Remembering Bettina Gilois (and what writers can learn from her work)

“The opening line of your work should hold within it the germ of your entire idea. Attention spans are growing ever shorter. Grab your reader while you can.” – Bettina Gilois

Bettina Gilois (1961-2020) was an award-winning screenwriter and author who worked in Hollywood for more than thirty years. Her screen credits included McFarland, USA and Glory Road.

In this rebroadcast episode of Deviate (which originally aired in July of 2019), Bettina and Rolf discuss writing about real people (4:00); Bettina’s career path and the importance of perseverance (24:00); the importance of simplicity in storytelling (41:00); why certain stories are worth telling (56:00); and the craft of writing (1:15:00).

Notable Links:

• Bettina’s Chapman University page (includes links to craft-advice essays)
• Thomas Kinkaid (painter)
• Billion Dollar Painter, by Bettina Gilois (book)
• Andy Warhol (artist)
• Talking Heads (band)
• Ari Emanuel (talent agent)
• Twister (film)
• Robert Durst (real estate heir)
• Rick Hall (record producer)

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The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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