Jovan Alexander

I have MORE respect for writers who make me LAUGH than for writers who make me CRY. Any competent novelist can make you cry, big or small. But it takes the magic of an innate, unbuyable sense of humour to pull one into helpless hilarity.

‘Industry is telling us EXACTLY what they’re looking for.’ Nonsense. Sorry, gonna bring some truth. That is the absolute worst way to target these people — FOLLOWER mentality vs TASTEMAKER. Remember WANTS vs NEEDS? Write what they NEED, not what they WANT. FACT: The industry doesn’t know what it needs til they read it. Your odds go way up. Note, after any big hit they always ask for “the next___.” Allllwaaaayz. How many people do you suppose asked Shari for the next Gone Girl or Devil Wears Prada AFTER they were hits? A: Everyone who -> PASSED. Do the math. 🧮 Don’t chase moving targets. Bluntly. Create the fucking target 🎯 …be the writer others seek to ripoff. 😘 *How’d I get signed first time with CAA? A: I wrote whatever the fuck I wanted to as a fuck you to the industry. Ironically, they loved it. Do a version of that. 😘

There’s such a major misconception about professional screenwriter’s income. After lawyers and agents and taxes I usually only end up with 20-25 million a year.

In your books, do you kill off characters you love?

Writers, has impatience with the writing process ever affected your pacing?

I’m at that stage with my latest feature where everything feels crap, I’m doubting the story and choices, worried it won’t be long enough, and new story ideas feel appealing. However, I’ve done this long enough now that I know it’s just a normal day and today I plow forward.

When it feels impossible to understand the movie industry and how you’re going to make it work, that’s where you put your head down and write your stories. That’s all you were ever meant to do. Create. Storytell. Not predict shifts in a constantly changing industry.

I understand the advice ‘stick to one genre’ making you easier to market. But, as someone with 4 different genre scripts, I’m hoping showing diversity is also a plus for some managers.

All my mama cared about was that I was reading 😂

Thank God for the real ones.