Screenwriter Erin Rodman reveals unconventional success tactics. She says writers who stay true to one’s unique voice will land jobs.
Chapters
0:00:13 Introducing the Christmas Movie Screenwriter podcast
0:02:23 Erin Rodman’s journey into the film industry
0:03:59 Breaking into the industry as a Christmas movie screenwriter
0:07:47 Sending out scripts without representation
0:09:37 Researching Christmas Traditions for Inspiration
0:11:08 Challenges of being a writer during a strike
0:11:37 Initial feedback from friends and submitting to representatives
0:14:57 Blending genres in Christmas movies for unique and appealing stories
0:17:35 Finding ingenuity and innovation within a traditional framework
0:20:00 The Power of Character in a Christmas Scene
0:23:06 Building Connections through Writers Groups and Retreats
0:25:27 Researching Screenwriting Contests: Tips for Success
0:27:12 Discussing Favorite Scripts and Personal Achievements
0:27:18 Unproduced Movie for Amblin: A YA Novel Adaptation
0:29:01 Short Scripts and the Importance of Length
0:31:54 Overcoming the Fear of Imperfection in Screenwriting
0:34:26 The Importance of Rewriting and Accepting Feedback in Script Development
Transcript
Introducing the Christmas Movie Screenwriter podcast
Introduction:
[0:13] 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. You can find any links mentioned on the podcast on my website. Just go to www.christmasmoviescreenwriter.com and look for this episode, which is number 10.
A quick few words about what I’m working on. I finished the rewrite of a female-led thriller called Italian Seduction, Framed by an Art Thief. I wrote it so it could be shot in Italy, which offers a 40% tax rebate. So I will soon be contacting producers stateside and in Europe who may have done female-led thrillers in the past.
Success Tactic – attaching a director
I also heard from a director that I’ve been chasing for a while, and he’s agreed to direct a romantic comedy of mine called The Magic Bookshop. So I’m very happy about that. So I’ll be reaching out to production companies who make rom-coms very soon.
Lastly, I revised a Christmas action movie into more of a Christmas rom-com and that should be done in a week or so. I also have lots of ideas for my next project. It’s just a matter of deciding which one to do first. So lots of fun stuff ahead.
Today’s guest is screenwriter Erin Rodman. She has some inspiring things to say about being true to your voice and how buyers are open to fresh ideas. Here is that interview.
[1:40] [Caryn] Erin Rodman worked in development at DreamWorks Studios and 20th Century Fox before becoming a story analyst for companies such as Paramount, Netflix, and Parks McDonald.
Recently, she adapted a young adult novel for Amblin and Mark Platt Productions and has also written six Hallmark movies, including The Christmas House. Erin has an MFA in screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University and a master’s degree in film and television theory from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Well, Erin, welcome to the Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast.
[2:13] [Erin] Thank you so much. I’m excited to be here.
[2:16] [Caryn] Okay, thanks. Well, I told the audience a little bit about you, but why don’t you take a minute and tell us about yourself and your work?
Erin Rodman’s journey into the film industry
[2:23] [Erin] Okay. I am from Virginia. Originally, I moved out to Los Angeles to attend graduate school and jump into the business somehow where I grew up and where I’m from. It was a kind of dream to go out to the West Coast and see if I could make Hollywood a career.
So I started with school, but I quickly started working as a production assistant on different sets and then got an assistant job at a studio and spent many years working for different companies, for different producers as I was writing on the side and learning how to be a development professional in my day job. And then eventually, you know, was able to get the writing thing going.
[3:07] It’s a marathon in my experience, not a sprint. You pick up so many skills along the way. You kind of can’t rush through the time it takes to hone your craft, to learn what you like, what your voices are, what stories you like to tell, and where you see a place for yourself in the business.
And so now I am a writer and enjoying, I write rom-coms primarily, comedies. I love any story with a female-driven core. I try to be funny, but I also like to bring in elements of other genres like action or sci-fi. So I still have big dreams, even after all these years of so many more scripts to write. And along the way, I found myself doing some Christmas as well.
[3:54] [Caryn] Okay. You kind of answered my first question.
Success Tactic: Breaking into the industry as a Christmas movie screenwriter
[3:59] Can you share the journey of your breaking into the industry as a Christmas movie screenwriter?
