Creative Screenwriting Magazine got up close up and personal with Wenonah Wilms – a winner of the 2018 Nicholl Fellowship 2018.  We spoke with her about her Nicholl win, why representation is important, and how her family influences her storytelling.

Screenwriters from all over the world know that the ‘Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting’ competition is the most important, and influential, of all the screenplay contests out there. And for good reason. Founded in 1986, it’s administered by the Academy of Motion Pictures and has a rich pedigree of past winners, including Susannah Grant, Ehren Kruger, and Andrew. W. Marlowe.

It’s no wonder that thousands of screenwriters vie to win one of the five sought-after spots. In fact, during 2018, nearly 7,000 scripts were submitted, one of which was penned by Wenonah Wilms.

While Wilms had previously placed as a semi-finalist in 2015 and 2017 in the competition, it was her screenplay, Horsehead Girls, that ended up nabbing the screenwriter the coveted $35,000 prize, and the distinction of being a Nicholl fellow, alongside Allison Buckmelter and Nicolas Buckmelter (American Refugee); Joey Clarke, Jr. (Miles) and Grace Sherman (Numbers and Words).

Wilms, a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, has been screenwriting since 2001 and has written over twenty feature-length screenplays. Many have placed highly in other contests and writing programs, including the Sundance Episodic Lab and Sundance Screenwriters Lab.

Tell us about your Nicholl winning screenplay

Horsehead Girls is about a Native American woman who has been a victim of abuse and forced into the sex trade as a teen. Now, years later, at a time in her life when she feels that it’s all behind her, she gets pulled back in when the same group comes back for her daughter. It’s a thriller and a revenge story but it’s also calling attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Movement (MMIWM) as it takes place on an Indian reservation. It shines a light on some very real and very current issues.

Your work is influenced by your heritage. Would you like to talk more about that?

The first script I wrote was indeed inspired by my Dakota grandmother and her experiences being forcibly removed from her reservation and family and placed in a government-run boarding school. I wrote that script 18 years ago and it’s called Beaded Road.  While Beaded Road did not directly trigger Horsehead Girls, they’re both stories that I felt compelled to write as they talk about the atrocities that continue to be inflicted upon Native American women and children. 

Modern day Natives are affected by our history and the fact that I’m writing two stories that take place 90 years apart with the similar themes means that little has changed and the need for attention, education, and resources are critical to breaking these cycles of abuse.

In your acceptance interview, you were questioned whether you were the right person to tell a story set in a reservation in which you didn’t spend much time. Discuss your personal connection (spiritual rather than physical) to the material to bring it an authenticity. 

I feel that authentic racial and cultural representation is a big responsibility. You have to be able to identify and give a voice to characters that reflect the real world with real people that you know and love. I want to honor their truth, their lives. I take that role very seriously. I did not grow up on my reservation, but I spent lots of time there during my summers. I was always welcomed and felt part of the community both as a child and now as an adult. 

However, unless you live your daily life in a place it’s hard to get a pulse on what it’s truly like. Reservations are small towns with very tightly knit communities. As a writer, you have to pay attention, listen, and understand what that community is about. There are routines, rituals, dialog, and relationships as well as the cultural, historical and political issues surrounding that community and each aspect needs to be treated with respect. 

I have the support, encouragement, and pride of my tribe. That’s my number one concern when telling our stories and I wouldn’t do it without that.

How would this story be different if it wasn’t written by you? What elements of yourself are in this story?

Screenwriters put a lot of themselves into every story they write whether they want to or not. It’s a very vulnerable, naked process and each script I write brings another aspect of my life, my personality, my relationships or my beliefs through story, dialog or theme. For this script, I used the fear that motherhood brings when all you want to do is protect your babies and something or someone threatens that ability.

The “mama bear” is real and you shouldn’t mess with her. My character knows what’s out there and she knows what she has to do to prevent her daughter from being a victim. I don’t have a daughter, but I have three sons and that instinct is just as strong. I also knew that the perspective of a Native woman is unique and being able to tell this story on behalf of other Native women empowers me and hopefully inspires other people regardless of race, gender or age to prevent this from happening. 

This story needed to be told and I couldn’t wait for someone else to write what I felt was urgent.

Is the screenplay in any way similar to what you’ve written before?

A lot of my work is about family. I started writing as a mother of three toddlers so right away my writing life centered on my family life and how that dynamic affects a person, a couple and relationships. It’s something that is very relatable and humanizing. I also love writing horror, comedy, and thrillers, so trying to blend family with those genres has been a fun challenge. This script is the culmination of that work and feels very special in my body of work and I’m very proud of it.

