Questions for Tracey Jackson, Screenwriter, “Confessions of a Shopaholic”

For the month of February, Storylink asked it’s readers for questions for Tracey Jackson, a working screenwriter whose credits include “Confessions of a Shopaholic”, “The Guru” and “The Other End of the Line”. Here is the resulting interview from the questions selected:

…I think what separates really good writers from merely good writers is their voice. And the “voice” is something that cannot be taught or learned. It is the unique way you see and hear the world around you and then through that lens tell your stories. The reason people talk about it is it is what makes a script “pop” – the reader says “Wow, this is unique.” In terms of my voice I would say it is a slightly cynical, yet optimistic, humorous voice. I hear dialogue in my head and it sounds like music to me. I know no other way to describe it. It is honest at all times and I am willing to say things that some people are not. I think that is my voice, but you could ask five people and they might give you another response.

The themes I tackle have varied in my career, as the stories have to interest me on an emotional level and things that interested me at age 30 do not interest me at 50. But the one thing they all have in common is I am deeply drawn to characters who are in their own way, and their journey is one where they learn to get out of their way and see the light. I am interested in the absurdities of life, yet, they always have to be grounded in emotional reality. I always think about these things when I approach something. Is this a story I can tell from my point of view? Is this a story that means something in the bigger picture, even if it is packaged in the form of a comedy?

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