Meet Julia Byers

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Julia Byers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Julia, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I’ve been on a long journey creatively. I finished my first novel at thirteen and spent the next fifteen years single-mindedly focused on writing more novels and trying desperately to get one published. I eventually ended up working in publishing, but never managed to get published myself. By twenty-eight, I was burnt out and honestly heartbroken. I thought long and hard about giving up on writing and creative pursuits in general. In the midst of my cute little quarter-life crisis, though, I lost both my aunt and my grandfather, and those losses made me reevaluate how I wanted to live my life.

I didn’t think my aunt and granddad would be proud of me for giving up. They had both handled challenges with such grace and such willingness to try new things and start over. I had always loved movies but had also always thought a career in filmmaking was out of my reach. With my aunt and granddad in mind, I took a risk and applied to film production MFAs. I was shocked when the USC School of Cinematic Arts, one of the best film schools in the world, accepted me.

I’m now in the last semester of my MFA and this program has revitalized my passion for storytelling in a way I didn’t think possible. My professors and classmates have been so supportive and have taught me so much. Besides falling in love with both directing and sound, I’ve also fallen back in love with writing – not just of novels, but of screenplays now too. I’ve been honored to have three of my screenplays selected to go into production as short films as part of the MFA’s capstone program, as well as getting to be part of the writer’s room for a multi-cam sitcom pilot class this semester. While these experiences aren’t getting a novel published, they’ve been just as sweet and I never would have gotten here without the resilience my aunt and granddad showed me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m in the final semester of my MFA in Film & TV Production at the University of Southern California – School of Cinematic Arts, where I’m focusing on writing/directing and sound. I’m the writer behind several short films completed as capstone projects at USC, part of the writers’ room for a multi-cam sitcom pilot class, and sound designer of a capstone film and several upcoming thesis films. After I graduate, I plan to direct a proof-of-concept short film for a feature-length romantic comedy I’ve been working on, as well as of course pursuing work in the industry.

Before graduate school, I worked in children’s book publishing and ran a nonprofit organization that supported young writers. Additionally, I once produced a play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I earned my BA from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor with Highest Honors in Creative Writing & Literature and a minor in Global Media Studies, as well as certificates from St Peter’s College, Oxford University and Columbia University.

I believe that the purpose of storytelling is to help others feel less alone. I hope my work does just that.

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?

I think the three biggest things you need to succeed in a creative field are a strong work ethic, an insatiable curiosity, and stubbornness. There are so many talented people in the world; if you want to stand out, you have to be willing to put in the extra hours to really hone your craft and your voice. There’s also always more to learn about whatever you’re pursuing and, beyond that, inspiration can come from anywhere, so having an insatiable curiosity about both the thing you’re passionate about and the world in general are key. Finally, nothing comes easy in creative fields. There are always going to be people telling you to give up. So you have to be stubborn in the face of it all. The person who succeeds is the one who keeps going. (If I can list a bonus fourth quality, kindness is so essential too! Even if you’re the most talented person in the world, no one is going to want to work with you if you treat them poorly.)

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents are both engineers, so you’d think they would’ve been disappointed to have their kid reject a career in STEM, but instead they have always been overwhelmingly supportive of my creative pursuits and proud of me even when I’ve felt like I failed. I couldn’t do any of this without them and I am so, so grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.byjuliabyers.com
• Instagram: @byjuliabyers