[4:05] [Erin] Yes. I think that one of the key things I like to communicate to people when they ask me about this is that I didn’t write a Christmas movie to get into writing Christmas movies.
I just wrote a script for the, it was the first time I ever just kind of let myself not think about anything, but what I wanted to do on the page.
It was my voice entirely, my sense of humor, my idea about what the story should be.
I didn’t try to guess what a buyer might want or producer might like, or I just wrote for myself. It took me years of writing lots of different things to finally just say, I’m going to try this.
It was an R-rated sort of female-driven comedy with a rom-com story as well about a woman who finds herself in legal hot water and has to go to great lengths to get out of it and falls in love with someone along the way.
And it was the script that got me a lot of meetings, including at Hallmark. And the thing that, you know, I have found to be true with every company that I’ve worked for or met with, you don’t have to necessarily write something that.
[5:22] That they would make to get on their radar. What executives and producers are looking for is a writer who knows their voice and that voice feels unique, distinct, and entertaining.
And it doesn’t necessarily matter if it’s exactly the sort of thing that they would make that script. What a lot of companies like to do is bring your particular brand of creative voice and match it to what sort of projects they have.
It is not your job to already give them something they want necessarily. That is also an option, but it is also, really, the strength that comes from having your voice and people just are attracted to that.
[6:02] [Caryn] When you were sending those non-Christmas movies out, were you sending those out, or at the time, did you have a rep that was sending them out for you?
[6:12] [Erin] Both. That script, that particular script, I’d had reps that I wound up firing because we just didn’t see eye to eye.
[6:20] And so I was content to, I worked in the, as you’ve mentioned, my credits, I’d worked at a lot of companies that had, I had a long enough history working in Hollywood that I knew a lot of people.
And so I was able to email myself, and submit myself to certain places, but I kind of realized that you have to have the right reps who understand what you want to do for it to be a good marriage.
And so I was like, those reps didn’t work out for me. So I’m just going to try it on my own and wait and see who else I meet. And that particular script, that one script got me a bunch of other meetings with agents and managers. And through that, I found reps that I connected with. The script was going out before they signed me. Then also afterward with from them too.
[Caryn] You’re a contrarian. Good for you. That’s probably what made you stand. Very brave too.
[Erin] Well I think a lot of when I listen to screenwriting podcasts when I read screenwriting books when I watch panel discussions when I get to question screenwriters myself self, I’m always seeking information about how they did this. How did they manage this issue in their script? Or this issue with their representative or this issue with whatever. Because we’re all just looking for like best practices, you know, how else somebody did something.
Success Tactic: Sending out scripts without representation
[7:50] But I found that in the end, you can make, once you learn all the rules, you can figure out what you don’t want to do for yourself and what you, where you’re willing to take risks. And I was like, you know, it’s scary not to have representatives to finally achieve that milestone of getting wrecked and getting someone on your, on your team.
And it terrified me to give that up, but I don’t believe terror is a reason to do something. So I figured if I want something better, I’m going to have to take a risk here. And it worked. So, you know, I, everyone has a different path, but for me, trying out some reps, being willing to let them go and getting back into the, the jumping back into the pool and saying, who else can I find was the right move.
[8:34] [Caryn] Very brave. And I applaud that. So good, good on you. Now, how do you balance meeting audience expectations while staying fresh and not predictable or cliché? shade?
[8:45] [Erin] Well, it’s very difficult in the realm of Christmas because, at this point, there are thousands, that is not a hyperbole, thousands of Christmas movies that many of us have seen. So the hard part is to keep the visuals fresh.
I have found that you can get away with a lot if you are willing to, for me, for Christmas in particular, I pursue comedy in these things. You know, we’ve seen snowball fights. What’s the craziest, funniest one that we could do? We’ve seen, you know, cookie making. What’s a new way to make cookie-making look crazy funny and outrageous?
Success Tactic: Researching Christmas Traditions for Inspiration
[9:37] It’s tough. And I know that a simple tactic that sometimes I’ll start with for talking about Christmas set pieces is just to start Googling. Just going down research rabbit holes as much as you can about specific strange traditions some people have or certain places have or what’s a Christmas locale?
What do they do in Fiji for Christmas? What do they do in, you know, somewhere else? So that, that part is challenging and there’s no, no quick way through it other than just to brainstorm yourself silly. That’s when it comes to rom-com in general or comedies in general, the more specific your characters are, the more they don’t feel generic or one dimensional, one note. The more they feel like people and have really specific grocery lists and, you know, what classes did they love in college?
