Interview (Part 1): Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Karen McDermott wrote the original screenplay “Lullabies of La Jaula” which won a 2019 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Karen about her background as a screenwriter, her award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl has meant to her.

Today in Part 1 of a 6 part series to run each day through Saturday, Karen talks about how she turned aside from a legal career to pursue her passion: writing.

Scott Myers: Where did you grow up and when did you start to become interested in writing?

Karen McDermott: I grew up in New Jersey, Central Jersey, just outside of Princeton. Jersey gets a bad rap, but I’m from the good part. [laughs] There’s a good part.

Scott: The central part of New Jersey.

Karen: That’s why they call it the Garden State.

I was interested in writing as far back as I can remember. I came by it naturally. My dad was an English professor, and my parents would read after dinner. That’s what we did in my house for fun. On weekends, we went to the library. My mom let me use her library card so I could take out more books than the children’s card allowed. So for me, writing came from reading; it was automatic.

Scott: I am imagining that part of your character in the script your wrote Lullabies, which we’ll talk about just a bit, Dahlia, the main character, her interest in reading, maybe echoes your own.

Karen: Yeah, I didn’t realize that when I wrote it. My sister said, when she read the rough draft, “You know Dahlia’s you, don’t you?” [laughter] When we meet her, Dahlia’s sitting in a bathtub, reading a book. That was me. I’d hide away anywhere I could and read. I read everywhere, all the time.

By the time I was in grade school, I had internalized the voice of an author. I wasn’t trying; it just happened. But because I wrote like an adult, my teachers were constantly accusing me of plagiarism. At the start of every school year, I had to break in a new teacher. Every time there was writing homework, I’d be accused of copying out of a book, or having my parents do it for me — until the first in-class writing assignment. I couldn’t wait for that day. Finally, the teacher would see me write, and after that, the accusations of plagiarism stopped — until the next year, when a new teacher had to be broken in.

Scott: How about movies and TV? Did they ever come into play much as a child?

Karen: I always liked movies, and I took a film class at Rutgers that I loved, but I never really thought of a career in film until I moved to California, at 26. Growing up, I was going to be a YA writer, even before Harry Potter made being a YA writer popular. That was always the plan. But then, stupidly, I went to law school. So that derailed the whole I’m‑gonna‑be‑a‑writer thing for at least 15 years.

Scott: You moved to LA at 26. I’m assuming that was for law or a job or something?

Karen: I moved to San Diego at 26 for law school. A huge mistake — you know, the thing you’d change if you could do your life over… Basically, I’m a cautionary tale.

I knew on my first day of law school that it wasn’t for me. But I had moved 3000 miles for it, and I didn’t want to be a “quitter.” I had just graduated from Rutgers, where I was an English major, which came easy to me, reading literature, writing about it. I graduated with high honors — falling off a log.

Then in law school, suddenly, I was dumb. I was struggling just to pass. I went for learning disability testing. It turned out that I wasn’t learning disabled; I was bored. Oh my God, those legal cases. Mind numbing.

But I stayed with it. Eventually, I passed the bar. Then I figured, “Well, I might as well practice law.” I became a legal aid attorney specializing in trauma law. I got restraining orders for battered women. I represented children in abuse and neglect cases and parents in emergency custody cases. It was devastating.

So I decided to take a break from the law — which I’m still on, over a decade later.

I went back to school, got my master’s in English Literature — and suddenly, I was smart again. [laughs]. I was doing what came easy, again: analyzing and writing about literature.

I started teaching English, and I had summers off, so I decided to write a screenplay. I had no idea how to even begin, so I bought a book: The Screenwriter’s Bible. I wrote a historical drama based on one of the few legal cases that had actually interested me in law school — about cannibalism at sea. And when I was done, I sent it three places. One of them was Marty Katz Productions — and they said they loved it.

I thought, “Oh, wow. This screenwriting thing is easy.”

[laughter]

Marty Katz said it wasn’t for him, hard to believe, but cannibalism isn’t for everyone, but he and his wife gave me a list of places to send it. So I did. Then when nothing came of it, I put the script away and got back to teaching. A year later, a woman called me: “You don’t know me, but I used to work for Marty Katz Productions. Now I work for an agent, and I always remembered your script. Can I give it to the agents here?” I said, “Sure, go ahead.”

She did, and the agency called me in for a meeting. Then they sent the script to Playtone [Tom Hanks’ production company]. A few days later, Playtone called me in for a meeting. They told me they loved it, but it wasn’t for them… but I should keep writing…

And again, I thought, “Wow. This screenwriting thing is easy. You write a screenplay, and Tom Hanks’ people call you up.”

The agent who had set up that meeting sent it around town. It was a period piece on the ocean and a courtroom drama. The most ridiculous thing to write as a first screenplay: the most expensive, hard‑to‑sell thing. But I didn’t know. I just thought it would be a riveting movie. He said, “You’re either going to sell this thing and pay off all your law school loans, or never sell it.” So, it won some contests but… Steven Spielberg: call me.

At that point I decided to get serious about learning the craft of screenwriting.

Here is video of Karen accepting her 2019 Nicholl Award last November:

Tomorrow in Part 2, Karen talks about the inspiration for her Nicholl-winning screenplay “Lullabies of La Jaula.”

For my interviews with every Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner since 2012, go here.

For my interviews with 50+ Black List writers, go here.