Paula Tiberius is a screenwriter, director, and writing coach. She explains the key to making your Christmas script stand out is by writing unique characters and settings.
In this episode of the Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast, we discuss the keys to writing successful Christmas movie scripts with guest Paula Tiberius. We emphasize the importance of incorporating Christmas elements and creating memorable characters. Accordingly, we also explore networking opportunities, production logistics, and selling ideas to producers. Plus, we share three takeaways from the interview with Paula. Tune in and get inspired to create your own Christmas movie magic!
Chapter 1
0:00:00 Introduction to the Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast
0:00:12 Introduction and Website Announcement
0:02:12 Tips for Writing Heartwarming Christmas Movie Scripts
0:02:21 Interview with Paula Tiberius about her Career and Work
0:03:35 Writing to Christmas Movies
Chapter 2
0:05:12 Creating Memorable Characters in Christmas Movies
0:05:45 The Importance of Strong Character Development in Christmas Movies
0:07:19 The Role of AI in Christmas Movie Writing
0:08:40 Shifts in Audience Preferences for Christmas Movies
Chapter 3
0:10:22 Balancing Audience and Producer Expectations in Christmas Movies
0:12:31 Unexpected Extra Scenes Enhance the Storyline
0:15:25 The Romance Novel Scene and Optioning Books
0:15:55 Researching and Making a Pitch List
Chapter 4
0:18:04 Writing a Christmas Script with Budget and Location Limitations
0:23:41 Juggling Writing For Hire and Personal Projects
0:26:30 From Spec Scripts to Selling Ideas
0:30:14 Wrapping Up and Call to Action
Transcript
HOST: CARYN
[0:01] This is the Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast, episode number four.
[0:12] Hello, and welcome to the Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast.
I’m your host, Caryn McCann.
The Christmas Movie Screenwriter is a podcast about writing, producing, and selling Christmas movies. Additionally, I also publish a transcript with every episode if you want to read something later. Go to the website www.christmasmoviescreenwriter.com. A quick few words about what I’m working on.B
Back to Work
I’m excited that the strike is over and writers can get back to work. Moreover, I am scheduled to attend the AFM, the American Film Market, in November. Thus, I’m busy setting up meetings. Additionally, I also finished a few lookbooks, which are so much more powerful than a synopsis.
Simultaneously, I’m also working on a new outline which is just about done. I’m excited because I don’t think a Christmas movie has been shot there, But it’s just the perfect setting so it’s really exciting a lot of work ahead But it’s also a lot of fun. And now here is the main segment.
Today’s Guest
[1:12] Today’s guest is Paula Tiberius She is a screenwriter director and writing coach whose screenplays have been featured on Netflix Amazon Peacock up TV INSP, City TV, Super Channel, CBC, and more.
Her recent credits include the TV feature films, Country Road Christmas, Santa’s Got Style, Christmas on the Slopes, and Snowbound for Christmas, which became the number four movie on Netflix in 2021.
In 2023, she co-directed the feature Christmas Time Capsule for Brainpower Studios and a five-part music video campaign for Richard Duguay album’s Beautiful Decline.
Paula’s independent film background began in Toronto with a slate of short films and her directorial feature debut, Goldie Rocks. This is an award-winning film about a girl who finds her purpose when she picks up an electric guitar.
Paula’s current development slate includes rom-coms, indie features, TV comedies, and dramas, sci-fi, and animation.
Tips for Writing A Heartwarming Christmas Script
[2:12] Her children’s album, Be Who You Are, features 14 tracks of music and spoken word that encourages young people to embrace their authentic selves.
Interview with Paula Tiberius about her Career and Work
[2:21] You can learn more at www.paulatiberius.com. So Paula, thank you for coming on the show today.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Hi, thank you.
HOST: CARYN
Well, I told the audience a little bit about you, but why don’t you take a minute and tell us more about yourself and your work?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[2:36] Yeah, sure. Yeah, I started out as an indie filmmaker back in the 90s. I went to school for film theory and criticism in Toronto, that’s where I grew up. And, you know, after a couple of years of film theory and criticism, you realize, okay, am I going to be a film critic? Because it’s not so fun.
So I was like, I’d rather make movies. So I started making movies through the local film thing, at U of T and then expanded to the liaison of independent filmmakers in Toronto.