How has your past work helped inform and shape your writing this one?

Horsehead Girls was my twenty-second feature script, so I’ve had a lot of time to write, practice, get notes, give notes and understand myself, my abilities and where I need improvement. I used to be pretty prolific and write whatever came to mind and what I thought might sell to Hollywood. Over the years I’ve changed a lot. I am more picky with the stories I choose to spend my time and energy on and instead of looking at each one as a learning experience I look at each one as an opportunity to show professionalism, understanding of the craft, the business, and what I want to say about myself rather than what I think people want to hear.

The one thing I’ve found that has remained consistent from day one is my voice. I’m proud to say I can go back eighteen years and see that coming through my pages. I think it’s only a matter of time for all screenwriters to hit that ONE script you know is going to change you and your work going forward. 

What is your writing process like?

I start with a character with a flaw in a world filled with other characters with other flaws. I love thinking that everyone around you is just as messed up in some way and you’re all bumping into each other trying to get what you want out of life. Every character in your story matters. If they don’t, leave them out.  I figure out a goal based on that flaw and then who or what wants to make that a difficult task – really difficult. 

Then I figure out what genre this story is and what world they live in. I do this all in my head and jot down notes here and they but have never written an outline; they feel too confining for me. I know I’m probably doing this all wrong and backward, but it works for me and I’m not rocking the boat at this point.  I always try to think up scenes I haven’t seen before because the same shit over and over again is boring and unimaginative and doesn’t challenge you as a writer. Then I sit and write.

How long did it take you to write the final submitted script?

After a couple of months of having that first scene rattling around in my head and doing some research, the writing took about 5 weeks from start to finish. I tend to keep the first working draft in a state of continued editing. So my submitted script was technically a first draft.

Had you submitted to the Nicholl before?

Since 2002 I’ve submitted ten screenplays.

Take us through it. What was it like to win the Nicholl?

The best word that comes to mind is surreal. It’s something I talked about, dreamed about and kept in front of me as a goal for so long it was a feeling of complete disbelief to hear those words.  After reaching the final ten you just feel so happy to get that far you tell yourself that you’ll be good either way (and I still feel that way) but winning the Nicholl gives you a feeling of personal accomplishment that is indescribable. 

I cried a lot that first day and then off and on the next month with a mixture of excitement, fear, and pride. I knew this is where my hard work paid off and I was moving into a whole new world of even harder work. I knew the opportunities were not given to me but earned and I feel a great sense of responsibility to make the most of it and not let the momentum die. It’s everything I hoped and more.

You’ve heard a big “yes” with the Nicholl but what about the “nos” we typically face in the industry. How has that helped you? Has rejection made you a better screenwriter?

Repeated rejection is where you decide how hard you’re willing to work, learn and persist. I knew I was never going to stop writing or entering this fellowship until I was ready to give up on writing. Every “No” just means it’s not the right time, script or judge. You can’t take rejections personally which is hard because you put yourself in your writing so it’s very personal from your perspective.

You dust yourself off and look ahead. When I look back at some of my earlier submissions I understand why they didn’t make it and I’m grateful that getting rejected then lead me to where I am now.

It’s part of the process. If you let a rejection tear you down or make you quit this business probably isn’t for you.

How has your life changed since winning the fellowship?

I have an agent. I’m taking meetings with companies I only dreamed of, and building relationships that otherwise wouldn’t be open to me. I’m considering a move across the country and looking forward to working and making a career. I finally made it onto my kids’ Facebook pages as a cool mom… even if it took a picture of me next to a giant Oscar to get there. Everything has changed and I’m ready for the next step.

What is the next thing are you working on now?

Part of the Nicholl fellowship obligations are writing a brand new spec script during the fellowship year and I’m still deciding what that will be. I feel more pressure to follow up with something equally good.  Other than that my agents are working hard with a couple of my scripts and continuing to get me in front of people. I would love to work on a book adaptation or get staffed on a cool show.  There are so many opportunities to write. The gates have opened wide and my dance card is ready to go.

What’s your biggest piece of advice you would offer to someone who’s interested in applying to the Nicholl Fellowship?

I think I’ve heard this a billion times in the past month, but write what speaks to you not what you think other people will respond to.  I knew this script was good, but above that, I knew I had to write it and that passion shows in the pages. 

Get naked, tell the truth and impress yourself and people will pay attention.