Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – Those of you that follow this blog know that I’ve been working on two Zambian films for the last year. While in Zambia, I started journalling again. That led to creative writing, mostly poetry for a couple months. Of course, that led back to one of my favorite writing forms: screenwriting. I realized that I’d been screenwriting for almost two decades. It didn’t even seem possible. Over the years, I’ve written with a few writing partners. I like bouncing ideas off another person and bantering the dialogue around. It’s just the nature of the beast. I like working with people. That’s why film was a natural art form for me.

When I first investigated screenwriting as a career, I thought I’d move to LA and become part of a writing team on a situation comedy. Then, Alec was born and I opted to remain in the Valley. Teach and do the indie film thing. Sitcom writer/Show runner Ric Swartzlander (husband of former Phoenix news anchor Cater Lee) shared the intricacies of writing as part of a team. I learned a lot from him. Now, I’m working with a new writing partner. As is often true in the beginning, it can be a bit rugged getting used to each other’s styles.

As a side note, Ric has a new show coming out this fall called NEWS. It’s about the crazy goings on at an Arizona news station. It stars Barry Bostwick and Rachel Boston. I’m looking forward to seeing it.