And then from there, made some short films, made a feature. And when I was making a feature, I took a lot of screenwriting classes. I took like four major sort of nine-week programs.
Writing Christmas Scripts
[3:35] And to learn how to write. So that was really worth it. But it wasn’t until I wrote a romance novel for fun that I got involved in the Christmas movie game.
HOST: CARYN
Yeah, you have a lot of Christmas movies on your IMDb page, and that kind of leads me to my question. What makes a successful Christmas movie, screenplay?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Oh, well, you know, a lot of Christmas, you really got to put Christmas in there. It’s, you know, like, it’s really always helpful when the storyline is Christmassy itself. Right. Like with Santa’s Got Style, I was I was really excited about that premise.
Because it’s got Christmas built in, you know, it’s this marketing executive who’s tasked with coming up with a Christmas promotion and she decides to have a hot Santa, you know.
Producer’s Notes
[4:32] Because some of the other ones I get, you know, I get really focused on the plot and making it all work as a movie, and then the producer’s notes will be like, okay, this is great. Now can you do a pass for Christmas? You know? Oh, right, you know, eating drink, they’re drinking hot cocoa, like, you know, yeah, all that stuff. For example, they can be kissing under the mistletoe, whatever it is, you have to make sure it’s Christmassy because that’s what people want.
HOST: CARYN
Yeah, I love the idea of a hot Santa. That is a memorable character.
Creating Memorable Characters in a Christmas Script
[5:12] Can we watch it now?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
That one is on, oh geez, I should know the answer to that.
HOST: CARYN
I’ll put it in the show notes.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Okay, I think it was on Up TV.
HOST: CARYN
Okay, it sounds great. It sounds great. I love that idea. But that sort of leads to my next question about characters because a lot of these characters are a bit, you know, an advertising girl in the big city who goes home and finds her old boyfriend. How do you create, and approach creating a memorable character when you’ve got this Christmas movie formula?
The Importance of Strong Character Development in a Christmas Script
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[5:45] Yeah, sure. Well, I think it’s slightly different between comedies and dramas. I think with comedies, you want to make sure what the characters sort of two sides are.
[6:00] Like the dominant characteristic versus what they are in reality, and that’s what makes it funny. Like the silent Santa guy, he’s a model, and he now runs a modeling agency and you think he should be this confident guy, good-looking, but actually he’s very insecure and he gets super nervous and stammers every time Madison comes around. And so you can play on that. You got to show what the split is if it’s a comedy. And if it’s a drama, you really want to go for the backstory.
You know, like, is there something that happened with these two people? Back in the day, that’s bringing them together, or do they not know each other, but she’s got a painful thing going on with her mom, or he’s got a daughter that he’s estranged from, like, what’s pulling on the heartstrings and what can build some resentments and fears that then you can blast through with the power of love, right?
HOST: CARYN
[7:04] You can really tell you’re a screenplay coach because these are really good tips.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Oh, well, there you go.
HOST: CARYN
I like that, I’m going to write that down. Now, AI is a big topic for all the writers out there and actors.
The Role of AI in a Christmas Script
[7:19] Do you think AI will change the way Christmas movies are written or made? And if so, how?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
I mean, that’s a great question. Honestly, from what I’ve seen of AI, it’s great as a brainstorming tool and I use it for that. I think maybe I just haven’t mastered how to prompt it to come up with anything that isn’t just generic, pretty crappy tropes.
But those tropes are great though, because sometimes you put in a prompt, like what happens if a Christmas tree farm is going under and two people are falling in love and AI will spit out a whole bunch of stuff.
And then you look at it and you think, okay, these are the generic ideas that anyone would come up with. So let me take a twist on this.
Yes, you know, so I mean, it’s useful as a brainstorming tool, but by definition, it’s regurgitating old ideas. So that seems odd to me. So yeah, and you’re dealing with a formula anyway. I mean, the Christmas movies have it’s almost like a meme almost sometimes this formula that a lot of people kind of.
[8:27] Make jokes about, you know, Christmas movies or so. If you don’t have the human touch, then what are you doing? Yeah. You know, I don’t think that would make for a memorable movie. But I mean, I’m exactly working on it.
