Creative Conversations with Samantha Strauss

Creative Conversations with Samantha Strauss

Like many, 2013 ended in a hail of hectic and unforgiving deadlines, major projects requiring immediate finalisation and the usual kids/school/work/Christmas craziness however for me, there was a shining light: an opportunity to chat with one of Australia’s youngest and most successful screenwriters, Samantha Strauss.

You’ll have undoubtedly heard about Samantha and her successes, notably writing and co-producing the ABC cult hit Dance Academy, as well as writing for Channel 10’s Offspring, Wonderland and a plethora of other screenwriting achievements such as winning multiple Logies, an Emmy nomination, and winning a prestigious AWGIE award.

You can read the full interview in Get It Magazine here (scroll through to page 36-37), and for the behind-the-scenes chat, read on….

Describe yourself in one word
Edited.

Best thing about being a wordsmith?
My work uniform involves lots of cotton lycra and I don’t have to be good at anything remotely practical.

If you could be a character in a novel, you’d be:
Harry Potter.

Is there a consistent theme or message that runs through your writing?
Yes. My characters always have a desire to live a big life and not be ordinary, which means they end up searching for outside approval when essentially it has to come from within. (I’m working on this same trait with my psychic and numerologist). I’m an idealist. I’m not equipped in examining the darker sides of human nature. The stories I’m most attracted to are about ordinary people trying to achieve extraordinary things.

Do you incorporate real life events or people in your books?
Absolutely. Like most writers I’m a research junkie and a bower bird, filing away experiences and stories to be used for future purpose. Everything in my life is tax deductible! I often think it would’ve been helpful to have some more tragedy in my childhood as grist to draw upon and am quite cross with my parents for being delightful and supportive.

Is there something we’d be shocked to know about you?
No but I should be working on that.

Favourite travel experience?
Alone on a mountain top in Switzerland. I wrote a film by day while staring at the Jungfrau. I can’t ski but I can pretend I’m Heidi and traipse about.

Number one thing on your bucket list?
Fairy school in Iceland.

Red, white, or bubbly?
None of them ever end well.

Beach or mountains?
My dream would be both.