Perhaps the Best Writing Advice I've Encountered

Meet Director/Screenwriter Kase Peña

Award-winning filmmaker Kase Peña directed the TV mini-series “Visions of Us,” and two HBO films: “Trabajo” and “Full Beat.”

Her film “Trans Los Angeles” was selected by Tribeca as one of the best contemporary films, and her feature-length screenplay “I Love Hate” was awarded a Sundance Institute Launch Grant. It’s being produced by the equally talented Angel Lopez, a producer on Justin Simien’s “Dear White People and Bad Hair.”

A bold new voice, Ms. Peña is a Bronx native whose parents are from the Dominican Republic. She is the first Trans-Latinx Woman to join the Writers Guild of America.

Writing Tips

Before you try to write the script, “Gain control of the story. Outline FIRST, always. Map it out and know where you’re going first. Then you’ll know how to wiggle it through the middle.”

This is done by asking yourself the following questions of each scene. “Very important. Now you’re in total control.”

Where?

When?

Who?

What’s it about?

How does it connect to previous/future scenes?

Other important things she urges you to keep in mind while writing

• First and foremost, “Don’t judge your writing. Trust it and you’ll find gold.”

• “No info is useless, so don’t judge it and never delete anything.”

• “Use 1-line sentences to outline the story.”

• “Every line of dialogue must be packed and meaningful.”

• “If scenes don’t connect, throw them OUT.”

• “No holes in the story.”

• To keep the story moving, “start late, end early” in the scene.

• “Closely cropped to make shooting easy.”

• A feature film is “3 stories and 2 subplots.”

• “Watch TV. Read scripts.”