Today we’d like to introduce you to Miriam Sachs.
Hi Miriam, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a child, I was always writing. Poetry, plays, stories. Instead of paying attention in class, I wrote my ‘novel’ in the margins of my science worksheets. Short stories turned into short films when I met a friend who wanted to be a director. I wrote the screenplays, he would shoot them.
We got a crew together and made productions on the weekends, convincing our friends to act and local businesses to serve as locations. In film school, I wrote and directed dozens of short films, from surrealist arthouse narratives to comedy-musicals. I wrote a feature and a spec script, and realized I wanted to write for TV.
I reached out to anyone who knew anyone in the TV industry. I worked for a management company, a production company, a reality TV company. I worked as a PA on commercials, starting with overnight shoots in downtown Los Angeles where I was on my feet 16 hours straight night after night. I kept writing. I focused on what I could control– making each script better than the last.
I got an opportunity to assist executive producers on a TV pilot, ‘Fire Country’– my dream job. It was a story I loved and believed in. My bosses created something magical, and it got picked up to series. Three years of learning from the writers, scheduling meetings and taking notes in the writers room, and I am writing my first episode of television for our show’s season four this winter.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Finding my voice as a writer has been the biggest challenge. I think you have to write a lot of bad stuff. My first long-form script was a sci-fi feature where the characters all sounded the same. I knew it was awful, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make it better.
So I wrote the next thing. I told myself after three bad scripts, maybe I’d write one okay one. My only rule is that I have to finish the story, get to the end. Over time, it has been rewarding to watch my writing improve.
Another challenge with being an assistant in a writers room is the job instability. When the writers went on strike, I had to find other ways to make ends meet and found work as a nanny. After 6 months, we got a call on friday that the strike was over and the show wanted us to start on monday. We all had to drop everything and get back to work at a moment’s notice.
The uncertainty and volatility of the industry is tiring and sometimes scary, but it is worth the reward of telling stories every day that impact people.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I recently wrote a TV comedy pilot embedded with magical realism. It is called ‘Gal Pals’ about a queer musician who falls in love with their best friend and processes it by talking to their house plants. I also wrote a TV drama pilot about a woman who realizes she can read minds. She uses her powers to help find a dangerous stalker. More of my filmmaking and writing is on my website below.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My favorite book on writing:
Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg
Podcast:
Ear Hustle – Radiotopia
Novel:
In a country of mothers – A. M. Homes
Contact info:
- Website: https://www.miriamsachs.com/
