Guest: Cynthia Mersten, Screenwriter and Script Summit Winner
In this episode, Geoffrey Calhoun sits down with Cynthia Mersten, 2022 Script Summit winner with her feature screenplay Bad Vibes. Cynthia shares the inspiration behind her unique horror-comedy script, which she describes as “Mean Girls with a little bit of murder.” They discuss her journey from script contests to signing with a manager and landing a feature writing assignment. Cynthia also opens up about her personal experiences that influenced Bad Vibes and how she infuses authenticity into her stories. This episode dives into the value of resilience and how to craft stories that resonate with audiences.
Takeaways:
- The Power of Personal Experience: Cynthia explains how she channels personal trauma and real-life events into her scripts, creating authentic and relatable characters.
- The Script Summit Journey: Cynthia describes how her winning script, Bad Vibes, led to representation and opened doors in the industry.
- Balancing Hybrid Genres: Tips on blending genres, like horror and comedy, and the challenges of finding the right balance to engage a diverse audience.
- The Importance of a Strong Portfolio: Cynthia emphasizes building a robust writing portfolio and focusing on growth rather than external validation.
- Resilience in the Screenwriting World: How to maintain a growth mindset and embrace failure as a learning tool.
- [00:00] - Introduction to the Guest and Overview of Bad Vibes
- [03:02] - Cynthia’s Personal Story Behind the Script
- [07:11] - Challenges of Writing Hybrid Genres
- [13:21] - The Role of Competitions and Resilience in Finding Success
- [22:02] - Advice for Aspiring Screenwriters
#Screenwriting #HorrorComedy #ScriptSummit #ScreenwritingTips #Podcast #IndieFilm #ScriptWriting #CynthiaMersten #geoffreydcalhoun
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!