Interview:

Kimberly (Niall) Coleman is a former newspaper journalist, research analyst, and nurse with Masters degrees in English and Nursing. ‘Kiyala’ won 2nd Place in GimmeCredit Screenplay Competition Cycle V and her short ‘revolutions’ was a Finalist. Two of her plays, ‘A Child of Promise’ and ‘A Father’s Crimes’ were runners-up in  Contemporary Arts Center Competitions (New Orleans, LA). She is married and lives in Hendersonville, NC.

Is “Kiyala” your first script?.  If not, what else have you completed? 

I’ve completed several interconnected shorts set in Iraq: ‘revolutions’ (24hours in the life of a  young American marksman), ‘Zaid’s Cup’ (a son searches for his blind father kidnapped by Jihadists), ‘Mother’ (a woman forced into prostitution by a co-worker in order to feed her family),  ‘Undone’ (the final day of the Iraq War).  I’ve also completed feature lengths: ‘The Last One’ (a Northern Irish family caught up in the conflict in Darfur), ‘The Six’ (orphans defend their neighborhood from Baghdad death squads), ‘The Bin’ (a psych patient escapes from the mental ward to protect his sister from their abusive father).

Why did you write “Kiyala”?   

I wrote ‘Kiyala’ as a reaction to the daily news reports of the war in Iraq. The average citizens receive little attention from the press; they are trapped with their families between soldiers and Jihadists, with few choices left to them. Someone needs to tell their stories.

And how long did it take you to write it? 

The actual mechanics of writing took ten days, but the development of the idea (and pages of notes) ran from January through May. And I still rewrite.

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

 My process is somewhat disorganized: a variation of studying my favorite writing books, jotting down scene/character/dialogue notes, reading internet news sources, reviewing my catalogued ideas/lyrics, rewriting in-progress scripts. I transpose viable  ideas  to workbooks in my Writer’s Blocks software program—Writer’s Blocks majorly increased my productivity, making it fast and easy to reorganize my notes, change outlines, pace action, look at the script as a movie  on one page. Then I run my ideas past my family for feedback—great critics with immediate,  honest reactions.

What inspires you to write? 

My inspiration to write is from a strong sense of trying to somehow right injustice by portraying ‘people like us’ caught in situations they hadnothing to do with.  But ultimately, my characters inspire me to write—sometimes it’s like taking dictation. And at least on paper, my characters and I can right injustices.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

My family; my friends in Florida I miss so much.

What influenced you to enter the Movie Script Contest?

I entered the contest primarily because of the positive comments on Moviebytes.com, and the ‘no wait feedback’. I checked out the contest website and Jason seemed to have started Movie Script Contest for all the right reasons. Entering this contest wouldn’t be sending my work into a vacuum.

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

Screenwriting contests are worthwhile because of the challenge of a deadline and the  competition, the validation of your work if you receive positive feedback and/or place in the finals, and the hope this  gives you to succeed as a scriptwriter. From my personal experience, the quality feedback I’ve received from Movie Script Contest on my two entries  is more detailed,  incisive, and professional  than that from a highly recommended script doctor I hired for one of  my feature-length scripts.

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

My favorite writer is SamuelBeckett because of his incredible style of writing, the way he creates the psychological  essence of a  character in a few words.  ‘Endgame’ is a masterpiece of co-dependency, the souls of Clov and the manipulative Hamm  revealed through dialogue.

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

My advice is to write what you’re passionate about, to trust the opinions of your closest friends, to rewrite, to enter competitions such as this for quality, detailed feedback, and to read Karl Iglesias, David Howard, and ‘Writing Movies.’

What’s next for you?

I am currently finishing the feature-length sequel to ‘Kiyala’ and reworking my Iraq shorts as a feature-length script. And I am actively seeking an agent or management company.