{"id":239638,"date":"2024-01-27T06:06:22","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T14:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/?p=239638"},"modified":"2024-02-23T05:24:44","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T13:24:44","slug":"writer-spotlight-laurie-rivlin-heller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/2024\/01\/27\/writer-spotlight-laurie-rivlin-heller\/","title":{"rendered":"Writer Spotlight: Laurie Rivlin Heller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″ da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.23.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#2B2D42″ text_orientation=”left” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” custom_margin=”25px||||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_margin_phone=”0px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”25px||||false|false”]

We\u2019re excited to kick off 2024 by shining a light on the success of ProPath writer Laurie Rivlin<\/span><\/p>\n

Heller. Laurie closed out a very successful 2023 of writing by placing in the TOP FIVE of the Final Draft Big Break 2023 TV Drama category with her pilot THE FRUITLANDERS. (the script is also listed on Coverfly as being in the top 1% of pilots in Genre\/Format)<\/span><\/p>\n

THE FRUITLANDERS tells the true story of Abigail Alcott (Marmee from the feature film LITTLE<\/span><\/p>\n

WOMEN) who fights to save her family when her husband\u2019s experiment in utopian living goes<\/span><\/p>\n

off the rails. The following is a short recap of Laurie\u2019s journey from retiree who knew she wanted to write to major film\/tv writing contest finalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP: <\/b>HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN WRITING FOR FILM AND TV?<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> I spent my career working for the State of California awarding grants to environmental,<\/span><\/p>\n

artistic, and educational projects across the state. I\u2019d always seen myself as a writer \u2013 I was an<\/span><\/p>\n

English major in college \u2013 so when I retired, I set out to commit myself to exploring that part of<\/span><\/p>\n

my creativity.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As an avid historian, I knew I was interested in telling true stories and I was specifically<\/span><\/p>\n

interested in women\u2019s rights and the American transcendentalism movement. That led me to<\/span><\/p>\n

the Concord writers which then led to the Alcott\u2019s\u2019 story.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The age-old question came next: where to begin? Being a complete screenwriting novice, I<\/span><\/p>\n

enrolled in an Introduction to Screenwriting class at a community college in the Sacramento<\/span><\/p>\n

area. After a few weeks, the covid lock downs were implemented and I realized I could take<\/span><\/p>\n

classes online. So, I enrolled in an extension course at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

With minimal knowledge of the craft (I didn\u2019t even have screenwriting software) I wrote a first<\/span><\/p>\n

draft of the feature screenplay version of the story in that NYU class. And, well, the instructor<\/span><\/p>\n

HATED IT. The problem with the earlier versions of the script was I was using a lot of direct<\/span><\/p>\n

quotes from the real-life characters and plugging them into a screenplay format. I hadn\u2019t yet<\/span><\/p>\n

found my way into the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> HOW\u2019D YOU FIND YOUR WAY INTO THE STORY?<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> Well, I was always interested in the idea of communes and the power structures within<\/span><\/p>\n

them. That led me to Abigail\u2019s story. Abigail was a mother of daughters and so am I. As I dug<\/span><\/p>\n

deeper, I started to see more and more similarities between my own journey and Abigail\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> So, now you have an entry point into the story you can personally relate to. What happened<\/span><\/p>\n

next?<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> Well, I found very quickly I needed structure and discipline to be able to tackle this new<\/span><\/p>\n

type of creative expression (new to me). I needed the structure of a class. So, I enrolled in the<\/span><\/p>\n

UCLA Professional Program online. I loved the program. Yeah, it was me and a bunch of<\/span><\/p>\n

younger writers who were writing high concept material so we may not have seen eye to eye all<\/span><\/p>\n

the time, but it was invigorating to be in a class with a group of artists pursuing a common goal<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 telling the best stories we could tell.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of the yearlong UCLA program, they had a Q&amp;A with all the instructors. This is where<\/span><\/p>\n

I met ProPath\u2019s Linda Voorhees and I realized very quickly she would be the perfect instructor<\/span><\/p>\n

to guide me through the rewrite of my feature screenplay version of THE FRUITLANDERS.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> How was your experience with Linda in your first ProPath workshop?<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> Linda was perfect. She was tough, but supportive. She\u2019d tell me to cut entire scenes. It was about learning how to collaborate and how to let go of things that may not be important in<\/span><\/p>\n

your script. Fantastic group of collaborators. I was struggling a bit because I had so much information I wanted to get across. Way too much<\/span><\/p>\n

for a screenplay. I soon realized the better way to approach the Alcott story was through<\/span><\/p>\n

writing it as a limited series.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> The limited series has kind of taken the place of the mid budget dramatic feature. Shows<\/span><\/p>\n

like WHITE LOTUS twenty years ago would have been made as mid-level budgeted features, but now they get the limited series treatment. So, sounds like you needed to take a new approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH: <\/b>Yes, definitely. Some of my classmates in Linda\u2019s class had also taken your (Tim\u2019s)<\/span><\/p>\n

workshop and I knew you allowed writers to work on either a feature or a pilot in your class, so<\/span><\/p>\n

I registered for your workshop and adapted my feature version of the story into a pilot for a<\/span><\/p>\n

limited series.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> As a producer who has developed multiple biopics, my advice is always to tell the story<\/span><\/p>\n

BEHIND the story. So, in our workshop we focused even more on Abigail\u2019s journey as a wife and mother to activist. Focused less on story and more on character (the big difference between<\/span><\/p>\n

features and tv\/streaming).<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> Yeah, there was a lot of material to cover. It was great to realize I didn\u2019t have to worry as<\/span><\/p>\n

much about story and was able to dig deep and build a stronger character journey that myself<\/span><\/p>\n

and audiences around the world could more strongly relate to.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP: <\/b>You finished a draft of the pilot in Tim\u2019s workshop, then did some rewriting based off Tim\u2019s<\/span><\/p>\n

final notes. Then what?<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> I submitted it to some competitions. ProPath encourages writers to submit to legitimate<\/span><\/p>\n

contests to see where you land with your peers. I landed well\u2026and ended up a Top Five Finalist<\/span><\/p>\n

in the Final Draft Big Break competition!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> Yeah, between their feature and pilot categories, the Final Draft Big Break competition gets<\/span><\/p>\n

over 10,000 entries each year. So, yeah, that\u2019s an impressive landing!<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> Thank you. It\u2019s been a great ride. But there\u2019s still lots of work to be done. I received notes<\/span><\/p>\n

from the readers of the various competitions I submitted to and found a common thread<\/span><\/p>\n

amongst the notes so now I\u2019m diving into those rewrites next. In the meantime, I\u2019ll also be<\/span><\/p>\n

starting a new project.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PP:<\/b> Yes, pushing forward is key. Sometimes it\u2019s good to put an old project in a drawer, start a<\/span><\/p>\n

new one, then come back to the previous project with fresh eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

LRH:<\/b> And that\u2019s my plan for 2024. I\u2019ll be submitting the rewrite of THE FRUITLANDERS to<\/span><\/p>\n

ProPath for additional feedback and I look forward to developing my new projects in future<\/span><\/p>\n

workshops. It\u2019s all about the collaboration and sense of community that a workshop provides.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the great feedback from your classmates and instructors.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Congrats to Laurie on all her success!<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the simplest terms, the transformational arc is your protagonist\u2019s journey to becoming a true hero. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[20,21,15,19,16],"class_list":["post-239638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-screenwriting","tag-screenplay","tag-screenwriter","tag-screenwriting","tag-screenwriting-class","tag-script"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239638"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239671,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239638\/revisions\/239671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}