Film Courage: When did you start calling yourself a screenwriter?
Travis Seppala, Author/Screenwriter: Probably my second or third script?
Like my first script was kind of I was writing about like a personal experience and I was
just kind of it was almost like therapy for me at the time and so then probably my second
script I was an “aspiring” screenwriter.
I was like Oh this is fun!
I want to do this.
And probably I got to me third maybe fourth script was when I was like Oh yeah, I’m
a screenwriter.
I’m not getting paid yet but I’m a screenwriter, like this is where I’m going.
And then my fifth script was a paid script so I was like I already made it come true,
awesome!
It was very big pay because it was a small local person.
I think I got like $500 bucks our something to write a feature.
That never got made.
But yes probably by my third or fourth script is when I went from being an aspiring screenwriter
to yes this is what I’m doing with my life.
Film Courage: Did someone say to you don’t call yourself an “aspiring” writer?
Travis: Oh you will always get haters who say like if you’re not making money at it
you shouldn’t call yourself a screenwriter.
They are like Oh you wouldn’t call yourself a plumber because you fixed your own toilet.
Well I’m still writing screenplays and I’m not doing it just for myself, I’m still
trying to get myself out into the world whether it’s being paid or not because you know
when you’re writing a spec script you’re not paid through writing that spec.
So are you not a screenwriter because it hasn’t sold?
You still wrote the thing.
It takes time, effort, energy, heart, blood, soul.
Everything goes into these scripts.
So you’re absolutely, if you’re actually doing the work, you’re absolutely a screenwriter.
I feel like the only way that you’re not is if you’re someone who says you’re a
screenwriter and aren’t doing any work towards it.
I’ve met people who are like “I’m a screenwriter.”
“Okay, great.
What have you worked on?”
“Oh well…I haven’t written anything yet but I want to be.”
Film Courage: Welcome to Los Angeles.
Travis: Exactly.
There you go.
I heard on Twitter…I follow a lot of show runners and stuff like that and there was
a show runner I’m trying to remember who it was now.
It was a couple of weeks ago that they met someone at a party, they knew who she was,
and what show she was on and they were like “Oh well I would love to write on your show,
that’s fantastic.”
And they had built a rapport before we brought it up which is good and she was “Okay, be
sure to send me over a sample.”
He didn’t have any samples!
He had not written a single thing but he’s telling her how much he wants to write for
her show and it’s like why are you bringing that up if you don’t have anything to show
and prove yourself to them because like Oh well in that case I want to go and play baseball
but I don’t have the experience on it I want to.
So as soon as you’re doing the work, you’re a screenwriter.
Film Courage: Okay, that makes sense and so what I was also wondering is did you feel
like you held yourself back because you were calling yourself (I think after your second
script) an aspiring writer?
Travis: I don’t think I was holding myself back.
I think it was like I didn’t have the nerve to call myself that yet because I was so inexperienced
and I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted to so and be with and have as my career.
It was something at the time fun because like I said the first script I wrote is like therapy
for a situation I was in at the time.
My second script I wrote a Superman script not knowing you can’t write material because
of copyright infringements and stuff like that but I didn’t know it was a thing yet
at the time.
I was in my like early twenties so I didn’t really know that you couldn’t write a Superman
script and send it out there but it was fun and figured out what does and doesn’t work
in the writing especially for action sequences.
But then by my third and fourth thing like I said I was starting to write my own original
material at that point then and that’s when I became a screenwriter as opposed to just
somebody who has fun doing it.
Question For The Viewers: When can you call yourself a screenwriter?