with my dog-eared script instead. Ultimately, after losing our thriving production company in the 2008 “recession,” and producing work virtually disappeared, I had the perfect excuse to just sit down at my computer and start writing. I haven’t stopped to this day.

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

Hmmmmm….I’ve thought about this a lot over the years. I’ve come to the conclusion that every single person on earth is born a creative spirit to some degree and that it’s possible to be creative in almost every aspect of our lives. The strongest creative spirits can find it in the most basic of all jobs. Parents can be creative in the way they raise their children. The way someone dances, the way someone teaches, the way someone decorates their home — all these things can be creative endeavors. My creative outlet just happens to be writing, I guess. I’m also deeply inspired by the challenges of ordinary people who decide to, or just innately step up to do extraordinary things. Much of my work reflects this.

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?

I don’t think it’s possible to be a smart, working writer without that understanding. It’s imperative, of course, to really work on understanding and creating within the Hollywood standards of structure, character development, etc. You can write your heart out of passion, but if you don’t have those beats, that inciting moment, what should be on page 55, etc. where it all belongs, that script is going nowhere. I’ve learned that the hard way. l0l. Having said that, what also is an absolute necessity is a passion, empathy, and/or researchable understanding for and of the subject. (For those reading this, if you don’t have it yet, buy buy buy Save The Cat! now now now.)

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

This script is titled Watched. While her husband is out of town, a young mother and her baby are terrorized by a vicious hacker who has invaded every aspect of their lives through the technology in their home: Their cell phones, iPads, even their Smart TV. It was important for me to write because I don’t think the majority of women, especially, understand how technology can be used against us, in the safety of our homes, our cars, offices, wherever we lead our lives. I admit I was hesitant to even write it because I didn’t want to unduly frighten people; I didn’t write it as a horror flick. I actually had to stop writing it a few times because I was scaring the hell out of myself! As far as ancillary revenue, this isn’t the typical “merchandise franchise” kind of film. But perhaps the ancillary knowledge that can help people protect themselves is certainly of value, yes?

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

While I’ve won another contest with another script, this one is new. This is the first contest I’ve submitted it to. So, I guess we’ll wait and see, huh?

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?

Well, my immediate thought is, those investors probably shouldn’t be Apple, Android, Samsung or any other creators of personal technology. l0l. But, on second thought, if they were, I’d promote the importance of customers being informed. I mean, really, all-the-way, going-for-it informed. Not just how today’s technology makes our lives better, but how it can also make our lives more vulnerable. These companies must accept not just the goodies for what they’ve created, but the responsibility for how it can be misused, as well. I mean, look at the crap Facebook has gotten. Consumers don’t want to be lead around blind. Companies need to step up and become advisers on how to use their technology wisely and safely or ultimately, it will work against them one way or the other. (I wouldn’t necessarily include those last twelve words in my pitch 😉

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

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4573585/

https://karon88.wixsite.com/karonaghotte

https://www.stage32.com/profile/618555/about