InVision: How did you get started as a Writer? Did you have a mentor? How did the process work?

I got my first work in Hollywood writing for THE NEW LOVE AMERICAN STYLE in 1986 or '87. I had a mentor named Richie Raskind, who taught me the ins and outs of sitcom. He gave generously of his time because others had done so for him (the original PAY IT FORWARD). He made me promise only to listen carefully, work hard, and teach other writers in my turn. I have done my best to do all three.

InVision: How did you get started as a Writer? Did you have a mentor? How did the process work?

I got my first work in Hollywood writing for THE NEW LOVE AMERICAN STYLE in 1986 or '87. I had a mentor named Richie Raskind, who taught me the ins and outs of sitcom. He gave generously of his time because others had done so for him (the original PAY IT FORWARD). He made me promise only to listen carefully, work hard, and teach other writers in my turn. I have done my best to do all three.

InVision: What was the first script you wrote?

The first script I wrote was a terrible screenplay called ROOMERS. Fueled by (but utterly misinterpreting) Syd Field, I banged it out in three weeks. The story of a young striver who inherits a rooming house full of weirdos, it featured, I think, aliens and a big party. Fortunately, the memory fades.

No, wait, the first script I wrote was a one-act play in high school, titled DUCKS. It was about these ducks, see... my drama teacher told me that it was not a play in any form she recognized. Later it won a modest award. Guess I showed her, huh?

InVision: What was your first script that was made into a film and what was the process like for you?

My first film was called XCU or EXTREME CLOSE-UP. There's a bunch of kids living in an MTV Real World-style house, but one of them's a killer. I had a dream relationship with the director, who encouraged me to spend as much time on the set as I could stand. I say "could stand," because I find a movie set -- even the set of my own movie -- to be about the most boring place on the planet. No matter what your job is (and mine was mostly just to gawk and smile) most of the time you're waiting around for someone else to do theirs. Nevertheless, I was consulted and respected by the director, treated like a human by the cast and crew, and otherwise deluded into believing that This Is How It Is.

InVision: What is your typical day like as a writer?

Coffee at 7:40. Newpaper in bed with my lovely wife Maxx until 8:30 or so. A quick spin to the park with Dodger and Ranger, two wonderful dogs named after major league baseball teams. Back at my desk by 9 or 9:30. Check the nets (that is, read and answer my emails). Then I get down to the task at hand. Work pretty vigorously on whatever is urgent or important (or, hopefully, both urgent and important.) Depending on the weather, either a big dog hike or a trip to Starbucks mid-afternoon, then back home for a few more hours. Knock off around 7. Watch TV or a video. Crash and burn before midnight.

The salient structure of my writing day is that I have two solid blocks of writing time each day. My brain gets burned out after about 3 hours, but it bounces back quickly -- hence the midday break. No mention of meals. I'd rather not eat, but as I must, I try to do this as quickly as possible and without much ceremony.

InVision: Typical day for you when one of your films is in the different stages of production?

I don't pay much attention to this if I don't have to. Once the script is done, the film is somebody else's trouble. I'd rather be writing.

InVision: Tell us what your process is before you start writing a script, from the beginnings of the idea up to when you start to write.

When there's an idea I'm chasing, I try to "glance at it out of the corner of my eye" for as long as possible. By this I mean that I think about the idea in a very unstructured, uncommitted way. I try not to overthink anything early on, to avoid being trapped at a level of detail inappopriate to the stage of development I'm at. After I've got a grasp of the idea, I work the steps of incremental development described by me in my book CREATIVITY RULES! A WRITER'S WORKBOOK (available through my website, www.vorza.com). This lets me build the thing in stages: one liner; paragraph; premise pages; short outline; long outline; script. I am a slave to incremental development. The worst thing a writer can do is start a script too soon; that is, without a strong, sturdy outline on which to stand.

Remember: Every draft is just a platform on which you stand to reach the next draft. This goes for every step of development. Don't be precious about the work.

