BEN MONACO
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Where do you live?
Hi! I live right in between San Diego and Los Angeles in Trabuco Canyon, California. I’m about 25 minutes from the beach, and a couple hours from the mountains.

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
The inspiration for my story, and surprisingly, came while watching the newest season of Stranger Things. I had just watched Top Gun recently and my mind started blending those genres together. I’ve also driven along the coast, down the 5 freeway, and have passed the military bases, as well as have been down to Coronado Beach. I just had this rush of excitement and just put my fingers to the keyboard. I had decided to write the teleplay instead of a script or novel solely because it just felt right. The five-act structure just flows for me as well. That being said, I might be turning it into a screenplay, but I am currently turning it into a novel. I’ve always wanted to write a novel, and now, I have a great outline for one! I’m currently around ~10K words in, so I’ve quite some distance to go, but it’s fun. Just need to be less terse with the description, draw it out more so to speak.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
From beginning to end, first draft, I probably wrote Call Of The Void in three to five days. It was a mess though, and long. Almost 60 pages. After revisions (ended up on the 5.6th draft as the final for submissions) I would say the total time it took me was 3-4weeks, writing 3-4 hours a day. My writing process is a little something like this: I’ll start ideation, or already have the idea ready to go. Then, it’s time to come up with the ending and beginning. I try to come up with the ending first, but usually, I find myself thinking of the beginning, that nice hook to get the audience in before the ending comes to me. Once that ending is clear, I have my goal as to where I need to write. Then starts the throw up on paper (on a laptop, finaldraft) which I’ll try to write 4-5 pages of just where I think it’s going. Sky's the limit on this draft and these 4-5 pages can be full of errors and nonsense or whatever. It doesn’t matter. I just get the ideas out. Then after the 4–5-page Idea Brain Dump, I’ll go ahead and start coming up with the characters and the locations. Once those are nailed down, I’ll write out the story in bullet points referencing the 5 Act structure having certain page count for limits on Acts as well as the appropriate amount of beats in the scene. Once that is done it literally just flows like hot butter from there. After the first draft is done, I’ll put it away for at least the rest of the week to read it fresh and start editing. That’s that.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
My ultimate ambition as a writer would be to move people to their core. Shock and awe. But to also speak to the generations now and to come and to help guide them through story or inspire them with it. If one person can benefit from it in any way, then I’d say that’s pretty damn cool. But in a pragmatic sense, my ambitions are set in goals instead of the dream, and right now the goal is to get repped. Getting my foot in the door is the first step, then I’ll have to keep my head down and work my ass off to keep it from closing on me.

Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
You had to go here. Hard question! I have so many films or shows I look to for inspiration. Strangely though, I do always think of two films and one tv show that I always tell myself, “If you can shoot for that moon, you’ll land amongst some pretty good stars either way.” Those are: Arrival - just beautiful and mind blowing. Just watch it.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? 
The TV show would be the first season of HBO’s WestWorld. Just wow. How the character arcs developed, and the pace of the show just picked up.

All-time favorite movie is hands down, no doubt about it, Dances With Wolves. Didn’t even need to think twice. “Dances With Wolves! I am Wind In His Hair. Do you see that I am your friend! Can you see that you will always be my friend?” I mean. C’mon.
All-time favorite show is a little more difficult, but I think I’ll have to give it to The Wire. Yeah, I’m one of those guys. I also think King Of Queens is the best sitcom to have ever aired. I have literally seen every episode at least ten times.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
My advice for writers would be to figure out the proper act structure and how to write in a “professional” and terse manner. Your teleplay will be much better if you format it correctly. Writing, “The eagle soars high, loudly screeching and stretching back its feathered wingspan across the entire Pacific.” Doesn’t seem to read well for TV. It should be something more like, “The eagle screeches across the Pacific.” Terse sentence structure. It’s poppy and immediate.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? 
Besides writing Call Of The Void as my first book, I’ve just finished another teleplay which I’ve titled for now, PASTLESS, which needs to sit in a drawer for another week before I’ll edit it. I’ve also finished the 4-5 Page Throw Up for a new Teleplay. Now I need to work on the characters and location before I can start drafting. On top of that, I’ve just started SubStack (because apparently, I can’t keep myself from writing) where I write movie-worthy true stories amongst some other cool stuff. Will see how it progresses! If you want to check it out, it’s free! BenMonaco.substack.com

I really appreciate being able to share all this with y’all and am truly grateful you like my teleplay, Call Of The Void! Congratulations to the other finalists, especially the winners, and thanks again to everyone over at the Santa Barbara Internal Screenplay Awards!