Shifts in Audience Preferences
HOST: CARYN
[8:40] Exactly. Now, are there any shifts in audience preferences for Christmas movies that we should, you know, screenwriters should be aware of?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[8:49] You know, I feel like that’s like the magic question for producers. They’re always looking to see what audiences are doing.
I feel like the Christmas genre is becoming so much its own niche that it’s like its own world now. You know, like it used to be when we had network television only, we all watched the same stuff. So we all got to know, you know, It’s a Wonderful Life and, you know, all the classic Christmas movies.
But now everything’s so niche and it’s like they have their own channel. So, I mean, I think honestly what audiences are looking for is a fresh world, like anything, you know?
Locations
It’s like, I know I’ve had producers say, please, no flower shop owners, you know, more cafes, have them meet somewhere. Why does it always have to be a cafe? And I’m always like, well, people go to coffee shops, sorry, but they’re right in the sense that it delights viewers, I think, to see a world they’ve never seen before, you know?
HOST: CARYN
[10:00] Yes, that’s exactly right. And that’s a good way for writers to stand out if you have to meet like one of my last guests, her protagonist was an auto mechanic, not your typical, not your typical, you know, advertising exec.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
That’s good. That was great. Get out of the office.
Balancing Audience and Producer Expectations
HOST: CARYN
[10:22] Yeah, exactly. Now, I mentioned just a minute ago about formulaic, Christmas movies sometimes tend to be formulaic. How do you balance meeting what the audience wants, and what the producer wants, but you also need to be fresh and original?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[10:40] Right. Well, again, I think it does come back to the world. You know, I think there are certain things you just have to have, you know, you have to have the meet cute, and you have to have the development and the emotional heartstring part of it. So that you connect to that character, those things you can’t live without.
But like with the, there’s one that I wrote, Christmas in Big Sky Country and that was a fresh premise because it was a guy working on an oil rig who wants to come home for Christmas, but.
Fresh Ideas
[11:19] Yeah, it’s good, but he wasn’t even the main guy. That was like his sister and then the guy who’s tasked with you know, helping the guy come home is, So there were a few it was like a little bit of a foursome which was pretty fresh.
I thought, which is tricky sometimes because they really want you to stick with the one and the two, as they call it, meaning the first and second person on the call sheet, meaning the man and the woman. Right, so they want it just focused around the two main, the couple, usually the couple.
They usually do, but I’ve written a few that have secondary characters and as long as it really serves the story, you can kind of sneak it in there. Another one I did that with was Country Roads Christmas, which was written around the John Denver song, Country Roads, that had an older couple and a younger couple.
And originally the producers, at INSP were so great, they were really fun to work with. They, they were like, Oh, you know, we should probably slim it down to the younger couple.
Unexpected Extra Scenes Enhance the Storyline in Christmas Scripts
[12:31] But then when they, when they watched it, they were like, Oh, you know what, we want to know what happens with these older people. And so they came back and ended up shooting some extra stuff. And wow, yeah, it was cool.
HOST: CARYN
Oh, that’s great. Well, that’s good. You know, it’s good to hear because sometimes if some well, first of all, the actors, I would imagine need a little break from working in every seen. And then, second of all, you need a little story on the sideline, what else is happening?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah, I mean, in that case, it really fed the main story anyway, because it was her father, who was the country star who had, you know, a bit of a fall from grace.
[13:13] And so when he reunites with her mother, it kind of feeds her own romance, too. Okay, and it’s kind of some family closure, because a lot of the times it is a family watching, you know, it’s not all Yeah, you know, single women, you know, eating chocolate and, you know, Like that’s a bit of a cliché too. I know a lot of families that just have them on in the background, you know? And so something for everyone is not a bad thing.
HOST: CARYN
Yeah, that’s exactly right. Now, how would you suggest screenwriters expand their network of producers? Do you have any ideas on networking or conferences? And if so, which ones? Or competitions or online platforms?
Expand Your Producer Network
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Okay, yeah. Well, there is a new app called Love, L-U-V. It’s like a pink icon. It’s a community for romance lovers.
HOST: CARYN
Is that what it’s called? Really?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah. They just started and you can post pitches on there and-
HOST: CARYN
That’s amazing.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
There’s a lot of resources. Yeah. It’s run by cool people.