InVision: Is there such a thing as a 40hr-work week for you or is it a creative process at different times?

I'm a day-writer. I rarely write productively at night because I've usually spent all of the day's brain on writing or on other matters. I write very little during the weekend because I'm too busy recreating with ultimate frisbee or poker. So yeah, I guess I'm a 40hr-work week type.

InVision: What is the most important resource for you in your job?

Coffee. After that, the internet, because answers to everything from spelling to exact wording of a quote to the number of endangerd pumas in California is right there at my fingertips.

InVision: What is the toughest part of your job?

I have two toughest parts. The first is what I call "the Swill Draft" (described in detail in my book THE COMIC TOOLBOX: HOW TO BE FUNNY EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT, also available at my weblink). The swill draft is the first raw, nasty draft of anything, and I hate it. I'd much rather be rewriting. The other part I hate is what I call "the face of the wave." That's where the words end and the blank page begins. It always requires a deep breath and a big running start to attack the face of the wave.

InVision: Do you have a part of your job that is most rewarding?

The flip answer would of course be "getting paid." Unfliply, I would say that I really like rewriting, polishing, editing, putting in the fun parts, enhancements and filigrees. I also love, and have a great passion for, teaching writers.

InVision: Do you have a favorite of all the scripts you have written?

I have a darling little cheapie called DISUNITY about an ultimate frisbee player who hooks up with a certifiably nutty girl and her obsessive-compulsive collector brother. Haven't been able to find a home for it yet, but I will. The controlling idea is this: "We're all damaged goods; we fix each other through love."

InVision: What advice do you have for someone who wants to do what you do?

Write, obviously. Nothing else matters if you don't have an ACTIVE PRACTICE OF WRITING. Write every day, even if it sucks. In fact, don't expect it not to suck at first. Plan to serve a long, self-imposed apprenticeship (5 years is not too long) before you start to get good. To preserve your writing time and your sanity, find something else to do for money that pays you better than an hourly wage. In my early, struggly days, I worked as a strolling entertainer (mime, ventriloquist, jester) in shopping malls. It was easy, fun work and I could charge $100 an hour.

Also, accept any job that allows you to write for money. Converting words into paychecks is your job, and it pays double dividends, no matter what the writing is, because you get paid to practice your craft and improve what you do.
At bottom, though, go back to Mark Twain, who said that the three rules for being a writer are, "Write, write, write." Right?

InVision: What pitfalls in the industry did you have to watch out for to get where you are today?

I was extremely insecure in my early days, and wore my insecurity on my sleeve. This made me a threat to people who were more covertly insecure; they were afraid that my insecurity would shed a light on theirs. This hurt my career a great deal. If I had it to do over again, I'd have spent less time worrying about whether people liked me or my work, and more time just writing. When I stopped caring about external validation and even about positive or negative outcomes, things started to get better. I've also done a long "end-around" around my career by writing books for writers and teaching extensively worldwide. I am the writer I am because I am the teacher I am. So never let them daunt you with, "Those who can't do, teach." Friends, "Those who can do, do both."

InVision: What is your best advice for getting your foot in the door in this industry?

Beat your head against the phone. Call everyone, even the people who say don't call them. Be friendly, personable, and extremely honest. Have great scripts. Eventually you'll get some attention. Remember, the industry is fueled by new scripts, and people are so afraid of missing the Next Great Script that they almost can't resist having a peek at yours.

InVision: How long have you been in the industry and has it always been as a writer?

I've been beating my head against Hollywood since 1985, always as a writer. I always felt that being anything else (a writer's assistant or development exec, for example) would divert me from my true purpose.

InVision: In the past ten years what big changes have you seen?

The cost of filmmaking technology keeps dropping and dropping, to the point where someone can make a movie on a credit card. The good news is that this creates marvelous grass-roots opportunities. The bad news is, there's sometimes not enough critical oversight (editing) on people's projects, so that what they think is "art" is really just undercooked chuffa.

