I started telling stories as a child, my mom writing them down. I loved making up characters, plots and problems. When I was a teen, my friend and I would spend hours writing stories about the Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series. Of course, I was the heroine and have to be saved by Illya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo. Maybe I knew then that I wanted to write movies.
I started writing seriously more than 10 years ago and decided romantic fiction made more sense than movies, hey I didn't live in LA any longer! But after much trial and error I found a great screenwriting mentor and learned (or started to learn) the structure of screenplays. He recommended that I interview for a spec screenplay that was an adaptation of a non-fiction book into an epic romance. Thus Cry of the Dove was born. Not an easy birth I might add. Working with true life characters that are still alive can be, at times, difficult.
Moving from romantic fiction into scripts hasn't been the easiest of transitions. My lectures will go into the differences of novel writing vs script writing. We'll also go into basic structure, format, details and I'll have some exercises for you.
Since this is only a week class, we'll cram a lot in a few days, but it will be fun and challenging.
Leslie Ann Sartor started writing mere minutes after she finished a particularly bad book, tossed it against the wall and uttered, "I can write better than that."
Moving from novels to scripts has been challenging and rewarding. Leslie truly believes she has found her niche, though she misses using the wonderful plethora of words that she could use when writing a novel.
Leslie has a BA from the University of Colorado, Boulder and has indefinitely postponed finishing her MBA from the University of Hawaii. She owned a business, Silverworks, Ltd., in Boulder for 17 years and is currently working at the First National Bank of Colorado on a part time basis.
Highlights:
2003 Awarded 2nd Place for Shadow Seeker script at the Paul Gillette memorial writing contest.
2001 Awarded spec contract for epic screenplay currently titled CRY OF THE DOVE, adapted from nonfiction novel MOTHER OF THE POUND by Dr. David Kazzaz.
Completed 4 Romantic Suspense Novels:
DESIGNING HEARTS
BETRAYAL OF THE TRUST (1997 CRW Heart of Rockies Finalist and 2000 WisRWA Fab 5 Honorable Mention)
DARE TO BELIEVE (2000 MRSRWA Daphne du Maurier Finalist)
DEADLY PROMISE (2001 CRW Heart of the Rockies Honorable Mention)
Leslie has finished her contracted screenplay and is pursuing other screenplay writing in various genres: mystery, romance, family entertainment, action/adventure.
