Idea to Screenplay (and My Trip to the UK)

On Sunday afternoon, I lugged my suitcase back into my house after two glorious weeks in Scotland and England. Two weeks was the perfect amount of time to go away—long enough to really get away and fully enjoy the trip, and also long enough to become tired from 22,000-step days and spending 24/7 with other people (I love these fantastic people dearly, but I’m an introvert with a small social battery). It felt great to be back home with my cuddly cat, ready to luxuriate in my own personal space.

At least, until Monday arrived.

lillie's musingsLillie GardnerJuly 18, 2024Comment

Q&A with JaNay Brown-Wood: Bring Them Joy

Through my kids screenwriting world, I recently had the pleasure of meeting and reading the delightful writing of award-winning children’s book author JaNay Brown-Wood. Like many of her characters, JaNay exudes a warm, playful energy and has a can-do attitude about all the amazing things she endeavors to do—and overwhelmingly succeeds at, no less! JaNay’s beautiful mission to celebrate diversity and bring positivity into the world is at the heart of her stories about everything from toddlers learning about produce to magical puppies who help kids through tough situations.

q&aLillie GardnerFebruary 29, 2024Comment

5 Takeaways from Austin Film Festival

There’s a saying I’ve heard many times in my writing career journey, both in terms of the stories we write and the relationships we build: “People don’t remember what happened; they remember how it made them feel.” This is true of events too. Austin Film Festival is jam-packed with amazing people, brilliant minds, and incredible projects.

lillie's musingsLillie GardnerDecember 5, 2023austin film festival, screenwriting, film and tv, character development, ideasComment

Q&A with Nicole Houff: It's a Barbie World

2023 might have become the year of Barbie, but Minneapolis photographer Nicole Houff has been living in her own fantastic Barbie world for sixteen years and counting. It was delightful and inspiring to talk with Nicole about her process, her career trajectory, and how it’s more possible than you might think to follow your dreams.

q&aLillie GardnerSeptember 28, 2023Comment

Why Create When the World Doesn't Care?

All year, industry screenwriters have shared their accounts of not being properly compensated for vital contributions to an industry that makes an absurd amount of money off their ideas. Many writers and other artists are having existential crises. It feels like we’ll never be respected or rewarded for creating things, so why bother?

lillie's musingsLillie GardnerAugust 20, 2023 Comments

Q&A with Roxanna Walitzki: Finding Transcendence

Classically trained as a mezzo-soprano, Roxanna Walitzki integrates elements from electronic and ambient music into her art-song arrangements, and uses video to further the reach of classical music. After studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and NYU, Roxanna expanded her art-making to photography, modeling and producing.

q&aLillie GardnerMay 17, 2023roxanna walitzki, photography, art song, singer, producing, modelComment

Do Not Submit Until: A Checklist

No matter the format or the genre, rejection is almost always due to one of a few common missteps. I want to share them so that we can all put our best writerly feet forward—because I, too, am a writer who submits my work to the mysterious realm of Readers who I hope will take my work seriously and consider it for a next step. First, some good news: readers are hoping to be enthusiastic about your work.

lillie's musingsLillie GardnerApril 12, 2023submitting, revision, revising, screenwriting, essays Comment

Q&A with Cassandra Rose: Theater and Screenplays and Games, Oh My!

Did you know it’s possible for one person to write 300 plays in just a few years? Or that there are writers who have the fascinating job of adapting romance novels into video games? As soon as I learned these things about the lovely and talented Cassandra Rose, I knew I needed to know more about her creative life.

q&aLillie GardnerFebruary 16, 2023cassandra rose, scripts, screenwriting, audio, theater, austin film festival, digital series, screenplaysComment

Whistle While You Hustle

Being really busy is my jam, don’t get me wrong, but the last few months really pushed me to reflect on how important self-care is when you’re in the throes of bonkersdom. I tend to think of self-care as something a future me will do when I have the time for it. But self-care has to be part of everything we do as creators, especially when the journey starts going full-speed ahead.

Lillie GardnerJanuary 11, 2023Comment

Q&A with Madhushree Ghosh: Enjoy

Madhushree Ghosh is a Pushcart-nominated essayist whose work was the 2020 Notable Mention in Best American Essays in Food Writing, and her words have been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, BOMB Magazine, The Rumpus and more. Her braided essay collection Khabaar (“food” in Bengali) is about food’s role in connecting to identity, culture and social justice.

q&aLillie GardnerSeptember 19, 2022madhushree ghosh, food memoir, memoir, creative nonfiction, south asian, indian, immigration, khabaarComment

Wild Minds

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