#12 - Liz Hannah, Award Winning Screenwriter - Pt 2

What It Covers

Award-winning screenwriter Liz Hannah shares her approach to pitching scripts, revealing how a four-page character-focused pitch moved her to tears and transformed her entire pitching methodology for film and television projects.

Key Questions Answered

• •Character-driven pitching: Structure pitches by introducing characters first, then weaving the story through their emotional arcs rather than traditional three-act breakdowns. This approach allows writers to convey narrative without committing to specific plot details while maintaining emotional resonance with readers.
• •Music as writing tool: Create project-specific playlists before starting scripts to establish tone, character identity, and emotional world-building. These soundtracks serve as navigational tools when writers feel lost, helping them retrace creative intentions during eight-hour writing sessions or rewrites.
• •Daily page targets: Complete ten pages per day on vomit drafts regardless of quality or time required, whether three hours or eight. This tangible metric prevents burnout better than time-based goals and maintains momentum through first drafts before switching to time-based rewriting sessions.
• •Television training advantage: Writers from television backgrounds develop superior pitching skills because they must constantly fight for ideas in writers' rooms with thirty-second windows. This forces diagnostic precision about word choice, emotional impact, and identifying which creative elements deserve protection versus flexibility.