Understanding the details about your character’s backstory and their mindset helps guide you in finding more specific action set pieces and visuals that don’t feel like, oh, it’s something we’ve seen a thousand times before. Because the more specifically honed your characters are, the more specific I think the choices will be, the more unique it will feel to that story.
[10:59] [Caryn] That’s great. Now, after you finish a script and it’s ready to go out, what’s your next step? How do you move it towards getting into production?
Success Tactic: Challenges of being a writer during a strike
[11:08] [Erin] Well, one of the things about being a writer is there’s only so much you have control over. As evidenced, for instance, by this year’s strike and all the things that you have to put a pause on during a strike and deal with after a strike. Like there is the most you can do for yourself as a writer is to have more than one idea going. And when you finish a script.
Success Tactic: Initial feedback from friends and submitting to representatives
[11:37] There may maybe multiple steps. When I finish a draft, an early draft, I will share it with friends first to get some initial feedback from trusted sources who can tell me the truth and who I feel safe, you know, stumbling in front of if I’ve kind of not given it my best in certain scenes or with certain parts of the story.
So that would be the first thing for me is to get some feedback from people who are friends and then the next step would be for me to submit it to my representatives and see what they say um
I am as I’ve already kind of mentioned I enjoy having representatives I want my agents and my manager to be part of you know this team and we want to have success but I have my relationships with producers and executives as well and sometimes I will talk about projects, uh, kind of plant the seed mentioned to somebody, Hey, I’m finishing up this particular script and let them say to me, Oh, when you’re done, send it to me.
So just kind of like creating some expectation out there. It holds me accountable and keeps me on schedule, but it also, um, makes people excited for something to come down the pike, whether it’s from you directly from your reps.
[12:51] So I think that is the normal, you know, those are the normal steps. But the important thing for your mental health as a writer, as much as you can have mental health as a writer, is to already be thinking about what’s next. That when you hit that email, you know, send button, and your script goes to friends to read or your reps or a producer.
The next move for you is to pivot to your other idea that you’re not sitting there hitting refresh on your email or developing these ideas about why it’s taking so long for someone to read something or you know why haven’t they texted me I sent it to me like you can drive yourself insane and none of it is necessary or helpful so I try to live in more than one story at once even if I’m not.
[13:39] Opening final draft for each thing. Or I’m working on an outline. Working on a treatment. I’m researching something, but the more diversified my efforts are, and my creativity, the more I can continue to see my career as, a bigger thing and not just project-specific because you may love something and it may be a script that you read to yourself.
And you’re like, I did it. I did something here that I just, I’m so proud of. I’m so excited that you have no control over it when you know this company has the money to buy it. Or that person has the time to read it. Can take time for the script to get to the right person.
And if you’re just sitting there waiting the whole time, not only are you wasting time but you’re making yourself crazy. You don’t have control over those external forces like during the strike. You can’t you know we had to sit on our hands, pencils down and there was you know you just have to live in that.
So I think there’s a skill you can develop to keep yourself mindful that it’s a marathon. Look at your career as a global thing all the time and not put your eggs all in one basket with one script.
[14:52] [Caryn] That’s good advice. Now, how would you balance the heartwarming Christmas elements with perhaps another genre, like a heist, creating a unique and appealing story?
Success Tactic: Blending genres in Christmas movies for unique and appealing stories
[15:04] [Erin] Well, I like this question a lot because I think that, when I think about it, truly what we watch Christmas movies for is how they make us feel and how you make someone feel a thing.
There are a gazillion options for what images what character moments or what dialogue will make them feel that.
So you have infinite choices as long as you’re capturing the sentiment. That’s why I believe you need to know your characters well, because the depth of that character, you know, the audience connects to that character’s emotional state and spirit.
That’s why we love The Family Stone. That’s why we love (the film) Love. They seem like lighter fun Christmas movies. But we understand and know those characters and feel for them. It almost doesn’t matter whether we’re watching Christmas or we’re watching their Easter (celebration). Or we’re watching them just on a regular Saturday. We care deeply about those characters. What was the rest of the question?
[16:04] [Caryn] If you wanted to add a combined genre, like a heist or something to a Christmas story, would that not be welcome in the market?
