Karl Iglesias

Karl Iglesias is the author of The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider Secrets from Hollywood’s Top Writers. He utilizes his industry savvy across the Hollywood spectrum as both a story analyst and development executive for several production companies. Karl is also a freelance script consultant and personal coach. He lives in Los Angeles.

Tell me about your background.

I was born in New York City but spent most of my early years traveling all over the world. We eventually settled in France before moving to the United States. The constant traveling was due to my parents’ profession – they were flamenco dancers. I remember spending a lot of time alone, feeding my mind with stories in libraries and bookstores while my parents rehearsed. Maybe that’s where I picked up my love for words and storytelling.

After moving to the United States, I led a somewhat normal life. I graduated with a BA in psychology from Cornell University and dabbled in many fields trying to find my calling. I knew I didn’t want to follow the 9-to-5 corporate route, but it wasn’t until about five years later that I “discovered” writing as my passion. Well, you don’t really “discover” it, since everyone does it in one way or another, but I never thought about pursuing it as a career.

It’s a very scary proposition when you think about it, a lot of hard work with no guarantee of success, unlike becoming a doctor or a lawyer. But the more I studied and immersed myself in the craft, the more it became clear in my own heart, based on my personality make-up, my thinking process, and my artistic sensibilities, that I was doing the right thing. I was “following my bliss,” as Joseph Campbell puts it.

What inspired you to be a writer?

I think everyone is a writer, maybe not a professional writer, but anyone who can think, who can speak, can certainly write. The rest is just a matter of dedication to the craft and the discipline that’s essential if one wishes to become a professional. One must accept as necessary the editing, rewriting, marketing, perseverance, etc.

So I’d say I’ve always been a writer deep down, but it wasn’t until I decided to do it professionally that I became a “real” writer. Actually it wasn’t until I finished my first screenplay that I considered myself a bonafide writer. You’re not a writer until you write. There’s a wonderful quote by E.L. Doctorow where he says, “A writer is someone who writes. Planning to write is not writing. Outlining a book is not writing. Researching is not writing. Talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.”

That’s a good quote. I guess all those things are necessary in order to actually write, but real writing is in the chair. So how did you decide to make the commitment to writing?

The commitment was a deep desire to do what I love for the rest of my life, even if money were no issue. There’s a good way to find out what you should do with your life, should you wish to, of course. Ask yourself if you won the lottery, and making a living was no longer an issue, what would you do with your time? How would you occupy your days? Whatever you think of, that should be what you should do for a living.

Making money via one’s preference is certainly important, but loving it with absolute passion should be the number one criteria. And so it is for me with writing. I don’t know where the next dollar will come from, or if I’ll ever be successful at it, but every morning when I wake up, I’m truly happy to know I have something I love to do waiting for me. It’s a delicious feeling to live your life the way you choose rather than feel obligated to “work” in order to pay the bills.

What is the scariest thing about writing?

I never thought of writing as scary, so I don’t know how to answer this question, but if I had to, based on what I know of writers in general, I’d say being blocked is probably every writer’s phobia.

What is the most fulfilling thing about writing?

The opposite of being blocked, which is having the words flow like a gushing river. It’s the most wonderful feeling, like being in a zone and simply taking dictation from the universal consciousness out there. You are in this other state of consciousness, dreaming with your eyes open, everything around you disappears except for the world and characters you’ve created. The other fulfilling thing is finishing a project and having people respond to it in a positive manner.

What themes surface in your personal writing?

Whether I read, or go to the movies or the theater, I like to be moved in some way, whether it’s laughing, crying, being scared, excited. I like to be inspired, awed, and so that’s what I hope to accomplish through my writing… to encourage, uplift, and inspire as many readers as possible in an entertaining way, of course. Being a writer is a chance for me to reach and move a lot of people with an exciting idea or message.

How did you get the idea for 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters?

