How did you become a writer?

Growing up an only child on a sailboat without a TV, I was always inventing little stories and was encouraged to do so by my smart and funny parents. I was encouraged by teachers to pursue writing, and in high school, I worked in a library and a video store so I could be close to the art forms that fortified me the most: books and movies.

When I was at Occidental College, I was writing a lot of poetry and published in the school literary mag. I did readings on campus and began obsessively submitting my poetry to journals. I got over 40 poems published and it led me to get a writing fellowship at Breadloaf Writer’s Conference and a residency at MacDowell and others.  Also at Occidental, I got an internship at CineTel Films, a small production company. I read probably close to 400 scripts there and did coverage on them—writing synopses and an analyses of the characters, story, and dialogue. It was great training for an aspiring screenwriter. 

So then I was at a crossroads: do I go to grad school and pursue a poetry and academia career or return to LA and try my hand at screenwriting? 

After I graduated, I was in residence at MacDowell Colony writing poetry, then returned to doing odd jobs back in LA when my boss from CineTel, Catalaine Knell, called and offered me a paid position job doing coverage, which led to a full-time job as a development executive. Catalaine gave Quentin Tarantino his first rewrite job. She taught me about script structure, and brought me into meetings with real life screenwriters! She always reminded me to keep writing and even had me write a poem for Poison Ivy 2 starring Alyssa Milano! Not to brag, but a “Poem by” credit on Poison Ivy 2 is my first credit on IMDB.  

At that job, I met a writer named Karen McCullah over query letter who lived in Denver, and when she came to LA, we met for drinks and had a blast. We started writing a script on cocktail napkins that night. It didn’t sell, but then we decided to write another script: a teen movie based on a classic story. That led to us writing “10 Things I Hate About You,” which got us a manager, and the script found some fans in the industry like Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger. Finally was bought by Mark Vahradian at Disney. When I look back, there were lots of little “big breaks” that were strung together to equal a career.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

My high school English teacher Susan Phillips was a huge source of encouragement and empowerment.  As was the aforementioned Catalaine Knell. 

 My poetry heroes were Sharon Olds and Marge Piercy. I love The Dead and The Living and The Gold Cell by Sharon Olds.  Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin was a literary rom com novel that inspired me so much. I studied under writers like Amy Hempel, Lucille Clifton and Marilynne Robinson, and am deeply indebted to those superhero women. John Hughes, Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder are my probably my top screenwriting influences.

When and where do you write? 

I have a home office above my garage, but during lockdown I found it pretty hard to leave my bed. Recently I’ve been working in my guest room bed, which is weird. What’s wrong with me? Have I become so sedentary I find it impossible to walk downstairs?!

What are you working on now? 

My longtime screenwriting partner Karen and I just turned in a reimagining of the Blake Edward’s comedy 10 to Warner Bros, and I’m also working on a romantic comedy for Dakota Fanning at Amazon. And I’m developing a number of feature and TV ideas, including a YA animated series based on the graphic novels I co-wrote, Misfit City.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

More like procrastination to the point where then the muscle gets rusty and I have a bit of self doubt, so I have to write a bunch of dreck to push through and really reconnect with the characters and story. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

To keep going forward and not go back and rewrite the same first 10 pages over and over again.  And if somebody found a way to permanently disable the internet and can teach me how to do that, I welcome that advice and it will surely be the best advice I’ve ever received.

What’s your advice to new writers? 

Outline before you write. Ideally try to end the day with a path forward for the next day’s writing.  Set small attainable goals. Beating them will feel better than not achieving the big impossible ones.

Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith is the co-writer of the films Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s the Man. She also co-created and executive produced the Netflix series Trinkets, based on her YA novel, which has been translated into 15 languages. She co-wrote and executive produced The House Bunny and The Ugly Truth. Her first novel, The Geography of Girlhood, was based off of her early work as a poet. Her poetry has appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Witness, The Massachusetts Review and Rookie.