HOST: CARYN
[14:18] L-U-V. Okay. Maybe I’ll get the URL. I guess I can just look it up on the Play Store or App Store.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah, exactly. And it’s a pink square with white lettering.
HOST: CARYN
That’s a fantastic idea.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
And I think it might take off because there’s a bit of a vacuum right now, like with the Romance Writers Association, kind of that used to be the big conference, for romance stuff. They had some sort of scandalous falling-out stuff. And so that’s not a big thing anymore.
So I feel like a lot of there’s a lot of it’s actually a good opportunity for new, for people to see what’s sort of taking the place of that. Because like romance novels, a lot of producers will show up to the literary conferences as well. Of course, there are film markets, but the markets won’t be just romance, right? You know, the American film market in LA and MIPCOM in France. You can totally go there and pitch romance to producers.
The Romance Novel Scene and Optioning Books
[15:25] But don’t forget about the romance novel scene because it’s sort of like a lot of producers will, buy option books. And so if you’re there, and they’re there, and there might be some more accessible conferences now because there’s a lot of smaller ones starting up as the RWA doesn’t, And I don’t know if they’re still doing their conference.
Research and Making a Pitch List for your Christmas Script
HOST: CARYN
[15:55] That’s a great idea.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah. So it’s worth researching. I always tell people, research, research, research. It’s worth paying the 100 bucks to get on IMDb Pro. If there’s a Christmas movie you love, go on there. Find out who they are, and make the spreadsheet. You know, all the wish list of who you’d love to pitch to.
The more you have them in your mind and you’re following what they do, the more likely it is you’ll find a way in and a way to just send them an email with your amazing logline that they can’t resist.
HOST: CARYN
I like that idea. But really, you’re the first person who has said romance conferences or romance novelist conferences.
[16:37] That’s a great idea because most people, well, I’m a little bit new to the Christmas genre. I was in Asia forever. I didn’t really discover this until recently. I’ve always been focused on markets like the Hong Kong film market or the AFM, but this is new. A Christmas writer, obviously, is going to have romance. Okay, great. I will find that.
Supportive Community
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah, and the other thing is it’s a really supportive community, the romance community. You know, you might not think of yourself as a novelist and that’s okay. But, even just getting into that world. That’s why I like that love app because it’s people who read books and screenplays. So it’s kind of all in there.
Okay, and they’re very supportive, a very supportive group, and they’re very oriented towards self-marketing. So they, you know, they share a lot of tips too. And, who knows, you know, you might be inspired to write a romance novel because that self-publishing platform is a whole other world of independent opportunities, especially for female writers.
Production Logistics
HOST: CARYN
[17:50] Exactly. Now, a question about production logistics. When you’re writing a script, do you have a budget range in mind, a number of locations, or a number of speaking roles that you aim for when writing a Christmas script?
Budget and Location Limitations in a Christmas Script
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[18:04] Yes, definitely. I usually assume that the budget is a million dollars or less, for sure.
[18:14] And I try to absolutely put everything through the one and two tests, like, does it serve that story? And if not, the producers are probably going to cut it on the next draft anyway. So just get rid of it now. Like if you’re giving a non-main character a long speech, you really need to ask yourself, is this adding to the romance plot? Is this Christmassy? What is this? Do I absolutely need this? Because you might not.
HOST: CARYN
Yeah, yeah. So you really got to be creative because, you know, 90 pages or what is the page count you’re aiming for?
Page Count
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah, yeah, 90, usually. And then in terms of locations, it’s the same thing, just being creative within the limitations of the budget. If you want to put a scene on a yacht, make it a yacht club with a view of yachts in the background. You know what I mean? So that you’re basically at a restaurant, but they can CGI it in. That’s a great idea. like that where you’re just toning it down because as writers, you can create, I mean, that’s also what’s amazing about writing a novel is that you can just put anything you want at all.
HOST: CARYN
Exactly.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[19:37] Right. But with the movies, yeah, it’s really important to try to picture it like how, like top of a mountain cliff, okay, maybe, but would it be easier to be at the edge of a lake, you know, where you could actually just drive into a pathway and put everyone there.
