Today we’d like to introduce you to Lawrence Wood.
Hi Lawrence, 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?
I began my writing career in medical school. My friend, Thomas Watts, was the editor of the Meharry Medical School newspaper. After talking with him about my aspirations to be a writer, he encouraged me to submit a poem to the paper. I did and it was well-received. The woman in the poem was a fictional character and the most common question was, “Who is the woman?” At that moment, I realized that I could create believable characters. I continued to write poems though my real goal was to write movie scripts.
After graduation, my life was dedicated to medicine, though I continued to write occasionally. Once I retired from the Navy, my wife, Vanessa, encouraged me to write. It was therapy for me, in light of the fact that I was depressed since I was not able to establish a private practice like so many of my colleagues. Writing was what I needed, but I still needed to figure out what to write about. The story which continually stuck with me was about a homeless man I encountered as a child. We called him “John, the bum,” but none of us kids knew his real name. We didn’t know any of the details of his life, nor did we care.
However, as an adult, I wanted to know what his life might be like. I had long since left New York and “John” had likely died since he was an elderly man when I knew him. I set out to fill in the blanks of my knowledge of John. I talked to homeless people, trying to form a picture of the man I had mistreated as a child.
It became obvious to me that it was his story I needed to tell. The story for my benefit, in that I was finally making John human. He didn’t seem that way to me as a kid. The more I wrote, the more I was compelled to not only right my own wrong attitude toward John but to educate others. The result was my first crime novel, “Among Pigeons.” Followed by its sequel, “Love and Death Among Pigeons.”
In the following years, I was able to adapt the first book into a screenplay with the help of my producer friend, Gina Robinson of YLP Media. At one point, my wife and Gina were brainstorming ways in which to bring attention to the novels. We tried a number of things; then we decided to film a trailer for the book, “Among Pigeons.” We gathered our money and shot a 5-minute trailer and a 2-minute commercial.
It was the commercial which caught someone’s attention in Hollywood because it had reached the Emmy Contender level with the Television Academy. Since then, we have been in pre-production for a television pilot, “The Featherman,” based on my novels. We are looking forward with eagerness and great anticipation to start production next year. It’s been a long journey which started in 2010 when the first book was published.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life is not smooth, so any endeavor reflects the ups and downs of life. The journey from book to screen is not any different. Writing a book for the first time was difficult. I didn’t know how, but the words came when I decided to adhere to 2 principles: 1. visualize each scene, then describe what I saw. 2. Write as if I was describing a movie. Vanessa learned how to edit and we trained ourselves about media presence. By the time “Love and Death Among Pigeons” was published, we still didn’t know much about advertising. We tried every avenue we could afford – social media, newspaper articles, billboards. Finally, we decided to film a trailer.
We learned the business of producing a short film from Gina, formed a production company, Productions2BE, and we were on our way. We were contacted about the commercial and had to put up money to become part of the television pilot production team. That put us in a financial bind, but so far we continue to advance toward production. We have been in pre-production for three years! Part of the delay has been due to the pandemic.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I began writing poems, the rules seemed to be very forgiving regarding how I wrote or how I said what I wanted to say. Once I decided to write a book, I had to learn how to describe things in detail when all I wanted to do was gloss over a scene. However, my dream was to be a screenwriter. My lessons began with Gina. Because I love to learn, I read everything I could put my hands on about writing screenplays. I paid for online and in-person classes. I like the fact that I’ve learned so much about writing screenplays. I know the basics, but now I want to learn to be an exceptional writer. I will begin a year-long mentorship program with the Writers Guild Foundation Veteran Writers Project, which will make me a better writer.
With all that I have written, I realize that my consistent theme is the dignity of all people. I want to entertain and teach others to treat people with respect.
I’ve learned so much from a man whom I hated as a child. John has been my constant muse, my fellow writer, my guide, my raison d’etre. Funny how life works. A man I once hated turns out to be one of the most important and inspiring people in my life.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I wrote my crime novels to help the reader go to a place they may not be willing to go by themselves. I want them to see a class of people who are ignored, overlooked, demonized and help them see the homeless from a different perspective. I want my readers to see the humanity in everyone they encounter. It’s important that people be slow to judge others and get to know another person, not based on a label, but based on personal knowledge of that person.
We don’t know most people’s story. We certainly don’t know their heart or motivations at first or second glance. It is my job to illustrate someone else’s story. If someone doesn’t take the time to get acquainted with another human being, maybe they will. at least, watch a movie or tv show to help fill in those gaps.
Contact Info:
- Email: mr.lawood@gmail.com
- Website: lawrenceawoodmd.com
- Other: imdb.me/lawood
Image Credits
Peter Lang, Veterans in Media and Entertainment, Sharma
