We recently connected with Zena Dell Lowe and have shared our conversation below.
Zena Dell, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
There’s nothing worse than trying to give feedback to someone who is defensive. The best artists are the ones who are open to learning, who don’t have a chip on their shoulder, who seek to listen and understand, rather than defend and explain. The best thing any artist can learn is how to receive feedback well and what to do with it to improve as an artist (rather than become angry and bitter). Everyone has an opinion. Learn how to navigate with grace and you’ll go much farther.
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.
I’m a writer for hire, but I’ve discovered that I’m an even better teacher. I help writers improve their craft. I’ve been teaching novelists and screenwriters as an adjunct professor for 20 years at Covenant College in Georgia, and at writers conferences all over the country. In 2020 I launched The Storyteller’s Mission podcast and online platform, where I teach advanced classes and techniques on craft, coach writers of all levels, and provide professional script and manuscript critiques. I seem to have a knack for taking advanced concepts and breaking them down into actionable, practical steps to help writers write. I also like looking at worldview and mythology, and seeing how that plays a major role in the stories we tell, and how we choose to tell them. My latest course is in its beta phase, and is called Hollywood Story Structure Made Easy. The idea is to break down story structure for novelists and screenwriters so that they can actually complete an excellent and solid first draft, and so that they learn a practical approach to story structure that will help them be able to repeat the process over and over, preventing them from ever getting lost in story again.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes. I have primarily worked with writers coming from the faith-based community. These writers have great intentions, but they have generally failed to learn how to write a great story because they tend to be focused on the wrong things. They regard a story as “good” when it lacks sex, language, or violence, and seek to sanitize what their audience’s consume. In so doing, they often lie to their audience, or fail to represent the truth about humanity or the world as God actually created it. I have sought to change the way that faith-based writers approach art. I want to get them away from message driven propaganda, and help them return to the basics of just telling a great story about a character who has a personal crucible they must go through to change. All of my podcast episodes and courses are undergirded by this desire and goal. I believe in the power of story on its own to change and impact the hearts of people. A good story is sufficient.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
As a creative, we have to constantly pivot. That’s the nature of the business. I have written screenplays, articles, comic books, essays, social media content, marketing materials, documentaries, short stories, and more. I have also played a variety of roles and held a variety of positions. The key is to use one’s skills and knowledge to make a living. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we’re willing to humble ourselves and simply help tell the best story we can in whatever capacity we’ve been given. Pride is a killer. But you can’t be a doormat, either. It is a tricky realm to navigate. But I find that the artists with the most success are less concerned about who gets the credit than about contributing to a great story. Most of the time we need to get out of our own way, and stop assuming “they” are out to get us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thestorytellersmission.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestorytellersmission/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellersmission
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zena-dell-lowe/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/STMCommand
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thestorytellersmission8256/videos
Image Credits
Notarius Photography