Meet Hope McPherson | Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hope McPherson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hope, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In his book, Wishful Thinking, author and theologian Frederick Buechner wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Throughout my life, the work to which I’ve been called — even before I could read and write — is creating and sharing stories. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University with a degree in English, I saw that call evolve into freelance writing for magazines and newspapers. Freelancing then evolved into working in a communications department for many years.

That steady communications paycheck gave me a chance to freelance on the side *and* pursue screenwriting. I wrote my first “screenplay” as a tween and kept at it throughout college. I’ve since stepped away from the communications gig to focus on deepening my screenwriting chops. Screenwriting is, indeed, where I find deep gladness — especially when I can take unsuspecting characters and put them through the wringer.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The best magazine editor with whom I’ve ever worked once told me that writers are servants: Our job is to introduce readers to the unique individuals being profiled. It’s not our job to be front and center.

Early in my career, for example, I introduced readers to a Hollywood wrangler, mystery writer Dick Francis, Americans in arranged marriages, ghost hunters in the Pacific Northwest, politically incorrect cartoonist John Callahan, and Captain Kangaroo.

Humans are fascinating and mysterious and, well, very, very human.

I love “standing behind” said humans and shoving them into the spotlight.

And screenwriting has allowed me to take the lessons learned in journalism and translate them to the space between “FADE INs” and “FADE OUTs.”

Keep things brief, jettison fluff, and value editors and producers. Even if a critique or rejection stings, I can learn and grow from it.

Concrete lesson learned? Listening to hundreds of taped interviews has taught me NO ONE speaks in complete sentences. You want to improve your characters’ dialogue? Tape a few conversations with family or friends and listen back a week or so later.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Good question!

If my friend wants to hike, I’d recommend either driving to Mount Rainier or taking a ferry across the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula. In fact, I recently recommended hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest on the Peninsula to a niece coming in from back east. Fun fact about the Hoh: It was an alien moon in the 2018 independent film, Prospect, with Pedro Pascal.

I also highly recommend the amazing bonsai garden, Elandan Gardens, in Bremerton. Some of their trees took root when de Vinci was in his prime.

If staying closer to Seattle, I recommend visiting Pike Place Market. That’s always a winner and a great place to find local arts and crafts. Order your latte in the first-ever Starbucks while you’re there and add a piece of gum to the Gum Wall, which is gloriously disgusting, The Seattle Aquarium is walking distance from the Market on the Seattle waterfront, which has lots of other good stops. I love ducking into the antique warehouse while down there, myself.

The International District is within walking distance, too, so once we’ve logged several thousand steps, we’d head up there for dim sum, pho, or noodles.

And, of course, most of my visitors come first to visit my little farm, which includes four goofy goats and an imperious llama. My wild neighbors (caught on game cams) include coyotes, rabbits, racoon, opossum, bobcat, river otter, deer, and bear.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh, yes!

I am so fortunate to have the support and encouragement of the talented screenwriters I’ve met through ScreenwritingU, founded by Hal Croasman. Just some (i.e., the tip of an iceberg of talent) include Hal and his wife, Cheryl, as well as James Ridgley, Rebecca Ann Dowty, Julie Umbreit, Ferdinand Gernandt, Farrin Rosenthal, Jamie Stegner, Tina Field Howe, CJ Knapp, Gregory Kauffman, Scott Fickas, Richard Senne, and many, many more.

Website: https://pawprintsprod.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hope-mcpherson/

Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Hope McPherson