Meet Matt Doyle

We recently connected with Matt Doyle and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?

I’d love if it was just purely the desire for creative expression, but that can maybe only get me to start a piece of writing and not actually finish the many, many drafts of it needed before it’s actually approaching good. Being accountable to someone always helps. Whether that’s a producer, a showrunner, an agent, or a partner or friend. Just having someone who’s waiting on my next script is necessary for me to power through a draft. More recently, I’ve used noise-cancelling headphones and the Pomodoro method to help me focus. This breaks up bursts of work into 30 minute increments with 5 minute breaks between them. When working freelance, with no one looking over your shoulder to make sure you’re at your desk, this helps create some sort of structure to my workday.

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 a screenwriter, whose primary experience has been in television writing rooms, on shows like genre hit Wynonna Earp. Besides enjoying the privilege of making a living from making things up, the best and most exciting part of the job remains the fun of being in the writing room. You spend all day sitting around a table with other people similarly as obsessed with storytelling. It’s such a warm, supportive (and hilarious) environment to be in, and it’s really hard to go back to writing alone in a room once you’ve been lucky enough to do it.

That aside, currently I’m trying something different, as the Lead Writer for an unannounced videogame from Ubisoft. Writing game cinematics is a new skill for me to explore, but after realizing that some of the richest storytelling experiences I’d had in the last years came from the immersive world of games (the Red Dead Redemption series, for one), I jumped at this opportunity.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Getting experience in production was integral to my journey to becoming a television writer. As a production assistant, I learned the inner-workings of a show, and then later, knew how to write a script that’s actually shootable – or at least one that won’t result in the crew hating you. On that same note, kindness goes a long way, and as a boss once told me, “being a good hang.” You’re going to be spending 12 hour days cooped up with these people so being easy to be around is huge. Another skill would be the ability to move on from ideas quickly. A fellow writer once said that you can pitch an idea twice, and if it still doesn’t land, you move on. Some things just aren’t right for the show. And you’re not there to make your show, you’re there to help make the show the showrunner wants to make. This was key to being a useful freelancer on shows like Odd Squad where you’re coming in with ideas in the voice of an already-existing show. The only advice I can give to develop that skill would be to just write script after script so you get used to coming up with new ideas and saying goodbye to old ones.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

After spending some time writing on Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six: Siege I’ve been developing my ability to write for an interactive audience. Writing cinematics or game stories is both very similar to television writing, while also nothing like it. You want it to be entertaining, but it’s also not the only thing people are there for. Working with level designers is particularly fun, learning to write scenes and stories that someone will actually watch without skipping, and that will ideally make them more excited to play once gameplay resumes.