You know, things like that. Just think about your setting so you don’t scare producers right away with, you know, these spectacular locations. Like some producers will say, you just write, go, go for it, write whatever is expensive and we’ll reign it in.
CGI
HOST: CARYN
Or CGI in it, CGI, yeah, we’re in Paris, we’re in Paris.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
That’s right. And they can do miracles too, so you don’t want to sell yourself short if it’s really important for the concept. Or if there’s like one, that’s the other thing to remember too, don’t put elaborate locations in a montage, you know, unless there are other big scenes in there.
If you have a big ballroom scene, that’s great. Then you can call back to that scene. They can cut it in here and there in a memory montage or something. But a producer is never going to dress an entire ballroom and have 50 extras for one little clip in a montage. Exactly. And a number of speaking roles? Is there a magic number?
Speaking Parts
[21:03] I guess it’s usually, you know, five or six…
HOST: CARYN
Do you mean like the main parts?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Yeah, sort of. I’d say it depends on the concept. But that’s, that’s sort of a scene-by-scene question to like, do you have to have the barista say, Oh, is this latte for you? Or is it better to just cut to them with the latte? Like, imagine yourself in the editing room, right?
HOST: CARYN
That’s a good point.
Editing
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
And there’s a lot of toing and froing in scripts that’s totally unnecessary and gets cut in the editing room. And when you’ve written a lot of these movies and you see what they cut out, you think, oh, geez, why did I even bother having them introduce themselves? Of course, they didn’t need to do that.
So it’s like the rule of screenwriting generally is to get into a scene late and leave early because the audience is smarter than you think and not everyone has to shake hands. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, hello, how are you? I’m fine and you? Right, like that can take up a whole page and then the editor’s just like a snip, you know.
HOST: CARYN
Now, what advice would you give to your younger self?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
[22:20] Oh, that’s always a good one. Maybe don’t party so much.
HOST: CARYN
(laughs) That’s a first.
Work Ethic
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Honestly, I feel like if I had my current work ethic back then, I feel like I’m finally at, I’m 52, and I’m finally at the point where I have a ton of stuff in development. And I have an interest in things, and I feel like things are actually reaching a tipping point.
And I do like to think that perhaps if I had spent, a little less time partying and a little, or even just being more consistent, like let’s say three hours a day in the chair writing, absolutely, I feel like maybe I could have been where I am now like 10 years ago, you know? Yes, yes. That’s hard when you’re young, you feel like you have forever, you know?
Life Experience
HOST: CARYN
But it’s also a life experience. I mean, that comes through to your writing. But you mentioned that you just, I just thought of a question for you.
Aside from development and dealing with producers and all this, is there a number of screenplays a year you hope to write? Or is that sort of, when you get an idea, you just write it?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Definitely, when I get an idea, I just write it. And of course, there’s a difference between.
Juggling For Hire Writing and Personal Projects
[23:41] Full drafts and outlines. So I probably write a feature for hire probably every six weeks.
Wow. That’s great. Yeah. So then my own stuff, I try to wedge in there and probably write more like two or three. Like maybe two feet two finished like a pilot or something.
HOST: CARYN
So how many is that a year?
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Last year I wrote, yeah, I guess that’s quite a few then.
How Many Scripts To Write?
HOST: CARYN
That’s quite a few. That’s over 15.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
I didn’t do that math.
HOST: CARYN
That’s over 15, that’s amazing.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Oh, that can’t be true then. That sounds like too many. Are you really doing like a script, like let’s say one script, six scripts a year?
[24:32] Yeah, that sounds right.
HOST: CARYN
Write a lot
Okay, that’s a lot. Yeah, it is a lot.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
It is. It is a lot. I feel like Stephen King, you know, like in the bathtub, in the, you know. Like mowing the lawn and he’s on the typewriter, like just word count, you know. Because when, like, I just wrote this thriller and the producers needed it fast. And I was like, okay, how many pages can I realistically write in a day? Like, usually I go between five and 10.
HOST: CARYN
That’s great.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
They really needed it in four days. I was like, okay, so if I have any hope to actually edit once it’s written, I have to write 30 pages a day. Like I have to. And so you just do it. You get that sort of neck cramp going. Yeah, it’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but it can be done.
