Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to James “doc” Mason. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

James “Doc”, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

I’ve written a textbook for writers that explains the process for describing an entire story in a single sentence. The book breaks down eight different elements of a story that will be represented in that single sentence. Identifying these individual elements will give the writer a better understanding of their story. This can give the writer added confidence when pitching to an industry professional. This single sentence will also work as a diagnostic tool when approaching the next rewrite, allowing the writer to identify those elements that are not working or simply absent.

James “Doc”, 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?

It’s not unusual that I loved watching movies as a child. More unique however was my weekly obsession with the back of the TV Guide, going through very brief descriptions of the movies. I remember our family getting HBO as a set top box in 1977. Rocky was playing on near constant repeat. It came with a glossy little monthly movie guide — with pictures! Flash forward to the early 90s, fresh out of college studying the art of advertising, I was working at Blockbuster Video where I had to share my passion with other patrons as briefly as possible. I found myself researching movies, burying myself in Ebert’s Movie Home Companion and VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, filled with lists and very brief descriptions of movies. It wasn’t long before I struck out on my own, opening a neighborhood video store specializing in less-popular movies that I could recommend! The next step seemed obvious: film school.

One of the other students called me Doc. Was it for my love of poker, or my love for helping other students write their scripts? Yes. When I directed my first feature, I realized that directing wasn’t for me. I decided to focus on my children. To put it another way, their mother preferred that I get a job with a dependable paycheck. Thus I had to tap my education. I went to work for an ad agency. Writing never left my blood. I would write a little every day. In the next decade, in addition to the kids and job, I still found time to write more than a dozen feature scripts. And I discovered the importance of the logline, a brief description of a movie. Now this is something I knew about!

I started hanging out on a Facebook group dedicated to helping people learn how to write loglines. We used Christopher Lockhart’s essay as a guiding light. Mr. Lockhart is the senior story editor for WME, working with A-listers like Denzel. He was and is known as the logline guy. But his brief guide was written from the analyst’s perspective. Over time, I became an admin and I started to develop a process for writing the logline, one that would go on to become the basis for my book, Mastering the Logline. Christopher Lockhart was one of the very first people to read the finished book, and was generous enough to write the foreword.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Over the years I have found my happy place helping others to tell their stories. In addition to the logline forum online, I run a writer’s group where the primary purpose is lifting each other up. We’re all learning together. Helping others built both my experience and my reputation. I have been very lucky in that other creatives have wanted to work with me. Collaborations with good people are always gratifying, if not financially rewarding. These collaborations started small and have gradually gotten larger and larger. One might say reputation is a result of attitude plus experience. It takes an eagerness to learn and willingness to do the necessary work. It also helps that my process of collaboration leads to quick results.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Early on in my career, I was working with a producer who “hired” me to write a script, for free. I thought we were both on the same page, story-wise. What I delivered was admittedly not perfect. It was a quick first draft. I expected notes that I would incorporate, gladly. Instead, I was “fired.” He told me it was the worst piece of crap he’d ever read and that he was “literally on the floor crying”. His tirade was not rated PG-13. Hollywood can be brutal.

It was one of three devastating gut punches that came in quick succession. The first script I wrote had been optioned, but was put in turnaround. I directed my second script. The experience was bad enough to convince me that directing wasn’t my bag. So this producer’s reaction could have knocked me out. But it didn’t. Instead, these three gut punches defined me.

I realized then that what I really loved was writing. But I needed to learn why a story worked or why it didn’t. My goal became to write stories that challenged me as a writer. I realized I didn’t want to write cookie-cutter stories with formulas. I wanted to explore characters who struggled to connect with others and I wanted audiences to feel deep empathy for these deeply flawed characters. I found my voice!

However, if I wanted to avoid a repeat of the producer’s reaction, it wasn’t going to come from great writing alone. I would need to figure out a process of collaboration that would get me on the same page with other writers, directors, and producers. Writing great loglines became an integral part of that process.

Thank goodness I had a job at the Ad Agency that allowed me the time to pursue this without financial pressures. This is another reason why I love to help other writers. Not everyone is as lucky as I have been.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.masteringthelogline.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/screenrioter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/screenrioter/
• Twitter: https://x.com/screenrioter