WOLVES AT NIGHT

Sara McDermott Jain

Sara McDermott Jain is an award-winning, produced screenwriter and internationally bestselling author. Her passion is moving readers through fear and into empowerment via the thriller and horror genres. She's also the creator of the Book to Script Course, which shows authors how to adapt their books into screenplays, and she teaches both screenwriting and novel writing at the college level.

RAINE: Why did you pursue a career in writing?

SARA MCDERMOTT JAIN: I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but if I have to dial into a central reason why, I think it’s because I believe very strongly in the transformational power of story. Our stories help us to frame our lives, have breakthroughs, and stay strong, no matter what happens. Whether someone is a reader or writer, this is a tremendous gift. Reading stories can help people better understand and find meaning in their lives. Writing does this as well, in a very personal way. Intentionally or subconsciously, we tend to write about things we’re dealing with, so while writing can be a way to build a career and entertain others, it’s also an ongoing road to self-discovery.

RAINE: What drew you to the horror genre?

JAIN: I’m fascinated by the horror genre! It’s because horror stories are metaphors for things we’re afraid of in life, things we need to overcome in order to achieve what we really want. In horror, we see people either rise up and defeat the “scary thing”—or be destroyed by it. That’s an amazing analogy for how things work in real life. If you think about the stories that have most endured over time (even going back 1000s of years), they tend to be stories with an element of horror. It’s because horror taps into a very primal place that resonates with people on a different level than any other type of story, and therefore, I think it actually offers more opportunity for growth than most other genres.

RAINE: Why did you choose to write for both the page and the screen?

JAIN: I consider both books and films to be really powerful in different ways. With books, you tell your readers, “you’re going to have an experience,” because the way they interpret and visualize what they read will depend on their own unique filters. With films, you tell your audience, “I’m going to give you an experience,” because the writer/filmmaker designs everything and then presents it as a total package. Both are super effective, but are going to engage people differently. Books were really my first love, and then I discovered screenwriting a little bit later.

As a creative, when I get ideas, they often present themselves to me as initially being a great fit for either a book or a movie. I like being able to jump into either medium so that I can deliver the story in the way I think best fits the idea, although I’m a strong believer that any story can be adapted for any medium down the line.

RAINE: Why did you develop programs to help writers?

JAIN: Writing has been such a major part of my life, and I love getting to share that with others. The first program I ever created (outside of courses taught at universities) was the Book to Script Course, showing writers how to adapt their books into screenplays. I became passionate about this once I realized that there really wasn’t a whole lot of information available on how to do adaptations. There were tons of courses on straight-forward screenwriting, but doing an adaptation is very different from writing a script from scratch, and I wanted to create the most thorough resources I could to show people how to do this. It was very rewarding when people who came through the program began to make film and tv deals of their own, so now it’s become a part of my life that I hope to offer for a long time to come.

RAINE: What is one scary thing that you’ve overcome when building your business or career? How did you overcome it?

JAIN: It might be cliche, but the first thing to come to mind is having to share my work. I think most creative people can relate! Putting something out into the world makes you so vulnerable. I think this one fear actually breaks down into several smaller fears: fear the work won’t be well received, fear that the people we’re close to might judge or mock us, and fear that our stories won’t be as good as we’d hoped. (Additionally, once the work’s out there, we can’t even daydream anymore about how awesome it’ll be—the verdict will be in!) I’ve definitely experienced all of these things, not just in my private fears, but also in reality, and a few specific ways of thinking helped me to overcome them….one is that, at a certain point, finding the people who your work WILL resonate with becomes more important than trying to avoid judgment or ridicule from the people that it simply doesn’t speak to.

Two, that if you know you’re meant to do something…if it’s a dream that has never gone away…you need to do it now, not later. Time goes by, and just by putting your work out there, you can at least continue to move forward. When we’re in the throes of a project, it seems like the end-allbe-all, but once it’s done, you don’t know what it’s going to lead to in terms of your next idea. A project that means even more to you, and which will be even more of a magnum opus, might be in your future, but you can’t get to it without getting through the others first. So don’t get hung up on everything needing to be perfect. Focus on doing the work you’re called to do, releasing it in the best way you can, and then moving forward so you can become the artist you’re meant to be.

RAINE: If someone asked you how they could stimulate their creativity, what advice would you give?

JAIN: Set a timer for just ten minutes and do something creative. If ten minutes is too hard, do five. Even five minutes will get your juices flowing. Creativity is like a muscle that you have to flex. If you never make time for it, it atrophies— but it’s always there. It just needs to get woken back up. Committing such a small amount of time removes any pressure to do anything “great,” and just allows you to have fun as you get into the swing of things. Just do whatever you can do, without expecting a masterpiece. It’ll feel good.

RAINE: What words of wisdom can you share with others on a similar journey?

JAIN: Don’t put off your creative projects. Move forward, now, in whatever small way you can. Don’t get hung up on perfection, just always focus on moving forward. Being a horror writer, my main tagline on my website is “You can’t get out of the house without facing the monster.” The house refers to whatever situation you find yourself in that’s holding you back. The monster is whatever you need to confront in order to change your situation. Don’t be afraid to do it. There’s a world of possibilities on the other side.