Screenwriting 101: Laura Kosann

“I have found that what gets people’s attention is the script where you are truly laying your heart out on the table. Those are the ones that, for me, always get the most attention, because people just know when it’s deeply personal. And I don’t mean personal in the sense that this story happened to you. I just mean that — for whatever reason — you know this story inside and out and it is the one you want to tell. It’s the story that, if you do not tell it, you will not sleep at night. I honestly think that should be peoples’ first story.

This doesn’t mean it’s the one that’s going to get made right away, get bought right away. It means it’s the one that will grab the attention of representation. Or of a producer who you should work with on something else, etc.

And to that end, I think it’s frustrating for new writers sometimes when people tell them ‘write what you know, write what happened to you.’ I do not think that is accurate at all, personally. Because I think you can fall in love with a topic, or a book, or a period of time that you don’t know that much about. But for some, personal reason, it resonates with you so much that you ache. And then you dig. And then you find a story that’s true and real and raw for you that you have to put on paper. Suddenly, it’s become personal. People will feel that.”

— Laura Kosann

From Go Into The Story interview, June 2022

For 100s more Screenwriting 101 posts, go here.