Name: Sylvia Dahlby (Level 5)
Join Date: 8/3/2007 5:52 PM
Last Active: 5/14/2013 11:22 PM
Forum Posts: 638Contests Entered: 20
Votes Received: 721
Entries Reviewed: 1241
Location: Hilo, Hawaii
Biography: In a previous life, I was an advertising copywriter, most of my clients were high tech mfg companies that developed weapons, satellites, and telecommunications. I've also done stringer work for newspapers and magazine articles mostly in the music industry, had a number of editorial essays and short stories published. At heart, I'm a poet but never found a way to make that pay.
I collaborated on a screenplay in 2004, that was my first work of fiction - and I was astonished by the JOY that I found in writing it, and horrified by my lack of knowledge & skill in the screenwriting craft. So I joined the Arizona Screenwriters Assn, the Independent Film Project/Phoenix, and numerous online communities to I could learn, network, and have fun in my newfound passion. I also took some classes, purchased a couple of DVDs, but have yet to make it to the LA Expo.
Now every free minute that I'm not slaving away at my day job (I market and sell software for a living which involves a lot of travel), I've been feverishly working on reinventing myself as a screenwriter. I've written three features (including one musical comedy that I'm pitching as a stage play), numerous shorts only one of which has been produced, and currently working on another stage play.
I'd like to novelize my first script someday, but that's on the way back burner (actually it's in the fridge).
One of my features is in production as a Role Playing Game (RPG), and made its debut at www.carnagecon.com - I have a partner in this endeavor and because the game was well received at the convention, we're working on packaging it to pitch to game development companies. I'm also rewriting the script so it's a little closer to the game (we made changes to fit the gaming format that make for a better story).
As a former copywriter, I especially enjoy writing shorts because it's similar to an advertising project: you get a finite "space" limitation and set of criteria, and a deadline.