HOST: CARYN
So on these, the scripts that, do you find yourself, you know, you just have an idea and you write an outline and then you are marketing those Or are you actually trying to write an entire spec script and selling those?
Pitching Ideas
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
It’s hard to market an idea because the first thing they say is, is the pilot available? You know? And then they want the script. And then they want the script. So it’s kind of hard. I mean, especially starting out. Like I feel like now I know producers so I can pitch and I have pitched ideas.
[26:00] And certainly I know other Christmas writers who sell pitches all the time.
HOST: CARYN
[26:08] That’s amazing.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
I have not had success that way, personally. I’ve pitched a lot of stuff and I’ve never sold a pitch.
HOST: CARYN
But it sounds like you’re for hire. I mean, the producers are coming to you.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Right. and saying, here’s our idea. So I mean, that’s just, that’s even better. They’re giving me their ideas. Yeah, I mean, it’s great. Yeah, I love it.
From Spec Scripts to Selling Ideas
HOST: CARYN
[26:30] So you’re already at the point where you don’t necessarily have to write a spec script.
You’ve already got-
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
No, I don’t. But there is definitely a joy in selling something that you came up with yourself, you know? So I still aspire to that.
HOST: CARYN
Great. No, that is amazing. You’ve got this amazing work ethic. It’s amazing. You put out so much work and still doing specs. And you’ve got this huge track record. You’re an inspiration.
[27:06] So to wrap up, would you like to share any social media details or links so our audience can track your work or your coaching business? That would be interesting.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Social Media
Oh, sure, yes. Everything is at PaulaTiberius.com, all my social stuff there, Instagram, and Facebook, And then on the homepage is a button for my writing coach.
[27:32] Business and you click on that and there’s just like a form to fill out but you can just email me to my emails on there if any of your listeners are interested.
[27:43] Coaching or editing services. I love to do that. I love to Mentor other writers and just talk about writing.
HOST: CARYN
Yes. Well, you’ve given me some great ideas just in this short talk I mean, the hot Santa, the oil rig, I’m like, my mind is going like a wheel.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Dazzle Producers
Yeah, yeah. Coming up with an original world, right? That’s what dazzles producers, I think.
HOST: CARYN
Exactly. Well, Paula, thank you so much. Your information has been great. It’s been very educational and inspiring. Thank you for coming on the podcast today.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Thank you for having me.
HOST: CARYN
When your movies come out, especially, I’ll put in the show notes, and your IMDb link, so we can know where these shows on. I look forward to watching them because they sound very original and fresh. Thank you again.
GUEST: PAULA TIBERIUS
Thank you so much.
HOST: CARYN
Okay, we’ll see you later.
TAKEAWAYS
Be Traditional Yet Original
Your Christmas script needs the regular elements such as the meet-cute moment, the heartstrings part of it, maybe Ice-skating or drinking hot cocoa. However, try and be original. Paul wrote Christmas In Big Sky Country and one of the leads worked on an oil rig. That definitely is memorable and made her script stand out.
Consider Romance Novel Conferences
Networking with producers is difficult in crowded film markets. But now that RWA (the Romance Writers Association which had a big conference has gone by the wayside) – there are smaller conferences that have taken their place. Some producers will option romance novels. And you can consider self-publishing your Christmas script into a novel.
LUV is in the Air
Spelled L-U-V. This is an app and website that caters to romance writers – either novels or screenwriters. Paula says they’re also a really supportive community and you can find tips on self-marketing your projects. You can download the app or check them out at https://www.luvcentral.com.
Wrapping Up and Call to Action
Well, that’s the show. Thank you for listening. To show your support – please give us a 5* rating on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. And sign up to be notified of the launch of our membership website at www.christmasmoviescreenwriter.com
Thanks for listening and I’ll see you on the next Christmas Movie Screenwriter podcast. Bye!
The Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast – Episode 4
Paula Tiberius – Screenwriter / Director
Show Notes
HOST: Caryn McCann
Website: https://christmasmoviescreenwriter.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasMovieScreenwriter
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MerryScriptmas
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caryn-mccann-5718058/
GUEST: Paula Tiberius
Website: https://www.paulatiberius.com
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1516732/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Movies Mentioned
Santa’s Got Style https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21945996/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Christmas In Big Sky Country https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21373908/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1