Interview with Madeline DiMaggio
Interviewed by Carol Wood

Q: First the obvious question. How did you get involved in Screenwriting?
MD: I was an actress. I went on a cattle call at Universal Studios and the lady that sold candy bars said she wanted to introduce me to a writer who wrote for Hawaii Five-O, Rod Baker. After talking with him, it seemed like this writing thing was a lot easier to break into than acting.. I didn't know anyone. I was broke and it looked easy. Had I only known.
I met another unemployed actress, Cathy Donnell, and we took Rod's script and wrote a story together for KoJak. We had no connections. We didn't know who to call, but eventually after a year of trial and error the script was bought.
Then we didn't work again for two years. We got in fast, but we paid on the other end.

Q: What keeps you going? Any support or critique groups? Do you have a regular editor?
MD: First of all, I love it. Even though it's extremely frustrating. But after years of teaching, I've discovered; I love it. It can be very lucrative. I've sold 4 movies 3 have been produced, but the more I teach the more it turns me on to writing.
And I love the freedom of it. I have a glass desk in my office and it's clean and neat. Everything else can go to hell, but my desk has got to be clean. I like the feeling of space. When I put in a lot of hours, I like to stretch out. I go to coffee houses and sit with my laptop. I like that I can get up and take my laptop some place and work. I worked when I was in Costa Rica last week. My laptop changed my life. You pay for that kind of freedom with no security though.

Q: How long did it take you to write your book? Is there any plans for a new one? Will you be teaching workshops again soon?
MD: They gave me a year (for the book) and I took a year and a half. They kept changing editors on me. Quite honestly, I did not find it a joyous experience. It was an incredible struggle to keep it informative and entertaining. I'm going to teach two more six-month classes in March, one in Monterey and one in Palo Alto. Right now, I'm doing an online class. The writers in the class get their work and critique each other. They are actually seeing my updated book. Maybe it's time to write a new one?

Q: What questions do you ask yourself while writing? What helps you write the story?
MD: How can I take this deeper? I know the craft. Everything is turning to character, character, character. I think; how can I go beyond? It just never fricking ends! There are NO experienced writers. Every story has a new hurdle. That's what I love and hate about it. You could have all this experience and be a very good writer and you don't hit it. It's totally challenging on every level.

Q: There's a lot of lingo that goes with scriptwriting - treatment, hook, beat, spine. What is a treatment?
MD: There are two different kinds of treatments. One that you are paid for when you are on assignment - it has to read like Esquire Magazine - very professional.
Then there's the one you write just for yourself. Format can be confusing, that's why I encourage writers to start with a treatment. I never write without a treatment or a synopsis. A novel is different than a script. A script is tighter, so it's important to know where you are going at all times. You've got 110 pages and if you pull out one piece, then all the dominoes fall. You have to be very careful that your structure works.
Beat is usually a pause or hesitation on screen. You can hear it in your head. It helps delivering dialogue. It's good for comedy too.
The Spine is your log line. What you attach your story to, the guts of the story is what holds everything together. You can't write till you establish the Spine. This is the story beginning, middle and end.
The Set Up establishes everything you know to get the story rolling.. Who are the characters and what are they're dramatic needs and obstacles. In E.T. the Set up is complete when Eliott brings ET home.
Hook is just anything that grabs you in the story.

Q: I loved the movie "If the Shoe fits." What was the most difficult thing for you making this movie? Was it the writing or something in the process?
MD: The French did a lot of changes! Pam and I tried to not make it sexist and we learned a real hard lesson on what can happen to your material. Pam and I hated it. Well, now, Pam saw it recently, and she said she liked it a lot better than she did the first time.. I liked some of the stuff they did. I liked the end. Once you sell it, they can do anything they want. You have no control, but at least you've sold something.

Q: What do you do first?
MD: It's starts with a Kernel. I have a seed of an idea, like when Pam and I wrote, "If the Shoe fits?" Pam is a die hard romantic. We were in the car on the way to LA, and the whole drive we talked about a modern day Cinderella. I think it out like that. Then I try to get it down in a paragraph. Then I expand it to two or two and a half pages and that's my treatment. Then, as I write, it keeps expanding. That's how I work.

Q: What is the one thing you can think of that gets the picture made?
MD: Oof!
Q: Good Question huh?
MD:... Luck! I swear to God, I hate to say that. Lots of elements come together. Access, being connected, but a good script is the most important. You can work on other things as well. You can create your own luck. When you are in the zone, you can create better timing. But it's really mostly luck.

Q: I hear a lot about "Final Draft." Is that the only way to write a script? What do the pros use?
MD: Final Draft is the only way I know. I started on it, and I don't like to change. Pam uses it. Quite a lot of the professionals use it. Some people set up their computer with the formats, but I couldn't do it. I guess Final Draft is the most used program, and it does speed you up. It really does.

Q: What tips do you have for the new screenwriter?
MD: Advice?
Do not pursue this as a career if you do not feel passionate about it. It's a great experience. Very healing. I've never known anyone to regret it. You don't have to sell it to make it satisfying, but those people that want to be professional screenwriters must be absolutely passionate because if it doesn't sell, they keep writing and if that doesn't sell, they keep writing. The average for breaking into the business is on your seventh script. You get better at it and you get more contacts each time. Keep writing.

To learn more about Madeline DiMaggio, visit her website at http://www.cre8ascript.com