It was incredibly fruitful to have an industry guest in our class today. It is easy in an academic context to get lost amongst the minutiae of screenwriting theories and approaches, so having a reality check from screenwriter Catherine McMullen was fantastic. McMullen has a lot of industry experience, including working on shows like Wentworth, Nowhere Boys and The Leftovers. She is also in a unique position because she has experience working in writer’s rooms both in Australia and in the US, so it was good to hear about the different industries and how they approach the screenwriting process. For example, she mentioned that the writer’s hierarchy is more rigid in the states, yet while in Australia there is an appearance of equality amongst screenwriters, there is still a hierarchy but it is not as easy to perceive.

McMullen was very honest about getting started in the industry, which, like any role in the creative industries, is difficult. But until I listened to her discuss her career path today, I realised that I until now I didn’t really have any notion of how one would build a career as a screenwriter. McMullen started out working in film and tv production as a runner, and worked various jobs whilst writing between them, making sure not to lose track of her goal of becoming a professional screenwriter. After hearing this, I have a new optimism about working in production, as for a while I wasn’t that drawn to a role as production crew, but today reaffirmed that this might actually be a really good stepping stone to further work that does draw my interest. Building networks after all, is invaluable.

McMullen also walked us through her process of writing a screenplay. In the case of her successful breakthrough screenplay, it began with a short story, writing a treatment (which she proposed should take the most time), plotting out the scenes using Blake Snyder’s save the cat structure. It was also interesting to hear her opinions on the standard screenwriting guidelines – she didn’t agree with avoiding camera directions entirely, but to take a considerate approach to when it is useful, and warned against using narration, saying it is difficult to pull off well as a beginning screenwriter.

This guest lecture was for me one of the most useful sessions we have had in this studio. It is so invaluable to hear advice from a professional, especially from someone who, by her own admission, has only recently broken through. I feel like I have been provided with some renewed inspiration, which is impeccably timed, now moving into the production of my own short screenplay.