Meet Gary Dover

We recently connected with Gary Dover and have shared our conversation below.

Gary, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

A: For the past 21 years I have been writing screenplays. It has been a journey similar to the one mentioned by Christopher Vogler in a “Writer’s Journey.”

I never intended to write movies, it was by sheer accident.

Years ago, I noticed an article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal that Red West had opened an actor’s studio in Bartlett. I was an environmental sales representative at that time, traveling the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico selling fume hoods to laboratories. I asked my boss if they would pay for the actor’s workshop. I felt it would give me more polish as a professional salesperson, since selling is acting, to a degree. They gave me the green light.

After meeting with Red he felt I should be in the advanced class for actors. Why? I do not know. Maybe it was due to my positive attitude or my background in selling. I will never know. I was a terrible actor! I had no range except one…I could play a “red neck” sheriff with great skill. I couldn’t remember my lines. As an actor, I shamed the profession.

During this time, I noticed that I liked reading scripts. I started tinkering around with them at home. In fact, I wrote some short scenes and presented them to Red. He liked them and told me I should pursue screenwriting. He didn’t have to say I was a horrible actor, I could see it in his eyes. To testify to that fact, Red made videos of our acting. I still have a copy of that VHS tape. Every now and then I will show it to relatives and friends as a gag. Without a doubt, everyone agrees that my acting skills were beyond horrible.

So, I delved into the world of screenwriting. I had no idea what I was doing. I joined a local writers group. I listened and learned. I camped out at Barnes and Noble to read all the books I could on screenwriting. For hours and hours I would sit and read hoping to make some sense of it all.

Finally, I took the plunge and started my first draft of a screenplay I called “CABINCONTROL” – an action story about drug dealers using souped up Mustangs to deliver marijuana across the state of Tennessee. Sort of a “Thunder Road” meets “BLOW.” I worked for hundreds of hours on that script. Like a fool, I sent it to producers and agents. It garnered over fifty reads, and fifty rejection letters. I simply wasn’t ready. My writing was not up to par. Since I was a professional salesperson, I could handle rejection. I kept on and on for years learning the craft of screenwriting. I’ve now complete

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

A: Usually I come up with an idea and my wife and I kick it around. Carolyn is very good at looking at an idea and letting me know if it sounds like a worthwhile project, and whether I should spend the months required researching and developing. I do the draft and create the skeleton for the story. Carolyn mainly edits and improves the dialogue. You could say I’m the creative partner and my wife is the realist and brings the story back into focus. Sometimes I go off on a tangent, and Carolyn brings me back on topic.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

A: We basically work independent of the other. I write. She reviews and edits. If we run into a scene that is not working we take a break and come back maybe a few days later. We look at the issue, and if it still persists, we delete the scene. If it’s not working for her, it probably will not work for the reader/audience.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

One of my first screenwriters that I became familiar with was Bill Martell. He writes action screenplays. I loved reading Jules Verne when I was a boy, and later Michael Crichton as an adult.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Movingonfilms.com

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Flesh Off The Grill
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The Triton Expeditions
The Garbage Man
A White Knuckle Night
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