InVision: What changes do you see coming?

Alternative distribution systems, through the internet for example but also including satellite and broadband cable, will allow filmmakers to sell their products like people now sell magazines or mail-order books. It will be possible for people to make a modest living making and selling their modest little pictures totally outside of (and ignored by) the mainstream.

InVision: As a writer, how have computers and the Internet affected your field and your work?

The computer transformed my writing by making it easy for me to delete what didn't work. It also allows me to SAVE EVERY DRAFT, which I find useful. Once I got over the idea that my hard drive didn't care how many drafts I saved, I started dating every day's work as a separate draft. This allows me to delete and rewrite with aplomb because if I decide I've made a mistake, I can always go back and retrieve the earlier version. Key tip: save every day's work as a different draft. This will set you free.

The internet made it possible for me to have business contacts without having to take meetings or make phone calls, which suits my nature. I am able to work at home and yet stay connected. I don't know how I would manage otherwise.
Also, the internet has allowed people to find me. As I mentioned, I've written a couple of books on writing, and both books have a strong following overseas. Since people in other countries can track me down on the web, they can (and do) invite me to come to where they are and share what I know. This, as you can imagine, makes my life rise.

InVision: If you could change one thing of your profession to improve being a writer, what would it be?

I would be more prolific.

InVision: What do you do to get yourself ready for a major project or job?

Nothing, just get excited about a job (or a paycheck) and plunge in. I don't have much trouble getting started anymore.

InVision: How do you deal with difficult personalities?

I don't. I simply don't suffer fools. As my mentor, Richie Raskind, told me on day one, "In Hollywood, mensches work with mensches and assholes work with assholes." Seeing myself as not an asshole, I simply refuse to work with them.

InVision: And difficult egos?

I can defuse a difficult ego like defusing a bomb, simply by yielding status. I'll give the difficult ego all the room he needs because I understand he's trying to feel good about himself. Me, I'm just trying to serve the work.

InVision: Is there someone or something that has influenced your work the most?

When I saw REPO MAN in 1984, I thought, "Hey, I can do that," and moved to Hollywood the next year.

InVision: Is there any person who has influenced you in the business?

I worked with Gail Morgan Hickman on THE SENTINEL, and he taught me a great deal about hour drama and also about emotional truth. Working with Sean Cunningham on EXTREME CLOSE-UP, I discovered that I didn't know nearly as much about screenwriting as I thought I did. I owe both of these men a debt.

InVision: How did it feel the first time you sat down in a theater to watch your own film with an audience?

It's like being the guest of honor at your own surprise party, except you know it's coming.

InVision: Is a project ever finished when you're the Writer?

Sure. To quote Winston Churchill on writing novels, there comes a time when you have to "Kill the beast and fling him to the public." However, Sean Cunningham taught me that every movie you make is actually three movies: The one you write; the one you capture on film; and the one you're actually able to assemble in editing. This is a useful concept. It keeps alive the notion that shooting and editing are critical to the creative success of a film.

InVision: Did your friends and family encourage you or are they still waiting for you to get a real job?

Nothing but support. They knew I couldn't hold a real job anyhow.

InVision: What kind of story would you like to write that you haven't already written?

I'm currently "glancing out of the corner of my eye" at a movie called WHALES about Las Vegas high rollers. I would like to do the research.

InVision: Any last comments for our readers?

You're not alone. We all go through the same shit. Keep your head down and keep moving forward. Concentrate on words on the page, for that, at the end of the day, is the only thing a writer can truly control. Focus on the process not the product. If you can't or don't enjoy the process of writing, you should go drive a truck, because the product is such a dim and iffy payoff. Don't let Hollywood validate your self-worth. Validate from within. Keep reading and learning. Give and receive love. "This I believe above all other things, a man shall find goodness if goodness he brings." -jv

InVision: Thank you for the time and insight