Special Skills
Screenwriter Beth Szymkowski discovered that her experience as a
journalist not only enhanced her writing and editing skills, but also intro-
duced her to diverse people, stories, and voices. It taught her to accept
criticism without being discouraged or offended, and to use it as a tool to
improve her writing.
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
Sometimes Szymkowski wishes she had realized that she wanted to be
a screenwriter when she was still in high school, so she could have gone
on to film school, but doubts that she would be the writer she is today if
she had not taken a circuitous path. That pathway provides the depth of
life experience that her writing draws upon.
Professional Profile: Beth Szymkowski, Screenwriter
When Beth Szymkowski discovered screenwriting, she found her
passion. A Philadelphia native, she initially studied computer science at
Duke University before switching majors and earning a bachelor's degree
in English. She went on to get a
masters degree in teaching in
1992, but then discovered she
did not want to teach. For a
time she worked in retail, and
then took an internship at a
weekly newspaper in Durham,
North Carolina. "I always
knew I wanted to be a writer,
ever since I was little. I liked
writing short stories . . . When
I got out of college it seemed
too much of a stretch. I was too
scared, basically. I wanted to
get a job where I had security."
The internship led to a job
with The Sanford Herald, a small
daily newspaper in Sanford,
North Carolina. Newly
married to up-and-coming cin-
ematographer Clark Mathis,
the couple decided to relocate
to Southern California in 1994,
What do you like
least about your job?
"What I like least is the
uncertainty of it all;
the feeling that I'm
working hard, but that
it might not come to
anything. It's not like going to school to be
a nurse and you become one. You could
write and still not get the big payoff at the
end."--Beth Szymkowski
What do you love most
about your job?
"I like the writing process. I like being able
to make up stories--that's what I love the
most about it. I can sit down, blink, and ten
hours have passed because I get so involved
with the characters and what I'm
writing."--Beth Szymkowski
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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