You Asked ... Katherine Fugate, "Army Wives," "Valentine's Day"

Our February Featured Screenwriter is TV and film writer Katherine Fugate. The creator of the Lifetime drama series Army Wives – an ensemble series, revolving around a diverse group of women living on an active army base – Fugate served as Executive Producer on the show for two years.

She is also the writer of several feature films, including Valentine's Day, which opened on February 12. Additional feature credits include The Senator's Wife, The Prince & Me, and Carolina. She is currently adapting What Alice Forgot for New Regency and Fox 2000.

Fugate says she approaches the blank page by staring at it.

“The hardest part for me is to START,” she admits. ”I know once I do that I will become immersed, obsessed, my body will ache, I won't eat, my fingers will start curling up and my daughter will forget my name. Once I am engaged - I am fully engaged - and that's who I am in life, love and the pursuit of happiness.”

Fugate shares her experiences, philosophy, and expertise in answering questions from the StoryLink Community. Those whose questions were chosen will receive The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters DVD (Winner's Choice) from The Writers Store.

How do you continue to write for multiple characters and provide them different voices and personalities on paper? It's not my forte and none of your characters from Army Wives sound alike, male or female, and neither does it appear the characters do from Valentine's Day, based on the previews. Thanks for your time. It's writers like you that writers like us truly appreciate for taking the time to share your craft. – Jana

I have always been attracted to multi-layered storylines as a way to craft the portraiture of a life; however, I only just realized that I was always writing that way, over and over again, when I started looking back on my career. Even my episode on Xena had several supporting storylines of their own, with their own conclusion, as did the film Carolina. Then there's any given episode of Army Wives and now Valentine's Day and the upcoming New Year's Eve. We live in such a big world - full of separate tapestry strings that still all intertwine every day.

Think of all the people you interact with in any given day. We are never alone - and thus I find it more compelling to explore all those who walk on any given path - be it for 10 minutes on an angry bank phone call or the lover of a lifetime - we all affect each other and the next "scene" that takes place. As for providing characters with different voices, that tends to be the job - period - whether it's 2 people or 20. I find people fascinating - what they say and don't say - and through that I devise a character - we are all unique and once they become real, they sound "real" and different, simply because they are.

I was curious about any experiences you may have with military dependents for ideas evolved from heartfelt moments. It seems to be a generational dilemma. While I served in Danang with the Marine Corps, my mom back home in Las Vegas connected with the Air Force wives, mothers, and grandmothers for support. …My question would be, to what extent have you "tapped" these often articulate and colorful folks through interview, notes, and/or questionnaires? Truth has always seemed much "deeper" than fiction. - Phillip

Hi Philip. First, thank you for your service. My uncle served in Vietnam and I had him speak about his experiences to our writers' room at the beginning of Season 2. A segment of his story was used in the second episode of Season 2 when Trevor LeBlanc (Drew Fuller) had his first deployment and was trying to relay the feelings of seeing his first dead body - a buddy he was speaking to 10 minutes earlier - in his journal entries. When I was researching the series, we made several trips to military forts as well as met with the wives all over the country. Tanya Biank, who wrote the non-fiction book on which the series is based, was also a great inspiration and introduced me to many other characters to get their personal stories. It is such a rich world with so many possibilities. I am still in awe at the selflessness given to our country by our military families.

How do you manage to incorporate a message into your stories without it being obvious? Do you start with the idea/message and work from there or do you start with character and plot? - M

Well, sometimes I am too obvious and didactic, but that usually shows up when the actors speak the dialogue. I've been blessed to work with so many talented actors in my career and have learned they can say a lot without dialogue. Again, we rarely say what we mean, so looking at the body language, sensing the air between words, listening to the tenor of the voice, often sends a stronger message than the actual dialogue.

But prior to that, you still have to write the script! I always write with the intention of having something to say. I always set out with a theme. For instance, in Valentine's Day, love is still the most shocking act on the planet. When the film is over, every character witnessed or had a shocking act that was love-driven. Having a message or theme is integral to storytelling. I'd recommend writing it all out, then editing yourself if you tend to be a bit flowery and messagey - like I am.