“101 Habits” is the kind of book I always wanted to own when I was an aspiring writer, but couldn’t find anywhere. As a student who believed that the best way to learn was to find out what successful writers do on a regular basis and do the same, I’d scour every magazine interview, highlighting any advice or nugget of relevant information. I would read every interview book I could find, and when I would attend a conference I would ask writers to share their habits. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most efficient way, because I’d have to have to sift through a lot of information to find that one piece of advice I needed at the time.

Also, for some reason, writers would be reluctant to reveal their secrets. They would talk a lot about their experiences developing a project with a certain director, or talk about their frustrations with a development executive and being rewritten, or give their two cents about the industry. Fascinating stuff, sure, but not what I was looking for to further my craft.

By that time, I had read all the screenwriting books so I wasn’t learning anything new, but I still wanted to develop good writing habits. At the same time, I was leading a screenwriters’ group, and most of the beginners’ questions were in the area of writing habits, such as discipline, the creative process, making the time to write, etc. That’s when I had the idea to write “101 Habits” and fill the need of many aspiring writers out there. They need information about the realities of the craft, not simply the theories on what makes a good script. That information is plentiful out there, from the hundreds of books to the seminars and magazine articles.

How did you get the ball rolling for the book?

In the book, under the habit of “taking advantage of every opportunity,” I share an interesting anecdote about the genesis of the book.

I was working as the story analyst for actor Edward James Olmos’ production company and was sent to attend a pitchmart on a Sunday morning as the company’s representative. Sitting there, listening to hundreds of pitches, I had the chance to help a writer with a particular take on the story she had just pitched me. I didn’t think anything of it. She was one of a hundred writers there that day. But apparently, I had made such a strong impression on her that she recommended me to a friend, who happened to run the “Selling to Hollywood” conference, and who asked me to serve on a faculty panel.
At that conference’s faculty party, I was introduced to a book editor who inquired about various projects I was working on. Realizing she worked for a publisher, I pitched her the “101 Habits’” concept. She liked it and asked me to send her the book proposal.

Now remember, the book was just an idea at the time, an idea I wasn’t even working on actively, since I was concentrating on writing scripts, but that Monday morning after the conference, I rushed to the bookstore and read everything I could about writing book proposals. By the end of the week, I had a 20-page proposal for “101 Habits.” I sent it to the book editor who was eager to receive it. She pitched it to the acquisitions team, who accepted it. We negotiated a contract, and then I went to work.

Looking at it now, everything was a chain of events sparked by the fact that I helped an anonymous writer at a pitch conference. The lesson here? Every chance meeting is an opportunity. Don’t dismiss them so easily. And be nice to everyone you meet.

Being nice to everyone? You strike me as a truly nice guy so I assume you mean sincerely nice, not the “Hollywood you might be my boss next week” manner?

Right, being sincere is the key. The phoniness you see among Hollywood players is so obvious it’s laughable, and it doesn’t work. Smart people always can tell phoniness from sincerity.

How did you get access to the writers interviewed?

Once I was contracted to write the book, I made up my target list and contacted writers by letter through the Writers Guild. I had volunteered at the Writers Guild Foundation’s Word into Pictures conference a year earlier, so they knew me there and were gracious enough to help me out. Ironically, I didn’t get many initial responses from the letters, but those who got on board in the beginning were influential in future requests because they were big names, so I got lucky. All I had to do was mention they were on board, and then the responses were more constant. I guess their participation was like a stamp of approval for other writers.

What were factors influencing the decision of whom to put on the list of screenwriters?

I wanted to get as wide a range of successful screenwriters as possible, male, female, younger, older, film and television. Ultimately, the final roster of writers depended on who responded to my requests and who had the most useful comments to share.

What was the most surprising thing you learned from writing the book?

The most surprising thing was realizing what it’s really like to be a writer in Hollywood, even if you’re a highly successful one, and that it wasn’t for me. I mean, I still love movies and writing screenplays, and I will keep doing it if I’m offered a project.

