Fortune is notable because it gave me the largest explosion I ever got. They
blew up an old sewage treatment plant--it was spectacular."
After the show was cancelled
he returned to freelance writing,
then served as executive story
editor for the final season of
Walker, Texas Ranger, and
resumed work on speculative
scripts and other freelance
work.
"If I had to list all the
people who have helped me
or contributed to my career in
one way or another, we'd need
another forum and much more
space. But I'd be remiss if I
didn't mention John Hawkins,
a mentor to my mentors.
He was a very skilled and
unselfish writer and I miss
him very much. I learned an
awful lot from him about
writing and life.
"I don't know that I ever
wanted to be a writer. The
craft was something I learned,
partly by exposure and
osmosis. To be truthful, writing
chose me more than the other way around. I did it because I knew how
to do it and I knew one could make a pretty good living at it. Finally, in
the last few years, I've come to love it. I really wouldn't want to do any-
thing else."
Job Overview
The screenwriter creates the characters, devises the plot, invents the
dialogue, and writes the screenplay.
JOB TITLE: SCREENWRITER, WRITER
"My father told
me very early: `Don't
tell me what you want
to be-- tell me what
you want to do!'" With
that advice in mind, Sandefur tells people,
"I write."
"It's important-- no, it's critical--to
listen to people speak. Like fingerprints, there
are no two speech patterns that are the same.
Characters should always have a unique
voice of their own, and it helps immensely to
be able to remember bits of speech from life.
Stealing from yourself, from your memories,
is a huge part of writing, especially in dia-
logue. Dar Williams wrote it in a song: `. . .
stealing from myself, it's what I do . . . '"
--Duke Sandefur
[Finishing a script is] "like gestating a
baby, then throwing it to wolves. If one is on
staff, then one plays the role of the wolf
too."--Duke Sandefur
CAREER TIPS
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