Sometimes, all it takes is a “yes” to change your life. That’s exactly what happened to ScreenCraft 2022 Scholarship Competition winner Erica Lane and her pilot, stop looking at me. This deeply personal project was inspired by her desire to explore and understand the world around her while experimenting with genre tropes, and helped launch Lane’s screenwriting career.
Lane recently spoke with ScreenCraft to share her journey as a screenwriter, her decision to enter the ScreenCraft competition, and how her personal triumphs and challenges have shaped her path to success.
Your first steps in a screenwriting career (Did you go to film school? Did you write a screenplay? Did you join a screenwriting team?)
I went to film school! First at Boston University and then at the USC Screenwriting Graduate School. I’m from a small town in New Hampshire and didn’t know a single person in the movie. I also wanted to learn as much as possible, so it felt like the right move. I wrote my first little screenplay in high school and I thought it was so much fun that I wanted to keep doing it.
Is there a writing process?
If I just write by myself, something happens in my life that eventually develops into an idea that lingers in my mind until I sit down and write a few paragraphs of it. From there, I usually expand it into a few pages of treatment and write introductions to the characters. Then I started writing pages and tried to finish the script in two weeks.
I like to write a feature quickly, about 10 pages a day, because for a first draft I want to be completely immersed in its emotions and world without too many distractions. If I’m interrupted, I feel the momentum disappear and it’s harder to think about the character. The first draft weeks are my favorite part of the whole process. It’s like being a kid again, playing pretend. After that, I put it aside for a few weeks and rewrite it until the end of time.
Read more: 5 Easy Ways to Conquer Your First Draft
How has your writing changed over time?
I think my writing grows as I grow because I no longer write about the same experiences in the same way. When I was a teenager, I wrote about my family and romantic relationships in a way that I just wanted to make sense of it all. I’m still just grasping this understanding, but now I’m learning so much more. Somehow life gets more complex and simpler every year.
As a child, I ran around in the woods writing fantasy stories full of whimsy. Now, I’m writing romantic comedies and dark comedies about loss and how to move past things I don’t understand.
Writing has always been my way of trying to make sense of the world, and now my world is different.
What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?
I think I submitted the script to ScreenCraft for a scholarship, stop looking at meis my favorite. It’s a half-hour comedy pilot about a high school girl who recently suffered from Tourette’s syndrome and is trying to figure out how to cope with her new reality and where she belongs.
It’s more autobiographical than my other work and very close to my heart. I’ve had Tourette’s since middle school, and it would be really cool to one day make this show and see a character with Tourette’s on screen.
What is your favorite thing someone else has written?
For movies: Author: Charlie Kaufman. television: girlsalong the way. In print, blues music Something by Maggie Nelson, or anything by Joan Didion.
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004)
Did you encounter any obstacles along the way?
Lots of them, all the time. The hardest thing is trying to balance work and survival with writing. Sometimes I would work two or three jobs while still trying to write every day, which was exhausting.
I think the people around you can also be obstacles or supports, and it’s important to build friendships and relationships with people who believe in you and your work. I feel lucky to have very supportive friends who we can rely on each other when we hit obstacles.
What attracted you to ScreenCraft? Are there any obstacles?
I heard about the scholarship in graduate school because I had friends who submitted for it and heard great things about it. It seems like this competition provides some real tangible help as a reward (in the form of conferences, networking, and writer development) rather than just an honour.
Read more: How to Win a Screenwriting Contest, Competition or Scholarship
How did you work with ScreenCraft to overcome obstacles and strategize the next steps in your career? Will it lead to anything, like a general, a phone call, a meeting, or an opportunity?
When I first received my scholarship, the ScreenCraft team was very helpful in setting up meetings for scholarship week that helped me get acclimated to receiving generals and promoting. It’s something you have to practice and it’s great to get that experience!
I’ve made some great connections thanks to ScreenCraft, and I really appreciate their tailoring of advice to my specific writing and goals.
What inspired you to keep going/was your breakthrough moment?
I think the breakthrough that motivated me the most was getting representation because that felt like the biggest obstacle before it happened. Then, a few months later, when I got my first gig at Lifetime, I felt like that really pushed me forward. I’ve always been nervous about pitching, and when I got my OWA, it made me believe in myself more and give me more confidence in pitching in the future.
Where are you currently in your career? Is there anything that excites you?
I’m currently writing and promoting new features and have spent most of my time in the feature space, writing four thrillers for Lifetime that premiered last year: Grand Canyon kidnapping, you shouldn’t be here, chef’s deadly revengeand He slipped into her DMs. I had the best time working on all of this and seeing my words on the screen was so surreal!
I’m very excited about some things! I have a few scripts floating around right now and I’m excited to find them a home. I just finished the first draft of a new dark comedy about dreams that I’m excited to rewrite and share. I’m also currently working on a horror script with a writing partner, which is something I’ve never done before and it’s been a lot of fun. A short film I completed earlier this year rawjust premiered at the New Hampshire Film Festival and I’m waiting to hear back from other film festivals! I really want to direct more projects in the coming year.
Read more: 3 tips screenwriters can learn from directing
“The Originals” (2024)
If you could give one piece of advice to writers today, as you did a year ago, what would you say?
Keep writing every day, even if it’s just a few sentences or a page in your journal. Go to a movie mixer you don’t want to go to, but your friends want to drag you there. Better yet, go alone, pretend you don’t have social anxiety, and talk to Lando. Also, don’t date that person. You know the one. Well, you probably do that anyway. At least it would be something worth writing about. This is more than just a piece of advice.
Do you have a favorite writing snack?
These are drinks, not food, but I love the taro boba tea or the strawberry vanilla OLIPOP I’m drinking at Joy’s in Highland Park as I write.
Read more: Amadou Diallo shares how to make screenwriting competitions work for you
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