[16:14] [Erin] No, I think we are so desperate for variety because as I said, it used to be that there was kind of one place you went for, you know, your holiday rom-com. And then there’d be a few big Hollywood Christmas movies every once in a while.
But now we have Christmas content and holiday content on every platform from every channel.
It is so much. It is really hard to stand out. So blending genres is a terrific way to do that. As far as, my experience, buyers are open to literally everything. A Christmas horror, a Christmas heist. I know someone who’s writing a Christmas heist. So all these things are, all the doors are wide open.
And you’re just looking for something that will feel fresh for audiences, entertaining, and that’s all welcome. Because the problem, you know, can be that you might write a Christmas movie that feels like a Christmas movie audiences have seen before. And you’re thinking, oh, this is the kind of thing they like. I’m going to write something similar.
But the people who buy movies don’t want that. They don’t want a retread of what we’ve already seen. They want the next iteration. They want something that’s slightly left or slightly right.
Success Tactic: Finding ingenuity and innovation within a traditional framework
[17:36] And that’s the challenge is to find ingenuity and innovation within a pretty traditional framework and in the genre.
[17:44] [Caryn] I’m glad you said that. Cause I’m, I’m more of an action girl and I, I like heist. I like Christmas with some adventure, but anyway, I digress.
[17:55] [Erin] Well, I have two things I would say about this. One is a note I always got when I started writing Christmas and this makes, this is a hard, it’s the kind of note you have to hear. I had to hear a bunch before I understood how to apply it.
I have given this note to other writers and watched them go through the same process where you have to hear it over and over and before you understand it, which is that Christmas or the holiday you’re writing about, whatever it is, needs to feel intrinsic to the story. It cannot just be the backdrop.
It can’t just be a regular movie with a Christmas tree in the background set during the snow. It has to feel connected. The story core of the story the concept itself has to feel connected to the holiday otherwise it is too it is just that dressing does not have the depth to resonate as a holiday movie.
That can be hard to understand when you’re like – but I have them sledding. I have them wrapping presents. But if the story is the action itself what the characters are going through doesn’t feel connected to the holiday then it is just a gimmick.
[19:08] And I wrote a movie for Hallmark called Christmas Class Reunion. I wrote a scene where the premise is kind of in the title. It’s a high school class reunion that happens when? Over Christmas. So I went into it thinking, how do I make this feel like more than just a class reunion set at Christmas?
I had written a scene where some of the students who are, or the former students who are organizing the reunion have to get permission from the curmudgeonly principal to use the school, which is closed during the holidays. And I wrote this scene.
[19:41] They’re going to visit the principal at his house and ask these questions. And the producer had such a great idea. And the note she gave me was, what if he’s working as a mall Santa and they have to go see him at the mall and, you know, kind of sit on his lap and ask him for that?
Success Tactic: The Power of Character in a Christmas Scene
[20:00] And what if he’s in character? You know, like he’s, you know. Yeah, he’s this he’s this sourpuss of a man. but as in Santa character. You have to call him Santa. He talks like he’s Santa. It made the scene much more fun. Because the characters were interacting with someone with whom they had to play along. The comedy was in them having to play along with this man who was pretending to be Santa.
It meant that the request to use the school. And the reason they were there was the reason he said yes to it. It was the reason that it all worked out is that he was in Santa (character) and it was Christmas. He’s granting their Christmas wish. What do you want for Christmas?
So it made the scene not only more Christmassy and funnier, but it also connected the whole purpose of that question and of that answer that maybe he would never have said yes, were he not Santa.
Maybe he never would have said yes, were it not their Christmas wish. It sounds a little cheesy, but it connected the Christmas of the story to what the characters wanted, how they behaved, and how it all came together.
And it was, to me, it’s an example of how you make Christmas not just because he was Santa, but he only said yes to their request because it was Christmas. After all, he was Santa. And that’s how the story pivots on that conversation. So I think that’s an example I’ve used certainly when talking to other writers about how to make.
[21:28] Nail the plot nails the action to the idea of Christmas.
[Caryn] That’s great. Now how would you suggest screenwriters expand their network of producers? Do you suggest networking? Or film markets? If so which ones or competitions or online platforms?
