This week's featured contributor is author and optioned screenwriter Nancy A. Meyer. Her story, HYPNOTIC, is connected to her TV pilot, ALLY WITHIN.
What inspired you to write HYPNOTIC?
This story is a culmination of things that have impacted my life over many years: experiencing 9/11 first-hand, the disappearance of a friend in NYC 30 years ago and wanting to bring a discussion about mental illness on to the screen.
What is HYPNOTIC about? A New York City college student must join forces with her alter personality to infiltrate an extremist group and bring her missing brother home.
How did you come up with the concept and characters for your story?
I wanted to play with a female heroine who had a debilitating mental illness and demonstrate even with that burden, she could do incredible things. I chose dissociative identity disorder because it has been portrayed in Hollywood, in my opinion, unfairly. To my knowledge, there is no medicine that fixes this illness, but many people with DID can be highly functioning with the right therapy.
What inspired the names of the characters in the story?
Just brainstorming!
How did you come up with the title?
It seemed appropriate for the event that was taking place in the story.
What do you hope readers will connect with in your story?
That we all walk around with wounds that we need to live with, grow from and survive every day so we should be more empathetic to each other.
Did you learn anything during the writing of this story?
I had forgotten how to write in prose style -- using the first person, I found I had words, thoughts and ideas that I didn’t know I had.
If your story had a candle, what scent would it be?
Paris Cafe
Have you written any other books or scripts, published or unpublished?
I have a finished TV pilot script, two feature film drafts and a timely script outline that needs attention.
Do you write with a pen, typewriter, computer, or tablet?
Laptop, pen, back to laptop
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I finally adhered to the advice, “if you want to be a writer, you have to write”.
Who or what made you want to become a writer?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer but didn’t feel confident that I had a voice or the skill, so I chose an easier path (for me) into the world of business where I could see measurable results. After getting the shit kicked out of me owning a small business for ten years, I decided to pursue my passion in writing… at that point, I was like, “how bad could it be?”
Is there a writer whose brain you’d love to pick for advice?
Paula McClain because she is a historical fiction writer and I love her prose.
What’s your worst distraction to writing?
Organizing my house while listening to screenwriting podcasts. I have the hardest time opening the computer… but once I do, I do just fine.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t give up on things so easily and you are creative.
NANCY A. MEYER - is a screenwriter whose current project is a one-hour suspense/drama TV series, presently under contract for development with a Los Angeles-based production team. Her story Hypnotic is taken from the series, Ally Within. She is also a writing collaborator on two short films titled: If Love Was a Person, Then I’d Send You Me and Red Fever. Nancy is VP of Strategy & Marketing and a founding board member of Salter Network Press. She graduated from the University of North Carolina with a BA in Journalism and earned an MBA in Marketing from NYU. Nancy had successful careers in finance and marketing strategy, then as an entrepreneur before pursuing her passion of screenwriting. She has completed numerous screenwriting courses, collaborates with writers at various stages of their projects, and is building a catalog of feature and TV scripts. Nancy resides in Charleston, SC with her husband and two children. Previously, she lived in Manhattan for almost twenty years where she still draws inspiration for her writing.
https://www.facebook.com/nmeyerscreenwriter
https://www.pinterest.com/nancymeyer
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11694781/
