So, You Wanna Be a Screenwriter?
A Profile of Matt Terry

by Eve Lopez

The first thing I notice when I walk into the classroom is that nearly every table is taken.

It’s the first day of class and I’m late. It’s a gorgeous, rainy spring day in Seattle, and the view outside the window of the classroom is an amazing array of downtown skyscrapers and gathering crowds.

But no one inside the classroom is paying attention to the scenery outside.

Matt Terry, the instructor, is introducing himself and the class. The dozen students in the class are quiet for awhile and then it becomes clear this class is more of the interactive sort. They start taking notes, asking questions, or watching Matt scribble nearly indecipherable symbols on the chalkboard.

Then the students introduce themselves. Some people are here, taking Matt’s screenwriting class at Seattle Central Community College, because they want to learn how to write screenplays. One student already has 80 pages written with a partner and has reached a barrier in his writing. Some of the students have great ideas that they want to be able to put down on paper.

Matt uses this first session of the eight-week class to explain proper formatting. If you want to write screenplays, it’s the most important thing. Screw up the format and you’re toast.

But then there’s the problem with ideas and writing.

His advice on writing is simple: "You’re going to have to write. You’re going to have to ignore your family. You’re going to have to stop watching the Mariners."

His advice on ideas: "Be happy about it."

There are only three types of stories, Matt says. And he writes them on the board:

1. Boy Meets Girl
2. Fish Out of Water
3. Incredible Journey

Write using one of these types of stories, or write what you know, Matt says.

One student who’s writing a drama about espionage mentions he’s stuck in his second act and doesn’t know where to go next. Matt tells him there are a few tricks to get around that—stick in a sex scene, montage, or car chase. The story will come back around.

Another student wants to know about dialogue. He’s gotten some feedback on some of his screenplay-in-progress, and the consensus is that it’s just a bunch of "talking heads."

"Think visually," Matt says. "Maybe the dialogue sucks—so what are they doing? When he says, 'Yes, dear,' is he breaking the dishes, washing the dishes, or slamming the door?"

"Hollywood North"

Ask Matt what he thinks about the local film community here and he doesn’t mince words. He uses an expletive.

We’re sitting, after class, in the Rosebud Café, a film-themed restaurant and bar on Capitol Hill. "People want to have prestige," Matt explains. He doesn’t see the community here as particularly supportive, but is quick to explain this is only his impression. "I could be wrong, because I haven’t participated in many things," he says.

So he sees his role as one of the community’s teachers as an important one. "It’s my job to inspire and help them realize their dreams," he says.

He wants his students to be successful. Success for one is success for all of us, he says. But the worst thing about teaching is watching attendance dwindle by the end of the session. "In the beginning, they’re all excited, but then they peter out and find something else to occupy their time."

And even though, in his six years of teaching, only three students ever sent him screenplays to read, he doesn’t give up on his students and he doesn’t give up on himself.

Matt was a "drama geek" in high school, thinking he’d be a movie star. But he’d been writing since he was 12, and eventually found his way into writing movies. Then he fell in love, got married, had two kids, and today, has a day-job career at a local law firm.

His ultimate goal, however, is to be a full-time screenwriter.

Matt’s written 15 screenplays over the years, in every genre imaginable—in his collection, he has family-oriented scripts, a slasher script, romances, dramas. His favorite is one called "The Search for Santa," a fantasy about two kids who go looking for the big guy. It was this particular script that got close to being taken by Disney. Due to formalities and the fact that he didn’t have an agent, it didn’t get made.

A script he’s written called "Neon Jungle," has been optioned, however, and is currently being packaged. He has high hopes for it, although some days it seems like it’s just crawling along.

During one of the last sessions of the class, Matt hands out lottery tickets to everyone. "No one knows what’s going to be a big hit," he says. "No one knows who’s going to be a big star."

For the screenwriter who keeps writing and sending scripts to agents and producers, "All it takes is one person with the power and the ability to say yes."

Though Matt has mixed feelings about the film community here in Seattle, he tells his students that there are relationships to be formed. There are people to network with. 911 Media Arts is the hub of independent film in Seattle and it’s just a matter of finding other screenwriters to click with.

After the spring session of his class ended, I asked Matt what kinds of advice he gives budding screenwriters and those who want to break into the screenwriting trade. Matt tells them what he always tells himself: "Keep writing. And writing. And writing. And writing. Understand that breaking into Hollywood is not like winning the Lotto and that it takes hard work and perseverance."

Learn more about Matt Terry, Seattle screenwriter, here: members.fortunecity.com/matthew_terry/

You can register for Matt Terry’s screenwriting class here: sccconline.com

Eve Lopez lives and writes in Seattle.