[Erin] I have found a lot of early success with contests not all of them are created equal. But there are plenty that are big enough and trusted enough by producers, by agents, by managers, that they will look at, oh, look at this list of semifinalists for the Austin Film Festival. Let’s look at the list of semifinalists for the Nichols.
There will be places, lists posted, where even if you just make it through the first cut, your script name, your premise, you know, your name will be out. I placed in a few contests in my early years as a writer. And I always got a couple of emails from managers, from producers that led to meetings. So I found it to be a very reliable source.
[22:34] I never have gone to do the markets or pitching. I feel like that’s possible for, you know, as an avenue. I think pitching is its own difficult skill set to learn, and it’s something that you need to practice a lot before you do.
But I think that’s been a viable source for other people. I’ve never personally done that. I built my contacts, and my network, through living and working in Hollywood for years before I was launching myself as a writer.
Success Tactic: Building Connections through Writers Groups and Retreats
[23:06] But I have found that if you know other writers, that’s helped me. It is helpful to meet producers and executives, but you aren’t going to be interesting to them until you have material that they can sell or that they like.
[23:25] So it’s harder to make those relationships kind of stick. But when I met other writers and was part of writers’ groups, was part of writers retreats, kept kind of developed, not just, hey, nice to meet you. Let me get your email or follow you online. But also, like, we had deep conversations.
We read each other’s scripts. We participated in helping each other through the creative process. You know, that’s where I found real help. I was in a writer’s group for years and all of it eventually disbanded because all of us began working.
It was not only a support group for material where we read each other’s scripts and gave notes, but also a support group for questions about the business. What do you guys think about this person who asked me for a meeting? Does anybody know this person who reached out to me? What are your thoughts?
I found that to be helpful over the years. After that big group, I have participated in a few writers’ groups here or there and always found it to be worthwhile. A writer friend is how I got my manager. She forwarded a script of mine to a producer who forwarded it to someone else who called me. You never know how the little fingers of the network work. So I think that if you are building your network, don’t forget to build it full of people who do what you do.
[24:50] And not just when you’re trying to get something out of them or ask a favor, but building a writer’s group, building a group of people who work, you’re willing to read and give notes on in exchange for them to do the same for you. That’s where I found a lot of rich support and some stepping stones forward in my career.
[Caryn] You mentioned Austin and Nichols. Are there other contests that you would recommend?
[Erin] Well I think the Final Draft has a couple. I believe they’re they have specific ones too so does Austin.
Success Tactic: Researching Screenwriting Contests: Tips for Success
[25:27] I think that the best thing to think about when you’re researching is because it’s been a while since I’ve looked at contests for myself. You can kind of tell from the sophistication of a website or of the credits listed on the website about who reads, and who judges the scripts. And the success of past winners. Just use your best judgment.
Yes. The more rinky-dink ones kind of, you can kind of tell. Well, I entered some of the smaller contests just to see, you know, just to see if I could win that may be in a smaller pool, you know, or you never know. Sometimes I would apply to contests that were in random locations in hopes I get to go there. there.
So I found that it’s partly just throwing, getting you, getting used to sending your script out, getting comfortable, sending you, sharing your material as strangers, considering it finished. At least for now, enough to go out was part of the challenge. You know, as you, the screenwriting contests, a lot of the deadlines are in the spring.
[26:32] Like May, I would just try to make myself always have something to submit somewhere. As just a way to learn how to do all this on a schedule. Because one year, one script I spent four years working, and that script didn’t do anything for me. Didn’t go anywhere, was not more genius or less, you know, whatever, because I spent so much time on it.
I had to learn that being, learning how to be swift and just move through it was as important, and getting to the end is as important as anything. So the contest can be helpful for that too.
Success Tactic: Discussing Favorite Scripts and Personal Achievements
[27:12] [Caryn] That’s good. Okay. So what is your favorite script that you’ve written?
Success Tactic: Unproduced Movie for Amblin: A YA Novel Adaptation
[27:18] [Erin] Well, unproduced. I wrote a movie for Amblin a few years ago that I love dearly and I hope still finds a path forward at some point. It was an adaptation of a YA novel that I had fun writing.
In terms of produced scripts, probably the sequel to The Christmas House, its called Christmas House 2 Deck Those Halls. I wrote it intending to see how far I could go with comedy, with different and unique plot lines and set pieces. And, you know, it’s not an outrageously maniacal Christmas movie, but it felt the most, maybe the most like my voice of all the Christmas movies I’ve written. I think the movie is fun.
