Interview:

Michael Wheeler lives in Santa Clarita, CA with his wife and three children. He's a writer, filmmaker, and teacher.

Is “Odd Man Out” your first script? If not, what else have you completed?

Back in film school I wrote a few scripts that I made into short films. Odd Man Out is the second short script that I wrote this year. I finished my first feature script last year and I'm about halfway through my second one.

Why did you write “Odd Man Out”? And how long did it take you to write it?

I started with the image of the odd man out stuck in the middle of a nightclub booth between three guys and three girls who barely acknowledge his existence. I thought this premise had a lot of comic potential. The booth scene contains the climax - his final humiliation, so I worked back from that, building the main character, setting up the situation, and adding a concluding scene. Once I started, it took me about a week to finish.

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

Ideally, once I have an idea, I would like to start working on it. But the reality is that it usually sits in a notebook for who knows how long waiting for the right context, usually a feature story. But the feature writing process is such a long one (especially with a day job and family), that these ideas tend to never be developed. So this year I went through my notebooks, cherry-picking scenarios that I felt would be appropriate for the short form. It's very satisfying to be able to finish something quickly.

What inspires you to write?

It could be anything, a dream, something I read, something I witnessed or experienced or a combination of these.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

God and family.

What influenced you to enter the Movie Script Contest?

I was looking for short script contests.

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

Sure. The whole point is to get your script out there and this is one way of doing it.

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

I have a lot of favorite writers, but recently I've been re-reading some of Isaac Asimov's stuff. Not a great stylist, but great ideas. It's amazing that he was only in his early twenties when he started writing the Foundation series.

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

Write what gives you pleasure.

What’s next for you?

Keep writing. Turn my short scripts into finished films. Finish my second feature script. Hopefully get the first feature script produced.