PATRICIA MILTON
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PATRICIA MILTON

How did you discover The Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
I use Film Freeway, a site that offers filmmakers and writers access to many different festivals all over the world. Film Freeway has a good reputation for vetting festivals to ensure their quality and integrity. What I loved about The Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards was its commitment to providing feedback to writers, right away --- not waiting till the finalists and winners had been selected. The coverage I received was very helpful. At this early point in my writing for television, I appreciate feedback that I can use to improve my work.

Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
I’m a San Francisco native, now living in Walnut Creek, California.

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? What inspires your overall journey into screenwriting?
My pilot, The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective, was first written as a stage play, and has been performed all over the world. I have a trilogy of mysteries involving the “ladies.” I was inspired to disrupt the classic narrative of the mystery wherein a solo (usually male) detective solves a case with his brain power. I wanted to show a community of women, working together
to protect themselves from a deadly threat. They solve the case by believing women. My other big inspiration is 1890’s London and its many parallels with our current world. Concerns about immigration, women’s changing role in society, and crime were all top of mind. In my TV pilot, one of the detectives, Katie, is an immigrant to London, and she’s American. It uses a different lens to look at immigration. There’s a bit of #metoo in there, as well. My overall journey in screenwriting has just begun! I have a number of stage plays I’d like to adapt.

How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes?
I generally am drawn to multiple main characters who work together. I think the idea of the “lone hero” who solves everything (often by violence) has gotten this word into trouble. I love satirical comedy, which gets harder and harder to write. I do have a comedic sense of the world, and I’d rather laugh than cry --- while never denying the sadness that underlies the laughter.

What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive?
I write first thing in the morning, always. My brain is mush by afternoon. I sometimes listen to classical music while I write. I set a timer for twenty minutes and take a five-minute break when it goes off. I physically move about so that my body can inhabit my characters. Rinse, repeat. Often, I get into the flow and never break. (Oh, well.) First drafts I write by hand.

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?
This is an adaptation, so I took the first act of my play and marked where I could get out of the parlor where the play is set into the streets of London or zoom back into a flashback. One of the characters keeps a cat so I was delighted to follow the cat over the roofs of London to see his mistress buy laudanum. You can’t do that onstage.

How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process?
I set the thing aside and walk. I read scripts that are not mine, which I find gets my brain thinking in script form. I go listen to live music, which kickstarts me. For moments of doubt, I keep a collection of reviews, awards, and kind compliments from others and I look at those when I’m down on myself. I feel foolish doing that, but it does help!

What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter?
A really pretty notebook, sticky notes, some kind of recorder (usually my phone), my pc. Actor friends to read through the script out loud, and no, I am not calling lovely people “tools!” I use Final Draft for formatting, but I don’t use its fancy capabilities. Once I asked Chat GPT to “format a stage play into screenplay format” and it added a scene with drones(!) It apologized, but I decided that was NOT a viable tool for me.

How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests?
I enter the competitions that will give me coverage (feedback) at this point because that’s what I need. I enter the script, no cover letter: just the script and its tagline.

Can you share a specific challenge you've faced in your screenwriting and how you overcame it?
​Every single piece of writing presents a different challenge. No play or pilot or screenplay is alike or can be approached similarly, I believe. My biggest challenge is always understanding that and being tenacious and persistent even when struggling. When I write there is always a moment of despair: “This is a terrible piece of &%$t!” But I have to keep going and make it better.

Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter?
I’d love to have this series streaming!

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
I must admit I’m a sucker for the stage: the immediacy of it is enchanting to me. It is also ephemeral, it’s not lasting. That keeps me humble, I hope. The film and television industry is constantly evolving.

How do you see the role of screenwriters changing, especially with the rise of streaming platforms and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence?
0 Well, I told you my experience with ChatGPT so all I can say is that I am dubious. I really don’t know much about the business. I’d better get on it.

Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
I’m inspired by playwrights who have seen success in television like David Hare, Jack Thorne (co-writer of Adolescence), Madeleine George, Sarah Treem, Adam Rapp. I love their skill with dialogue, and I love that they made the transition to TV!

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
I can’t ever choose one, but I loved I May Destroy You, and Adolescence (as did everyone, I think). Even if I don’t care for something, I learn from it.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Don’t send in your early drafts. I did that a lot early on. And ask friends to read your script aloud around the table so you can hear if the dialogue works.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?)
My website is patricia-milton.com. I have a couple of plays coming up, that you can see on there. I’m currently writing a comedy about climate change (I KNOW).

Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.)
I have to stay off social media or I don’t get my writing done.

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