Screenwriting is Writing

Why am I naming my Substack after such a seemingly obvious statement?

Hello, I’m Bill Gullo.

I once jumped out of a plane, I’ve never fired a gun, and twice I’ve cleaned meconium off baby bottoms.

I’m also a long-time, actively working, constantly struggling screenwriter with a boatload of storytelling experience spanning mediums. I’ve written, directed, and/or produced a variety of projects—features, pilots, short films, web series, a musical for the stage - all sorts of stuff - including some (unpublished) fiction and organizational writing in the social good sector. As a creative consultant, I’ve advised novelists, playwrights, graphic novelists, software developers, and of course, screenwriters.

My storytelling journey began in earnest

around the time a professor told me he’d be “loath” to join my thesis committee—even though I hadn’t asked him to. That thesis - a novella - evolved into my first feature screenplay which won me $10,000 and a Best Screenplay Award at a time when I had about a month’s rent in my bank account. So yeah - fuck that guy.

But that was a long time ago.

Since then I’ve forged something that looks suspiciously like a writing career despite it not feeling that way. I’ve had a couple of indie films produced, been on the Blacklist, had screenplays optioned, and sold a TV show. As for name dropping: Martin Scorsese signed on to executive produce an original feature I wrote, I pitched an unscripted show to Amy Schumer with Shaka King, Phoebe Waller Bridge praised my prose about the octopus, and Alexander Payne shared that one of my screenplays moved him to tears. These were all close calls but no cigars, and that’s often how this business goes: a lot of heartbreak on the way to occasional breakthroughs. There’s a country song in there somewhere.

Screenwriting is Writing

seems like an obvious enough statement, but I’ve used it for years in response to what I consider an anti-creative trend in the world of screenwriting. I’ve encountered countless people who seem to believe there’s a formula or magic algorithm (and maybe there is now, thanks to AI) that can unlock the secret to writing a great screenplay. But here’s the truth: there isn’t. Screenwriting is writing—and writing doesn’t need a formula. It needs you.

Over the years, I’ve invented tools, adapted tips, and discovered states of mind that help me imagine, develop and write a powerful screenplay. The process takes a shit load of time and deep thought because - that’s right - screenwriting is writing, and most writing demands both time and deep thought.

I will freely share everything I can think of:

lessons I’ve taught to students at NYU and Pratt Institute, observations and anecdotes from serving as Associate Director of Almanack Screenwriters, advice I’ve given to clients of This Time Next Time, my story consulting service. I’ll share stories and lessons from the beginning of my writing life and, in time, I will share video and audio interviews so I can bring other voices to this conversation.

I also hope to offer something more elusive: A positive feeling — my North Star as a writer. On the best days, I might provide a laugh. Or maybe a chuckle. If not a chuckle, at least a smile or nod of recognition. My real goal is for you to feel something — or think something new — by the end of each post. Something new about writing, sure, but also maybe about yourself because writing is nothing if not personal, and it can definitely be therapeutic.

I’ll post on Tuesdays because

that’s when Wimpy promised to pay for all those burgers he ate. Sometimes I’ll post every Tuesday, other times not — but always Tuesdays because of Mr. J Wellington Wimpy.

---

Guess What??

I just now decided to add the following writing prompt in hopes that it will spark a writing session for you. Let me know in the comments if you tried it and how it went.

A Writing Prompt For and About You:

The best writing comes from the specific details of You - your strange thoughts, hidden fears, delusional dreams, and secret experiences. As an experiment, dig into a secret you kept (or still keep) that says something unique about who you are—whether it’s trivial, life-changing, or somewhere in between.

Now set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes and write from the perspective of someone wrestling with a similar secret. What happens when they’re forced to share it, or it’s accidentally revealed? This one exercise has the potential to spark a short story or an entire novel, a feature screenplay or an episodic series. Get personal and stick with it.

That’s it. My first Newsletter.

I sincerely appreciate you spending some of your precious time on earth here with me. Please post questions and comments for me and the group at large. This community will be an encouraging, productive space in a media landscape that can make you want to stab yourself in the heart or maybe choke yourself to death depending on the day. Let’s be more humane together.

If you know anyone who’d benefit from Screenwriting is Writing (with me, Bill Gullo), please click below to share with them. More to come…

---