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Submitted by visitors to this website

Posted by Robin Fryday

December 26th 2012

Dear William, First of all, I'd like to congratulate you and thank you for Les Miserables...I was moved beyond words. I can only imagine how busy you are, but whenever you get a moment I'd like to ask for your advice. I made a short documentary "The Barber of Birmingham" which is about the Foot Soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement. The story is told through the eyes of Mr. Armstrong, an "unsung hero" of the Movement, who dedicated his life to fighting injustices in this country. This was my first documentary and I received the great honor of a 2012 Academy Award Nomination. The story of this man and his barbershop (which was more of a living history museum), along with the events in BIrmingham, Alabama in the 1960's and the music which played such a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement, leads me to believe this would make a very powerful musical stageplay. Prior to this film, my work was as a still photographer. I used this skill as a way to raise funds and awareness for children's non-profit organizations. Because this is my first film, and hopefully will become my first musical...I was wondering if you could offer any advice as to how to go about bringing this to the stage. I would be deeply grateful for any advice or suggestions. Congratulations again on your success and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year! Robin Fryday www.barberofbirmingham.com www.robinfryday.com 415-225-6911

William Nicholson responded:

I agree with you that your story looks as if it would make a great stage musical, but I'm afraid I'm not in any position to help you. You need the skills and contacts of a stage producer, and to attract their help you need to have some form of early script. Maybe you have one already. And of course you need a great composer. All this is rather out of my league–I came on to Les Miserables purely as a screenwriter. I wish you all the best with the project.

Posted by Richard Jorgensen

December 26th 2012

Thanks for the reply. I was not aware of The Dark Earth and the Light Sky; just read the Guardian review. A fan note: I am just retiring as a Lutheran clergyman. Your "Martin Luther: Heretic" is still the best cinematic treatment of Luther's reformation I've seen. Not only is it a gripping character drama, it succinctly outlines the theological issues in that world-changing conflict.

William Nicholson responded:

Wonderful to come across someone who remembers my Martin Luther. That was the very first piece of screenwriting I ever did. Thanks for the appreciation.

Posted by Elizabeth Ward

December 26th 2012

Dear Mr.Nicholson, I am a student at the University of the West of England, Bristol. I am doing a dissertation about 'literature and the impact of digital technologies'. I read your trilogy of 'The Wind Singer' as a child and I am very interested in how you started your career in the world of literature and how you have become such a success. I understand you may be very busy but it would be a pleasure to be in touch with you regarding a discussion around your career. Kind regards and Seasons Greetings! Elizabeth Ward

William Nicholson responded:

Sure, I'd be happy to talk to you. I'll contact you outside the site with a phone number.

Posted by Rumenig Pires

December 25th 2012

Hi! I'm from Brazil and I'm starting a carreer on directing and screenwriting. I don't have much money to study in USA and here in Brazil there isn't any valuable course to take about screenwriting and storytelling. I think that a good story comes from something authentic inside of myself and I don't expect that someone will teach me that. But, I do think that I have to master the craft to express that properly. I'm writing a lot and trying to find ways to teach myself, but many books I have been reading about it are from academics who never have write anything of valor. You are one of the bests storytellers I know. And I think that is only from storytellers like you that I can have some true valuable advice, because you have past throught all the struggles of the creative process and have rise in the end, with great stories. So please, give me the name of some books worth studying, some advice worth following. You're much ahead of me, and I think that along the way you must have had some help and inspiration. So please, help me too. You don't know how much it will mean to me. Thank you! And sorry for my poor english... I'm improving it.

William Nicholson responded:

You're right that a good story comes from something authentic inside yourself. There's no craft technique that can replace that. I don't know of any booms worth studying, though I'm sure some exist - it's just that I've never read how-to books about writing, or attended any courses. My progress has been through reading other people's stories, seeing their films, and writing, writing, writing. The key to getting better is writing something, submitting it to criticism, and learning from that criticism. It really isn't that different from learning any other craft. You get better if you make it your business to test your work in action and see where you're going wrong. You don't need professionals for that - just get any people you know to read and comment. After all, a movie audience isn't 'professional'. You'll pick up pretty quickly what isn't working. It takes quite a long time to get so you can translate an idea into character and plot, but it will come. One tip: make sure what you write about is more interesting than the fact that it's you writing about it. Choose subjects that people really want to know more about.

Posted by John Watts

December 22nd 2012

Dear Mr. Nicholson, I was wondering if you do or would consider doing any screenwriting for smaller indepedent companies or, as you are obviously very busy, is it only the larger production companies you work with?

William Nicholson responded:

I use my film writing to subsidise my novel writing, so on the whole I only take on film work that pays well; and not too much of that, to give me time for the books. But I have no rules.

Posted by Richard Jorgensen

December 1st 2012

Love your work. I am not a budding screenwriter and do not have an interest in these proposals other than wanting to call them to your attention. (Perhaps you can pass them on to a budding screenwriter.) 1)The story of Robert Frost and Edward Thomas, as recounted in Matthew Hollis' book, "Now All Roads Lead to France," and in a July 29, 2011 article in The Guardian. The American Frost and Brit Thomas met in London in 1913, before either of them had become recognized as a poet. They rambled the English countryside together, and their brief friendship was deep and consequential. Thomas, after much agonizing, enlisted in WWI (though he did not have to) and was soon killed in action. A dramatic hook for the screenplay: The poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which was later to become one of Frost’s most famous, was written in response to Thomas’ uncertainty about enlisting, and may have had an influence on his fateful decision. 2). The Bishop and the President. Henry Whipple, the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota, befriended the Dakota in the years leading up to the 1862 war known as “The Sioux Uprising." (This little-known war may have been the costliest in US history in terms of loss of life.) During the conflict, more than eight hundred (white) members of the bishop's diocese were killed, and Whipple was among those who treated the wounded. Nevertheless, after the war, Whipple personally lobbied President Abraham Lincoln with the result of reducing the number of Native leaders to be executed from three hundred to thirty-eight (still the largest mass execution in US history). Screenwriting hooks: 1) Whipple was “friend” to both Lincoln and the Dakota chief Taopi. 2) Lincoln examined the trial transcripts of the three hundred sentenced to hang, and wrote out the reduced list of thirty-eight with his own hand. Lincoln's judicious magnanimity was highly unpopular in Minnesota, and nearly cost him the 1864 election in that state. (He said, "I will not buy votes at the cost of a man's life.") Whipple’s advocacy for the Dakota was equally unpopular. In the archives of Whipple's Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior, in Faribault, Minnesota, is a photograph of Dakota tipi's pitched closely around the church -- an illustration of the closeness of this relationship. Thanks, Richard Jorgensen

William Nicholson responded:

I agree - both are fine stories and would make really interesting films. I'm booked up myself for the foreseeable future with existing projects, but I'll do as you suggest and speak to others. Your first suggestion is of course the subject of the current play The Dark Earth and the Light Sky.