But what I learned is how frustrating the business really is, how you get eaten alive, how your heart gets cut up and served to the wolves, how you’re always the most disrespected element of the filmmaking process even when everyone knows you’re the most important. And if you don’t have the soul to handle it, the tough skin necessary to put up with the cruelties of the industry, you’ll be miserable no matter how many millions you earn.

Money doesn’t heal one’s soul?

It may be a band-aid for a while. But ultimately it will never solve all your problems. Too many aspiring writers who happen to struggle, working long hours to pay their bills, decide to write a script after reading a success story in the trades.

The information in “101 Habits” is about the realities of the business, not the glossy, glamorous stories. Aspiring writers only know about the big sales, about the waiter who suddenly sells a spec script for six figures and goes from rags to riches overnight. What they don’t read about is what happens to that writer after the sale, the frustrations of development, the rewriting, the firing when he or she can’t handle the studio’s demands or when the agent realizes the writer only had one script in them. It was surprising to learn that even the very top writers in the business still have to deal with the frustrations of the industry on a regular basis.

And so I learned that I would be a lot happier as a fiction writer than a screenwriter. This is now my new focus in my career, in addition to promoting this book and teaching aspiring writers about the realities of the profession, thanks to those who have done it before them.

What was the most difficult part of writing the book?

I handed in the manuscript with almost double the contracted number of words. It came in at 111,000 but the cut-off was 70,000. So the most difficult part was trimming it down, losing great quotes, and valuable comments from the writers. I also had to cut three screenwriters entirely, which was difficult, because they shared great information, not to mention their time. Ultimately, it came down to 86,000, and my editor still wanted to bring it down to 70,000. I hadn’t realized how important the word count was to publishers and their profit/loss ratios. I had to stand my ground and insist that cutting it further would drastically change the heart and message of the book. Eventually, they agreed to publish it at 86,000 words.

What is your best advice to beginning writers?

First, make sure, and I mean beyond any doubt, that it is something you really want to do, even if you’ll never make a dime at it, because it will consume your life. If you can think of anything else you’d rather do, please do it instead. You’ll be a lot happier. If you choose to be a writer, then write what excites you, not what genres or topics you think are the flavors of the month.

What is your best advice to intermediate writers, classified as those who have a couple of completed scripts?

Keep writing every day, even if you have finished projects you’re trying to sell. That way, you won’t go crazy waiting for the phone to ring. My experience is that intermediate writers are too focused on getting an agent as soon as they finish the first draft of their first script, which is a mistake. My advice would be to stop looking and concentrate instead on making your finished scripts the best they can possibly be, through feedback and rewriting.

I guarantee you that if your script is great, agents will come to you. I know it sounds weird but it’s like what they say about love. Stop looking and love will find you. It’s the same in Hollywood. When you stop looking, you relax and are able to concentrate on what’s really important, and that is to become the best writer you can be. All you have to do then is enter a legitimate script contest, which guarantees a read, and if you place, believe me, you’ll have agents coming to you like sharks. Entering a contest is also a good way to gauge how your script competes with thousands out there. If yours can’t even place competing against amateurs, what makes you think it will compete among professionals in Hollywood?

Tell us about the promotion and tour.

The book’s promotion is just beginning and will involve book signings in stores and conferences. As a speaker, I am open to any invitation to share the “101 Habits” with any group who feels it would be valuable to their members.

How does it feel to be the interviewee rather than the interviewer?
Feels new and fresh and exciting. I’ve never been interviewed before.

Well, I’m honored to be the first. What now?
Now, I’m going to take a nap and then prepare for my presentation to the Alameda Writers Group on Dec. 1st.

Funny guy. Care to share about your novel now that you’ll write blurbs rather than loglines?

Hemingway used to say that “talking about an idea squeezes the juice out of it,” so let me just say my novel is a futuristic love story, with a unique concept and a deeply humane message sure to satisfy mystery, thriller and science-fiction fans. Stay tuned.

Kim Townsel lives in Los Angeles and Alabama. She is writing her third script and editing her novel, an anti-romance love story.