Ask Martyn Eaden for Mercy

Martyn Eaden is a talented, award-winning and prolific screenwriter whose edgy short thriller-romp "Mercy" took top accolade in Filmmatic's Short Screenplay Awards - Season 10. Some insight for you below from this skillful scribe.

1) How long have you been writing Martyn?

I wrote my first script around 2010. I was encouraged by an Irish writer I met at a party in LA. He was writing Man of Tai Chi for Keanu Reeves, and I was fascinated by his stories. He taught me three-act structure, story beats, and character arcs. I'd been writing music for years, so I could see the similarities: the flow, the rhythm, the themes. I wrote my first screenplay not long after that conversation.

2) What screenwriting training have you received?

None at all. I read all the books: McKee, Field, Save the Cat, and produced some shorts, but I've learned more from Pilar Alessandra's podcast than any class. What's that old Tarantino line? "I didn't go to film school, I went to films." I've always loved movies. They got me through childhood, raised me in some ways. There's definitely more money in television writing these days since streaming, but movies still feel more like home to me.

3) What writing habits work for you? Do you write in short or long shifts, at scheduled times?

I commit time based on projects. When I have something pending that needs a rewrite, or an idea that won't leave me alone, I'll use every bit of time just to get it out of my head. Then I unplug completely. I can go months without writing because honestly, it's a kind of madness that takes over. Some writers say to write every day, to set a timer for thirty minutes. I say just get the ideas out while they're fresh.

4) What is your current day job, and how does it influence your writing & project choices?

I've done everything entertainment-wise: worked at talent agencies, production offices, from guest booker on cable chat shows to the guy picking up props in his car. I've done PR copywriting, and for the last few years I've done product integration into TV. I've worked on so many HGTV/Discovery flipping shows that all the TV interior designers know me. I use my marketing background all the time. One of my stories went viral a few years ago through tricks I learned. Now when I get a new idea, I think about the marketing first: what's on the poster? What's the key image? What's the tag line? There are so many tools now that can help you visualize your worlds before you write them.

5) Our judges loved your edgy short thriller "Mercy." How would you describe the project to our readers?

It's an urban noir. It started with me trying to fix an ineffective lead character. I thought, how do I give this guy a memorable introduction? What can I do to him that's so brutal we immediately wonder what the hell happened? So I thought: what if he's shot by the mob and thrown into a dumpster? That's the first thing we see of this character. Maybe he would have bled to death if not for a junkie stripper walking past. Now he's indebted to her, but he's on the run from both the mob and the cops, and she's a world of trouble herself. It becomes a love story, the old 'two broken people against the world' dynamic. I set it in Gary, Indiana, in 1994, which was the murder capital of the US at that time.

6) How did you form the concept for "Mercy"? Is it meant to be a toe-in-the-water for a feature-length version?

It's a retelling of sorts of the first feature script I ever wrote. I had a director friend ask me to work with him on resurrecting that piece, but the original was bad. I think it was always bad. I wrote this as a new setup for the story and entered the Filmmatic short competition. Luckily, it resonated. I think maybe because it feels like a complete movie compressed into 15 pages. This win is motivating, and I may expand the story into a feature.

7) What are you working on now? What do you plan on writing in the near future?

I have a horror movie optioned called Olivia Mabel, based on a creepypasta-style meme. I wrote that with my writing partner David McClellan. It's being produced by Salt & Light Films and Ruby Modine, with the boys from Elf Tree Media, and Dakota Gorman is on to direct. I also just finished a feature script called Dawn of the Woman. It's a home invasion story set at a female empowerment retreat, but it's a comedy/horror hybrid.

8) Where would you like to be writing-wise, and industry career-wise, in 3 years?

Ideally, I'm off the grid in a log cabin. I just want to drop one banger. I don't know if I need a traditional career or even if there's much of a career to be had in screenwriting anymore.

9) Any advice for those about to write their first short or feature-length project?

Have fun with it. That's the most important thing, because the gatekeepers are real and it's hard to break in. The whole industry is shrinking. There seems to be demand for content from the outside, but there's very little stability for creators. If you're having fun writing and enjoying the process, that's the best reward, and sometimes something pops. I asked my old agent, the legendary Mickey Freiberg, what's the difference between making it and not making it? He just said: "Sometimes you get lucky." So keep going, keep creating, and stay lucky.

Congratulations once again to screenwriter Martyn Eaden, our Season 10 Short Script Awards Winner. All contact and script requests for Mr. Eaden will be forwarded to his attention. Please feel free to follow this talented writer on his Instagram!