[28:16] [Caryn] Now, one question I just realized is when you’re doing these Christmas, let’s say Christmas movies, is there an ideal page count?
[28:25] [Erin] Well, it depends a little bit on who you’re writing for. If you’re writing for a place where there’s going to be commercial breaks. Or there’s going to be none – their structures are broadly the same. But because of those breaks for commercials, it does affect kind of the flow of the action and what needs to happen. So the page counts can reflect that I think. For a comedy or a rom-com, you know, I try not to ever go over 110.
Success Tactic: Short Scripts and the Importance of Length
[29:01] [Caryn] Okay. That’s great. What if a script was 85 pages or 88 pages? Would that be too short?
[29:09] [Erin] Yes.
[29:10] [Caryn] Okay.
[29:10] [Erin] I would. If I saw that, I’d think something was missing. Sometimes scripts are that short because the action takes longer in real life than it does on the page. But for certain genres like a more heartfelt Christmas movie or a rom-com or something – character arcs are really important. That seems a little short.
[29:35] [Caryn] Okay. All right. Now, getting a movie made can be stressful. So how do you maintain a work-life balance? Do you have any hobbies?
[29:43] [Erin] I don’t know. I honestly don’t know that I do. I have a lot of jobs, so there’s always more work to do. I feel like part of like I said you know learning how to maintain your mental health as a writer is part of the gig. You get better as you get older hopefully.
Life naturally gives you lots of things to care about. Sometimes there’s there are limits to how much you can work. Anyway I enjoy, I mean I live in Los Angeles, and I enjoy doing things in the city.
I enjoy reading and I do a lot of, you know. I’m a bookworm in my off hours. Which my poor eyeballs. I think my vision is just decreasing at a rapid rate year after year.
[30:33] But I think that you know, my life feels like I travel a lot. I spend a lot of time visiting people and with friends and you need that. You need a certain amount of boisterous activity and stimulation in your life to give you things to write about.
And travel has been something because of the flexibility of this career, of being able to work anywhere. And I take advantage of that and we’ll spend weeks out of town somewhere and trying to let my imagination kind of go and think of different worlds and different characters and different storylines.
And I read a lot too, because I find random little facts or random little references will spark an idea. I get a lot of inspiration from reading other things. Some people, I think their imagination is vivid enough that they just conceive of ideas.
And occasionally that’s happened to me, but I have found that if I talked in depth about anything I’ve written, it would all be traced back to like, well, I read this one sentence. Or I heard this one reference to this one historical event. Perhaps I saw this one painting in this one place. And that’s where it all starts for me.
[31:47] [Caryn] That’s great. Now, what advice would you give to your younger self?
Success Tactic: Overcoming the Fear of Imperfection in Screenwriting
[31:54] [Erin] Not to be so afraid. I think that I thought as a young writer that I needed every script to be perfect, that every script had to withstand comparison to the best screenwriter in the world who’d been doing it for decades longer than me.
But that was the only way to be, quote-unquote, a good writer. And once I realized that was not the case, that finishing a script was the victory. Part of the writing process is rewriting. Buyers can fall in love with your work without it being perfect.
They can love your voice. Even if the story is kind of lame, they can love the story and think your execution kind of sucked, but be willing to work with you on making it better.
They can love a character and that can start a whole conversation about what else, you know, you could do. I didn’t realize that you didn’t have to be perfect.
Perfect the one way I would say try to be perfect is typos and the way your material looks on the page that you know after if I’ve encountered a few typos in the first 20 pages of a script. My thoughts start to go to how amateurish this writer might be. But in general, there’s a lot of value in finishing a story.
[33:09] Even if it’s not perfect. And starting to get people’s thoughts on it whether it’s friends, a writer’s group, or someone, a producer you want to work with. A contest that’s sitting on it and feeling like you need to hone it and polish and polish and polish. I don’t know that that makes the difference because a great idea bubbles up sometimes even with bad writing and great writing bubbles up even with not a great idea.
[33:28] So I wish I’d known that sooner.
[Caryn] Okay good it’s good to hear. I’m good to hear that you know you don’t have to make it a perfect screenplay.
[Erin] Also having worked on the other side of it um development executives and producers fully intending to put their stamp on the material anyway. They’re fully intending that when they buy a script from you, it is the first step of a many-step process in which you will change a lot of things.
