Q&A with Wenonah Wilms: Persistence Pays Off

Wenonah Wilms is an award-winning screenwriter who won the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and a second McKnight Fellowship all in 2018. She’s written over twenty feature-length screenplays and she’s had six short films produced. Wenonah is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Native American stories and characters figure prominently in her work.

q&aLillie GardnerNovember 5, 2021Wenonah Wilms, screenwriting, screenwriter, self-taught, persistence, discipline, rewriting, first drafts, competition, David Trottier, screenplays, fun, Horsehead Girls Comments

Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Page

When I was a teenager (the nerdy classical pianist kind) my piano teacher repeatedly made it clear that competitions only matter if they help you. I competed in a lot of piano competitions at this time, so it was a little strange to hear that it was possible for them to not matter, but it made sense: if you don’t make it anywhere in a competition, life carries on and you continue on your path.

Lillie GardnerOctober 22, 2021competition, competitiveness, jealousy, creative process, Barbra streisand, Joan didion, lil nas x, Leonardo da vinci, michelangelo, squid game, octavia butler, piano competition, Mary shelley Comments

— T r é m o n t —