Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Claytia Gonsalves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Claytia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
You know that saying, “Man plans and God laughs?” Well, my God must have a wild sense of humor! When I packed up my life, my new hubby and our dogs in a Jeep Patriot and drove cross-country to L.A., I could never have imagined the rollercoaster journey that lay ahead. I had even planned to hit the ground running, but mostly met speed bumps instead. Choosing to be a TV writer is like deciding to be drafted into the NBA. You can’t REALLY do that! You can take all the classes, spend all the hours, write and rewrite scripts like it’s your new religion, and still, you have to be plucked from obscurity like those little green aliens in Toy Story waiting for The Claw. After 6 years and a pandemic, I did get picked, chosen to write on a show called KIFF, for Disney. I was chosen to join a room of like-minded creatives who were just as passionate about storytelling as I was. I worked in that space for over 3 years, wrote 18 episodes of TV, and shared bits and pieces of my life in a writer’s room that oddly felt both foreign and familiar. Since day one, I wondered whether I spoke too much or not enough. I wondered if any of my ideas would make the final cut. I even wondered if I wondered too much! I pinched myself as a reminder that this dream, the dream I’ve been dreaming for years, was finally my reality. “MAMA, I MADE IT!” I could finally drop the “aspiring.” I’m a whole professional writer now. And while my time on the show has ended, I recognize the blessing of being in the room and I’m grateful for the experience. Now I can let my work speak for itself. At the time of this interview, I’m a free agent with sick stats and everything. I can’t wait to see what God has planned for me next. I hope it’s a comedy so at least this time I’m the one laughing.
Claytia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a Brooklyn-born, Florida-raised film and TV writer who got her start writing for animation. I speak several languages, including Spanish, Arabic, and millennial mom. As a first-generation, Caribbean American, I went to Georgetown University to become a diplomat. As a middle child and a peacekeeper — that’s all I know. I found writing to be a path toward diplomacy that I could pursue instead. So I started in the entertainment industry about a decade ago, climbing the ladder from the bottom rung: from Production Assistant to Showrunner’s Assistant to staffed Writer. My sensibilities include comedies and dramedies featuring unlikely protagonists who challenge the status quo. I love a good underdog, someone who wows when you least expect it. Someone who gets knocked down nine times, and gets up ten. I like to think of myself as a bit of an underdog as well. I moved to L.A. only knowing one person. Now I know many, many more and they’re some pretty dope people making some pretty dope shit! My goal is to eventually become a showrunner myself, to follow in the footsteps of the ones I admire most, to share authentic stories that excavate hidden truths, and to remind the world of our shared humanity in the most humorous, offbeat, empathetic and entertaining ways possible.
Have you ever had to pivot?
If I were a betting woman, I would say that the hardest part of being a creative is “the other stuff.” It’s the non-creative aspects of life whose sole purpose seems to bog us down. It can be the soulless job that pays your bills but sucks your energy. The boss who takes you for granted. The family drama that seeps into your consciousness and consumes your joy. I’ve had to pivot several times throughout my career. I do not stay where I’m not being watered; I learned you cannot grow there. Better to establish boundaries, protect your sanity, and quit while you’re ahead. But that’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way and after many years, and many tears. Often, we stay where we’re comfortable, afraid to step out on faith, because fear is what’s holding us back. I’ve had to question that “comfort” at every inflection point in my life and I keep coming back to this quote: “A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” That’s enough for me to push off the shore, set sail, and embrace life as an adventure. Better that than the alternative, withering away along the shore.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
As a film and TV writer, the biggest reward is seeing your words come to life. Writing, itself, is such an odd process; you’re accompanied by your thoughts and the voices inside your head, and then you’re expected to structure those ideas into a cohesive story with a beginning, middle and end. The beauty of this creative pursuit is that you’re molding with clay. Everyone has access to the same tools, but every product can become this beautifully unique form of self-expression. I’ve spent countless hours working on my craft, using writing as a form of discovery. Sometimes I make myself laugh with jokes that come from inside but are just as surprising. (I was in stitches describing a character as having a “taco belly” just the other day.) I’m having fun! My work will always have my fingerprints on it and by the time it makes it to the screen, I get to take in the hundreds of other fingerprints that have contributed to the project as well. Some writers consider themselves auteurs, but personally, I love and respect the collaboration, the synergy, the kumbaya.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/claytiagonsalves/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytia-gonsalves/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/clay__enchante
- Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm9198929/
