JEFF BARKER
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 PictureJEFF BARKER
Can you tell us about your journey into screenwriting? What inspired you to pursue this career?
I’ve written prose for over 25 years. Language has always been my lifeline, but screenwriting terrified me for a long time. It felt like a foreign dialect. Then, two of my sons moved to Los Angeles, and their careers exploded in the film/TV industry. They encouraged me to give screenwriting a try. Watching them live their dreams lit something in me I couldn’t ignore. I threw myself into the craft and became obsessed with screenwriting. So much so that I now have a podcast (The Screenplay Lab), where I break down screenplays, find their beauty, their souls, and what makes them breathe. I’ve written seven feature scripts and just scratched the surface of what I want to say.

Could you walk us through your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive?
In 2025, I finally stepped into the life I’d always imagined and became a full-time writer. I treat it like the sacred job it is. Eight hours a day, minimum. Some of the time is spent in the trenches, writing, slicing the fat. Some of it is career growth: networking, pitching, pushing forward. But I show up every single day with obsession and discipline.

When approaching a new screenplay, how do you organize your ideas before diving into the actual writing? Do you start with a detailed outline, or do you prefer to let the story unfold as you go?
Before I write a single scene, I build a 15-20 page outline. It’s not just story structure. It’s character motivation and central conflict. I demand to know what each character wants in every scene. The scene gets scrapped if there isn’t obvious conflict or character development. Writing the outline is surgical. Writing the scene is what floats. That’s the real joy after the hard work.
That being said, I am never married to a blueprint. I let the characters move freely, and I trust them more than I trust myself. I can always adjust the outline.

Your screenplays have earned over 20 laurels in contests. How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests?
I see contests as an opportunity to put my work into the world and see what echoes back. I’m selective in where I place my screenplays and am sensitive to the idea that participation is a privilege. Most of all, I understand art is subjective. I once got an 8 on The Black List with category 9s. They gave me a free evaluation because of how well it did. That evaluation came back as a 6. So, I try not to take any of it too seriously. You can’t pin your worth on someone else’s rubric. The real prize is writing something that devastates you.

Screenwriting often requires a deep understanding of character. How do you develop characters that feel authentic and relatable?
I write from the deep end of the pool. I spent nine years as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, sitting with people in unimaginable pain and trauma. Before that, I was a TV news anchor/reporter, often appearing at the worst moments of someone’s life. I’ve seen people cracked open, grieving, furious, guilt-ridden, honest. Those experiences carved something into me. When I write
characters, I pull from those encounters. I remember the person in the psych hospital lost to themselves and the mother who just lost her child in a house fire. The way trauma settles into the body. The way silence can be more revealing than words. I find myself writing about people drowning but still reaching for the surface. These are my people. Empathy is the most powerful
tool a writer can have.

​What advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters trying to break into the industry today?
I’m still breaking in, but I believe the answer is: don’t quit. That’s it. If this is really who you want to be, it’s your oxygen. If you can walk away from it, you should because it will break your heart. But if you can’t, if this lights you on fire, trust the long game. The doors will open. Not in your time, but they will open.

What are the key skills a screenwriter needs to succeed in such a competitive field?
You have to know who the hell you are. Twenty writers can write the same logline and return with twenty wildly different films. I don’t want to sound like anyone else. I want to sound like me on my worst day, bleeding on the page. Your voice is the only thing no one can replicate. That’s your currency. That’s the one thing that makes you valuable.

How do you balance creative freedom with the demands and feedback from producers, directors, and studios?
Making movies is a collaborative effort. Everyone wants to place a block on the Lego castle and take some ownership. I embrace it. When artist are aligned and working together, creativity is exponentially multiplied. Notes are almost always a good thing if you can dig into the note and find what they are actually saying about your work. To do that, you must check your ego and protect the story at the same time. It’s a strange, beautiful tightrope.

What do you hope audiences take away from your work? Are there particular emotions or messages you aim to evoke through your storytelling?
I want them to feel something that lingers. Something that sits in their guts for days, long after they put the screenplay down. My stories orbit around grief, guilt, betrayal, honesty, and emotional pain. I’m obsessed with people who are barely holding it together. Healing isn’t linear. It’s brutal and messy. That’s what I try to capture. I want people to say they read something true,
even if it broke them.

What are your creative goals for this year? Any new projects or collaborations you’re excited about?
I have seven projects in motion, so it’s a matter of pushing the ball down the field. I love all of them. But the one closest to my heart is a screenplay I’m writing with my son, actor/director Curry Barker. Getting to create something with him has been a full-circle moment. After all those nights of watching films together and dreaming together, we’re now building something of
our own.

Lastly, where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter? Are there any dream projects or genres you’d love to explore?
I want to be a working writer in the WGA. Full stop. I have a lot to prove coming at this in my 40s. But I have 35 more years of writing in front of me, and I never plan on retiring. I want to see my stories come alive on the screen. I’d like a shot at directing. Most of all, I want to tell brutal, beautiful stories that haunt people and leave a scar.