We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laurie Lamson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Laurie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.
I was living in San Francisco, starting to transition out of a full-time video producer job, and had just produced a short film I also wrote and directed. Having made my own film and supported corporate clients with their video scripts, I was feeling more confident in my writing, and a friend suggested I start a sole prop to offer scriptwriting services. When I was read to file the dba paperwork downtown, the man at the desk said, “Jazzymae, that’s a great name. You’re going to be successful.” (Mae is my middle name and I’m kind of jazzy ; )
I think it was the same guy who told me about the city’s diversity vendor program. I attended a workshop where I signed up as a woman-owned business. (Nowadays, it’s much harder to get certified, but at the time this was all done in person and they could see that I was indeed a woman.)
Now I was in the city’s database as a scriptwriter. A couple of weeks later, I got calls from two production companies who were bidding on a security training video for San Francisco International Airport. It may be going away now, but for many years, having subcontractors in diversity categories gives a prime contractor extra points on their government contract proposals. One of them got the job and I began my first paid gig as a scriptwriter.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
With art, heart, & soul, I help my clients and colleagues tell their stories effectively.
Art = with creativity
Heart = with compassion
Soul = with depth and authenticity
As an award-winning screenwriter with a filmmaking background, I specialize in writing for the screen.
For the last 25 years, I’ve collaborated with production companies on a wide range of content for their corporate and government clientele, as well as feature films and a feature documentary. Many completed projects earned awards and more importantly, achieved or exceeded communication goals, with both style and substance.
To date I’ve written 118 produced film, video, and audio scripts for education, marketing and entertainment projects, with four more in progress, plus several of my own as-yet unproduced screenplays.
My work has served Apria Healthcare, Bain & Co, Buffalo Wild Wings, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss & Co., Union Bank, Ontario International Airport, Sempra Energy, the City of Los Angeles, the State of Texas, the U.S. Army, and more.
Scriptwriting skills serve me well in translating complex material into clear, concise, accurate and compelling copy and text. I’ve collaborated with many small businesses on their brand stories, and with an ad agency on projects for Bay Area FasTrak and USAID.
Because it was so hard for me to embrace being a writer myself, I’m dedicated to supporting creative people, positive impact, and original storytelling. I served as editor or co-editor for three anthologies in the popular Now Write! creative writing series (started by my aunt), and recently published a similar collection for actors: Now Act! Vol 1.
I also created Inner Yoga: 25 Simple Self-Care Tools for Creative People and 2026 Datebook Planner for Artists, Writers, Creatives.
For my fellow writers, I provide honest and compassionate consults and editing for screenplays and books, and have led numerous writing workshops.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
This is from the time when I was serving as Associate Video Producer and Production Manager before I started JaZzyMaE. I was responsible for helping the director with all phases, from pre-production through supporting clients through the editing process. This included joining the director on location scouts, managing all follow up paperwork and scheduling with the location, insurance, cast and crew. On location, I served as an assistant director managing the set, keeping notes like a script supervisor when necessary, and prepping next locations and lunch breaks.
I had managed video shoots before at a production company in New Jersey but the first day for this was hairy. It was hot out and I had to keep running back and forth to replenish a too-small cooler with water bottles, chasing the crew around to different shooting spots. The all-male crew let me know they saw it was a failure of good prep on my part. There were also quite displeased with their limited lunch choice – which was due to the location. As a people-pleaser, my stomach was in knots the rest of the day.
We had two more days of shooting and it seemed no matter what I did, it wasn’t right – the crew’s negative attitude toward me was set in stone. By the end of the shoot I felt emotionally beaten up.
I had to do it differently. Before the next production, I cultivated an attitude of not caring so much, not letting side-eyes and mean-spirited comments get under my skin. My new motto became, “I’m ice. I’m nice, but I’m ice.”
We were shooting indoors with a lot of extra space, so I planned a terrific lunch from my favorite Mediterranean restaurant with many. diverse options. The guys loved their lunch, but I think the shift started in the morning. Being “nice ice” helped me approach my tasks with calm confidence, and I had already started to earn their respect – before lunchtime.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Big picture: whatever the job is, my goal is always a win-win-win or win-win-win-win – for me, my client, their client if I’m a subcontractor, and their client’s intended audience/s.
Wins all around come through under-promising, over-delivering, and sophisticated creative collaboration.
UNDER PROMISE/OVER DELIVER
At that same production company, serving clients like Bank of America, Bell Atlantic, ILM, Pixar and The Gap, I was the video compression department manager before I was a video producer, and noticed a habit of over-promising and under-delivering. Our team would pull off a near-impossible timeline, but if delivery was promised an hour earlier, the client wasn’t happy. So I did that in reverse, by educating clients and managing their expectations. While my manager would promise same day service, without an extra fee, and invariably fail to deliver on time, I successfully would charge double for a 24-hour rush job, sometimes delivering early.
I applied under-promise, over-deliver to my JaZzyMaE work by requesting a week for a first draft, always delivering on-time or early. More than two decades later, I’m still writing for the same company (under a newer owner as of 2012.) Clients now write a lot of their own scripts so they only call me for rewrites or special projects, and their clients are demanding tighter timelines. Still, I’m happy to accommodate.
CREATIVE COLLABORATION
There is so much joy in creative collaboration when egos are put aside and you’re all working together on a project. That is something I love about working with that long-term prodco writing client, they are true professionals who know how to focus on making the project work and to best serve their clients.
My principles for Creative Collaboration
• Commitment
See projects through and meet all deadlines while honoring client needs and wishes.
• Communication
Everyone must be heard. Clarity saves a lot of time and needless frustration.
• Focus
Help each project shine in its own way, without imposing a personal agenda.
• Mutual Respect
Maintain awareness that clients and collaborators each contribute something of value. So do audiences.
• Win-Win-Win, or Win-Win-Win-Win
Set collaborators and clients up for success, and don’t leave yourself out. Mutually beneficial work situations are healthy and more likely to sustain beyond one project. If you’re a subcontractor, keep in mind your clients’ intended audiences for a fourth win.
Another note about reputation: you are what you love.
Working on the Now Write! book series led to me learn I have a special skill in editing other people’s writing, without imposing my own voice on it. It also led to serving as Teleconference Host for International Screenwriters’ Association for four years, which allowed writers around the world to get to know me, which led to consultation clients.
Recently I received an awesome compliment which goes to reputation: she said the way I give input is “very clean”: honest, caring, and clear, without a whiff of ego or condescension. I think that comes from all my experience with creative collaboration, combined with an endless fascination for the sacred art of storytelling, and sincere passion for empowering and supporting my fellow writers and creators.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jazzymaemedia.com , https://nowwrite.net , https://now-act.com , https://creativefreedom.shop
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurie_maefly/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauriemaefly/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazzymae/
