WRITER PROFILE
It’s always great to get together with a large group of writers and investors and keep up to date on what’s new, the screenplay contest, any recent deals, new dealmaker contacts, agents or managers that are looking and simply encouraging everyone to keep going after every dream in this difficult industry. For the hard working writer we want to do as much as we can to continue the exposure and word of mouth in the investment circles of the industry. Another way we do this is with writer interviews that we send far and wide and showcase at all possible meetings and markets.
We want to encourage your writing spirit, motivate you and again give you the accolades you so deserve.
“Fire on the Island”
Written by Timothy Jay Smith
What motivated you to become a writer?
All my life, I’ve enjoyed the writing aspects of anything I did. I grew up an avid reader and have a good sense of not only what makes a good story, but also how to tell one. The three act structure runs in my blood! I wrote my first stage play when I was nine and started a novel when I was twelve, but I didn’t become a full-time writer until many years later, after working around the world in international development, collecting the stories and characters that now fill my pages.
Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?
Whether it’s a novel or spec screenplay, I go through the same process of asking myself what’s my basic story and why do I want to tell it? Then I decide on the main character(s) I need to tell the story. After that, I imagine the opening and closing scenes, which gives me the overall arc of the story. That’s enough to get me started, and once I start writing, all sorts of ideas come to me: snippets of dialogue, scenes that must be in the story, etc. All of that stuff gets put into an elaborate beat sheet that serves as my outline as I write.
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 know it takes a lot of work, discipline, tenacity, and talent to get published or produced. Sometimes luck helps, but I can’t say that’s been true for me. It’s been hard work over thousands and thousands of hours to produce four novels (plus a fifth novel-in-progress), a half dozen stage plays, and a half dozen screenplays. I always figured, if I worked hard at good writing, and made a real effort to get recognized, it would happen — and it has. I’m now represented by Trident Media Group (NYC), I’m currently a finalist for Best Gay Mystery in the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards, and I have won or placed in approximately 130 competitions (mostly for my screenplays).
What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.
Early blurbs and reviews of Fire on the Island, my novel set in Greece to be released in July by Arcade Publishing, have likened it to Zorba the Greek. That, in itself, is my dream for both my novel and its screenplay adaptation. Between the book and the movie, I think there will be a huge audience.
How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?
I tested an early draft of the screenplay adaptation for Fire on the Island by entering WriteMovies’s 2018 spring contest, and it won Best Indie Script. However, now that I am represented by a prominent agent, I’ve decided not to enter a lot of contests. I mentioned earlier, I have won or placed in approximately 130 screenwriting competitions, and never has a movie deal been forthcoming. But as soon as I landed an agent, film producers started to get in touch with him. My understanding is that scripts have been sent out for both Fire on the Island and my novel published last year, The Fourth Courier.
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?
I’d start by quoting from the first review of Fire on the Island (the novel) posted on NetGalley:
“Is this a thriller? Well, there is the arsonist. Is it a mystery? Again with the arsonist. Is it a romance? Several, actually, and of several kinds. Is it full of wonderful imagery? A resounding YES! Are the characters memorable, quirky, engaging? Again the resounding YES! One more thing. DO NOT DRINK ANYTHING WHILE READING IT! You will be too busy laughing your sox off to pay attention until you have either spilt [your drink] or choked laughing, or both.”
At the moment, the world is depressed, and America is definitely depressed. Fire on the Island is exactly the kind of novel/screenplay that people are going to want to read and see: an interesting story, likable characters, and humorous. A feel good movie, and a good story set in Greece always puts people in a good mood.
Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?
It needs updating (coming soon), but my web page still has a lot of information about me and my writing: www.timothyjaysmith.com.