Interview:

For many years, Ruth Campbell worked as a secretary at Columbia Pictures Television and the Disney Channel.  During her tenure at the Channel, all of the male assistants and none of the women were promoted.  This eventually led to Campbell’s abrupt decision to quit and to pursue her lifelong dream of scriptwriting.  She soon won a Disney Fellowship and later won the Find the Funny comedy writing competition, as well as the Broad Humor Film Festival’s script contest – twice.  She lives in Glendale, CA, and hopes that, someday, she’ll find an agent and maybe even SELL one of her scripts.

Is “One of The Guys” your first script?  If not, what else have you completed?

No, “One of The Guys” is not my first script.  I think I wrote my first script when I was in high school or college.  It was so bad that a professional reader said, in his coverage, that it “had no plot.”  Hopefully, I’ve improved a little since then!  I have about 16 other scripts that I like, more or less, and a couple of others that I don’t like at all. 

Why did you write “One of The Guys”?  And how long did it take you to write it?

I enjoy trying to write a variety of stories – indie, drama, period, contemporary, you name it – and, this time, I just wanted to try to write a high concept, commercial script.  I think it took about three months to write, and then I kept rewriting it, in response to feedback I was getting from friends.

Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing?

It all starts when I sloppily jot down one or two sentences describing an idea I've thought of.  That then gets shoved into a file called “Future Ideas.”  If I start thinking of other ideas to flesh out that initial concept, they get added to the file, too.  Eventually, a certain idea will obviously need to have it’s own file folder.  By then, I’ve probably become interested in that particular story, and I try to figure out who the main characters are, “what would happen next,” etc.  Sooner or later, I put everything together in a notebook, figuring out what-should-go-where.  I also create a pie chart to keep track of where scenes fall within each act.  It isn’t until I’ve really thought things through, beginning to end, that I finally start to write a script.

What inspires you to write?

I’m in love with stories.  And being the one who tries to create something out of nothing is much more fun than taking phone messages or washing out coffee mugs.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

My mom/best friend, my close friends, movies, TV, swap meets, Native American jewelry, Halloween decorations, and the Goo Goo Dolls.

What influenced you to enter the Movie Script Contest?

I like the fact that this contest will put writers' material in front of producers, agents, and managers.

Do you feel that screenwriting contests are worthwhile for writers and why?

Absolutely.  It’s hard (or should I say, “impossible?”) to get anyone to pay attention to you, when you’re a newbie writer.  Doing well in contests helps to validate you and your writing.  It also helps to keep your spirits up when the rest of the world is turning its back on you!

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

Preston Sturges is my favorite screenwriter because he wrote my favorite movie, “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.”  Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” is probably the best movie ever made, but Preston’s characters, Norval Jones and Trudy Kockenlocker, stole my heart years ago and I’ll remain loyal to them, to the end!

Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

Don’t waste your time or money getting a college degree in scriptwriting.  You don’t need it.  Get a degree in something that will allow you to earn a lot of money while you’re struggling to break in to “Hollywood.”  Or just marry someone rich.

What’s next for you?

I wrote a couple of plays, hoping it might be easier to get them produced than a screenplay (I think I could be wrong).  Anyway, I’m going to be contacting theaters about them.  And I’ve started writing a Young Adult novel, at the urging of my friend, author Autumn Cornwell, whose hilarious YA novel, “Carpe Diem,” has been getting rave reviews.  So, wish me luck!  And the same to you.