Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #52 With Shakira Pressley

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Shakira Pressley is a screenwriter, producer, and actress with a specialty in and love for all things animated. With a bachelor’s degree in digital filmmaking and video, she has written for such television shows as “Keller Nation” and Cartoon Network’s “Craig of the Creek.” In addition to TV work, she has also worked on CMF at Cannes’ award-winning short films like “4H,” “Margaret Mage,” and “Rainbow Roller Rink.”

Like most writers in Hollywood, when she isn’t creating storylines and plot twists, she’s acting or providing voice talent to get her work out to audiences. As she notes on her website, she’s “just a person attempting to do adult things so that I can have a job that allows me to do kid things.”

What You’ll Learn About Writing This Week:

• The fact that it’s okay to become a writer if that isn’t something you have wanted to do for your whole life
• Why knowing your personal limitations (not limits) can be one of the worst things for your creativity
• When to incorporate the Rule of Three into your revision process
• How to Frankenstein your zombies into new pieces
• An inside look at what it’s like in the writers’ room (for an animated show)
• The benefits of having a writing group to get feedback
• Why you need a thesaurus nearby while you write
• How sometimes it’s the quiet times that give you the inspiration or motivation for future projects

Mentioned in This Episode (Links and Resources!):

• Influential anime shows: “Samurai Champloo” and “Nana”
• Dashawn Mahone (Shakira’s brother, storyboard artist on “Craig of the Creek”)
• The Duck Webcomics (formerly DrunkDuck) and EnterVoid.com
• Pixel comics
• ’70s spoof short film
• “Craig of the Creek”
• Ann Handley recommendation: relatedwords.org
• Chuck Wendig, “Writer’s Block Might Be:”

You Can Find More of Shakira and Her Writing On:

• Her Twitter account, @shakirapressley
• Her portfolio and work, PressleySA.wixsite.com/kirapressley

Tweetable Quotes From This Episode:

• “If you want to shoot your own short films, learn how to problem-solve on a set, don’t just give up. There’s a lot of times you’ll want to, and it’s not a good idea.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “In my soul, I knew I was making this project. I knew exactly what I set out to make and I made it.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “I’ve always been very strict on making sure that I don’t have characters in my story that don’t have a purpose for being there.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “Most creators (on their shows) are more than open to your suggestions and changes … a lot of people are understanding … about allowing change to make their story stronger.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• On writing groups: “I’ll bring 10 pages each week we meet, and I’ll ask people to break it down for me: what needs to be changed, what they like, what doesn’t work, and then I’ll go and edit it.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “You should have a feel when you’re writing each character’s dialogue of what you want them to sound like and that it comes off on the page.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “That’s my general rule: Read through three times. If I can’t fix it, I rewrite the whole thing; there’s something wrong with it.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “Writers: Please take time for your mental health. Don’t put your self-worth on what other people say about your writing. Take the time to actually take a break from writing.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “Don’t fall for the ‘starving artist’ trope—you don’t have to be struggling in order to have good work. You can make good work when you’re well-rested as well.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “Don’t be afraid to take your time getting where you want to be.” – @shakirapressley on #WritersRoughDrafts

Thanks to our Season 4 sponsor: Coworker.com