What motivated you to become a writer?

I love what I do.  That motivates me. I also have a voice in my head that speaks to me in stories.  These stories stimulate my imagination enough to re-create them. My voice also draws inspiration from an assortment of muses.  Television is one.   I believe I was six when I started watching Star Trek in the attic with the sound turned off…so I could create my own stories and act the parts with their visuals.  It was so much fun!  Fun happens to be another huge motivator and a good companion of mine.  However, it is the encouragement and praises from others that keeps my creative wheels turning.  I am so grateful for being encouraged with accolades and opportunities and priceless mentoring from industry professionals. This inspires me every day to do good work, sometimes working late into the night until I am satisfied. Then I can get up the next morning and share it.

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

I begin my process by prepping my painting palette with a mixture of jazz, classical music and creative cooking.  While I am engaged in these creative mediums, I am processing the story I am writing in my head.  I may pause to do floral arranging, drawing, photography and painting, meditation and take walks in nature but, this is still part of prepping my painting palette. I follow the masters of my craft and watch a lot of Netflix and documentaries with the sound turned up.  Good work inspires me greatly. When it time to craft a character, I study examples in architecture that resonate with complexity to help me study my characters from every possible perspective. The ace in my pocket is the reminder that everybody is faced with a blank page when they begin anything so it is simply my job to turn that blank page into the best of all possibilities.  When all else fails, I reflect back on my life living abroad with my family.  My father was a documents courier of top secret information between US spies in Europe during the 60s.  I will never forget the thrill I felt running behind him through the backstreets of Venice after he was sighted by a Cold War adversary. That memory is guaranteed to give my creative juices a boost.

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?

It takes a village to launch a project and good teamwork to execute it.   I  was a producer in television commercials, trailers and studio special projects, so I am geared to look at projects from a financial perspective, assembling production schedules and working within budget.  I use this process on my own screenplays before I begin to block the story.  It’s a perspective that successful writers do incorporate with their work.  It is our job to be sensitive to the concerns of producers with budgets and to remain open to adapting our work to address these concerns – without compromising story or quality.

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

Ashishishe is a limited series. The pilot was entered in the Capital Fund Screenplay competition in 2018, and received recognization – earning a spot on the “Top 100 Hot Screenplay List.”  At that time I felt the pilot was ready to submit to actors and sent a copy to Jeremy Renner for first consideration.  When he did not respond, I decided to try another format and began writing a play, enrolling in a graduate playwriting class. My intention was to write a simple one-act play with a minimal production design and six actors that would require very little money to launch it.   When the coronavirus reared its ugly head, millions of people stopped going to plays. I decided this was time to return to my TV roots and put my focus back on how to launch Ashishishe.  

Ashishishe is set in the American West. To date, the Native American perspective during the 1800s, remains a relatively unchartered topic and that makes it intriguing to me. I have written a story that brings fresh insights into the symbiotic relationship that existed between the US Cavalry and the Native tribes.

As a kid growing up in a multi-national family and living among different cultures, I know the allure of the American West is vast and has international appeal. Following the lives of people caught in the crossfires of rapid change that will force them to adapt to a new normal is also timely. I feel this is a piece of history with modern-day relevance,  I started my career as a TV producer’s assistant, working on adaptations of historical novels into limited series at Universal Studio. I know this genre is popular.  I see many opportunities for ancillary revenue based on the appeal of Native American cultures and the interest that audiences have in stories about real historical characters they may have learned about in the history books but, never really knew.  Opportunities include spin-offs and future series development with key characters, merchandizing including board and computer games, a documentary with behind-the-scenes coverage on the making of the series, and interviews with Native American cast members that will help to generate even greater interest and some good publicity for the project and producers. The goodwill benefits from the employment of members of the Native American communities and the revival of interest in the western genre that proposes fresh interpretations of our nation’s history is untapped and far-reaching.

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

I have not entered this project in many contests so I can only comment on the good experience I had with yours, acknowledging my work in your “Top 100 Hottest Screenplays of 2018” and thank you for the added confidence that has given me. Having said that, I believe many writing contests leave gems undiscovered due to a reader’s personal taste palette and so the potential of the script or the command that writer has of storytelling craft goes unnoticed.

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 is the culmination of years of honing my craft across many writing mediums – beginning with typing other people’s scripts and writing character breakdowns for casting calls and synopses of writer’s pitch meetings – evolving into my first opportunity to write a scene in a NBC/Universal miniseries. Ashishishe is unique in bringing the Native American perspective of the American West and the key events that changed its landscape to the forefront. To date, this is a side of history that remains untapped.  It is my intention to humanize this epoch with real and fictitious characters, drawing from extensive research where needed to authenticate the story. I bring the experience of being a paid reader and script analyst and my tenure as a Dideon/Dunne Fellowship recipient with a body of published work in magazines and newspapers into the mix. I have been developing articles – working with editorial departments in Orange County and Los Angeles – for five years.  It taught me how to engage the reader with good story.  Working as a producer with A-list directors in television commercials gave me the mindset to create good work that breaks new ground that is commercially successful.  Ashishishe is a game changer but it is also crafted to entertain the audience.

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

   My website address is www.rjwdcreative.com.  Although it needs to be updated, it will give you an overview of my writing and television commercial producing background in Los Angeles.  I also have a blog and a number of published magazine articles still circulating on the internet.  You can find links to them if you plug my  name, Robyn Wyman-Dill