Hello Katherine! Recently, "war films" and "military stories" like In the Valley of Elah, Stop Loss, and The Messenger have tanked at the box office. Critics and industry folks claim audiences don't have interest in war-related stories because we deal with the war in everyday news. How do you explain the success of a television series like Army Wives? Thank you. - Erik

I tend to think the success of Army Wives is because it's a point-of-view we haven't explored as much as the more traditional male-battlefield films. We stay away from the battlefield and concentrate on the home, with the women, men and children left behind and what they go through in a very insular, traditional world, knowing their soldier is out there, being shot at while they defend our country. A similar idea would be to do a movie on the wives of police officers or - and here's a stretch! – Wicked, where we saw the story from another angle from the POV of the Wicked Witch, not Dorothy. I think whenever you do that, you have a chance at success! And all the ladies are damn hot, so that probably helps too!

I know many writers use a beat sheet, while others use an outline. What method do you use when starting a new project and can you describe your process? - Sandi

I usually have to write out a beat sheet or short story version of the movie so I know the basic arcs of what I am trying to accomplish. When there are a lot of storylines, I write each one down separately on different colored index cards, then take the stacks and shuffle them together by color so they fall in the right order. Sometimes I even write 6 or 8 different "movies" on Final Draft and then cut and paste all of those in a single document when I am done. And sometimes I just go Wild West and start writing and let the voices speak, but that's usually not recommended on a deadline. Each project differs and each person finds their personal style.

I love your stories about women and courage. My question is, as a woman in what is still very much a man's profession, how did you approach the barriers, and then, how did you get over them? – Mary, Road Show Pictures

I get this question a lot and it's a hard one to answer. I have only been a woman in this lifetime, so I have nothing to compare it to in assessing if I worked more and was paid more when I was a man. It's not like answering was I hit on more when I was a blonde or brunette or redhead - and taking it from there. (Big smile.) All I know is that I have always worked and I keep showing up, so I've managed to succeed. I tend to think that tenacity, talent, and writing from the heart is what works best - and those skills are gender and race and age neutral. Good work shines - no matter who's doing it.

What's the best way for an unknown writer with no personal connection to a showrunner to market a TV sitcom? - George

The world is really opening up now where you can shoot something - even a 5 minute teaser of your pilot - and get it seen on YouTube, etc. The self-marketing aspect is exploding and I predict will take off even more and enable young talent to bypass the traditional methods. The traditional ways are still to go through an agent or contact a producer and have them read your material first before approaching a showrunner. The showrunner is not your first line of defense. He's either the creator of his own material - or he is hired to run the show - but the show has to be there first before he is brought on board. So agents and producers tend to make that happen for you first by getting initial interest and getting the project sold. Best of luck, George.

How much work goes into the story "bible?" I am very curious how much of a season, or seasons, do you have mapped out? And how much of the character work lays groundwork for following seasons? Specifically, how far out are you mapped? Or do you find that you change your path as the show goes on from the original map? – Michael

Bibles are becoming a bit ancient. With Army Wives I had the first season worked out when I pitched and sold it. However, once a series comes to life, it becomes its own living thing and often gets changed - sometimes chemistry issues, sometimes a small storyline or character explodes and gets more screen time, and sometimes a longer arc is just not working. When the actual episodes come alive, sometimes all bets are off despite a thorough bible. The middle episodes get the trickiest because you tend to know your big finale ending - so getting characters to that emotional place to pull it off is often the hardest work. The characters must do things audiences don't like - but you have to be trusted to pay it off later, so that's a real tightrope to walk.

How important do you feel it is to be living in the L.A. area prior to having any work to sell? – Randy, (Positive G)

I'm usually the bearer of bad news here, but this entire town runs on relationships and whom you know. Just like working at a coffee shop or anywhere else. You get a good table when you know the guy who works the front door. Living in LA is paramount - you meet folks, you learn the ropes, how the town works, who does what job, what people are looking for and just the overall language of how we speak, which is like any shorthand in any business - medical, legal, cops, etc. There's a way it's done by the insiders that can't be learned from the outside. You're just in it - and that's usually how you win it.

How can you decide if the rhythm of the script is okay, I mean if the conflicts arise and die at the correct time? Do you follow any method or is it just instinctual? – Ana

There are page counts you follow more closely in TV because of commercial act breaks, but most of it is instinctual, too - you really want to earn your big moments, so one of the best notes is to read your script and see if the highs can be higher and the lows lower. The middle of the road never works well. A lot of story analysts and script teachers have a lot of methods, but basically, it's all emotion. You have to be engaged every step of the way.