You may think it’s perfect and you may be right that for you it is, but I guarantee you that once it becomes the property of a studio or a network, sit back, relax, and start getting notes. Like that is, that is the process. So you can’t skip that step.
No matter how much you try, the next step, once you sell a script is rewriting it with other people’s thoughts and having to change things.
Success Tactic: The Importance of Rewriting and Accepting Feedback in Script Development
[34:26] So once I realized that too, and embraced that process and appreciated that letting other people own your script with you is how you get it made. Trying to prevent them from having any say in it is how you stop the process. But welcoming them in asking for notes and asking for feedback. Being willing to have those conversations is how you continue to move your script down the line.
[34:51] [Caryn] Good advice now to wrap up would you like to share any social media details or website links so our audience can keep track of your work?
[Erin] Well I have a very minimalistic website at Erinrodman.com.
[35:04] That is just kind of a landing page but you can find me there and then I’m most active on Instagram at Erin e-r-i-n 917. I’m a big believer in, learning a lot from other writers. Thus I consume a lot of podcasts myself and watch every panel I can.
The Blacklist launched something called Word by Word over the pandemic, the strike. Long interviews with lots of writers that I love. And I have found those, they’re videos usually. I found it to be really fun to listen to. And it’s just always such a nice reminder that writing is hard for everybody.
You get better at getting your butt in the seat and opening the document and typing. That’s the part that you get maybe better at just even when it’s hard, you still do it. But the process itself is a challenge for everybody always. And it makes me feel so much better to know that this is a shared burden.
It goes hand in hand with this beautiful gift of a career we get to have. So, yeah, I think it’s great that you listen to as much as you can. I still do. I haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
[36:23] [Caryn] I’m a podcast fanatic. I love it.
[36:27] [Erin] Yeah. Me too.
[36:27] [Caryn] Well, Erin, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today and sharing your experience. And all this wisdom is going to be helpful. So thank you again for coming on the podcast.
[36:39] [Erin] Yeah. Thanks for having me. Good luck, everybody. Keep at it.
[36:43] [Caryn] Yay! Thank you.
TAKEAWAYS
Success Tactic: Any Genre Cab Attract Buyers
Erin didn’t write a Christmas movie to get into Christmas movies. She wrote in her voice entirely. She didn’t try to guess what producers or buyers might want. She wrote an R-rated comedy. And that’s what got her a lot of meetings – including a meeting with Hallmark. You don’t have to write a Christmas movie to get on Christmas production companies’ radar. Just be true to your unique voice.
Success Tactic: Don’t Be Cliché
There are thousands of Christmas movies. So try and keep the visuals fresh. Erin pursues comedy. She finds the most outrageous way to show a baking cookies scene or snowball fight that makes it seem fresh. Start googling strange Christmas traditions people or locations have and you’ll come up with a fresh take on an old trope.
Success Tactic: Get Started On Your Next Project
Erin admits that writers only have so much control. The most you can do is have more than one idea going. When you finish a script – share it with friends to get initial feedback. If you have a relationship with producers – let them know what you’re working on. Don’t sit by the phone or hit your email refresh button waiting for someone to say yes to your script. Pivot to your next idea. The more diversified your efforts are – the more you can see your career as a bigger thing and not project-specific.
Success Tactic: Contests
Contests – love them or hate them – you have to do your research. According to Erin – if you place in a big one like Nicholls, Austin, or Final Draft – you might hear from representatives. So there is an upside. You just need to be choosy about which ones you enter.
Success Tactic: Adding Other Genres
I asked Erin about adding another genre to Christmas scripts. She reminds us that Christmas needs to feel intrinsic to the story. It can’t be just the backdrop. The concept has to feel connected to Christmas. If the action itself, what the characters are going through isn’t connected to the holiday – then it’s just a gimmick.
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. Sign up to be notified of the launch of our membership section of our website. This is where producers will post requests for tailored Christmas submissions and writers can submit a written pitch.
Thanks for listening and I’ll see you on the next Christmas Movie Screenwriter podcast. Bye!
The Christmas Movie Screenwriter Podcast – Episode 10
Erin Rodman, Screenwriter
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: Erin Rodman
Website: https://www.erinrodman.com/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1479613/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erin917/