About Kathy Slevin
Writer-Producer Kathy Slevin creates compelling stories for screens of all sizes. Her work covers the spectrum, from feature films, to half-hour and hour television series, to scripted series for the web.
For ten years Kathy acted as Head of Development for Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) co-writing feature film scripts for Columbia Tri-Star Films and Carolco, and developing television series such as Walker Texas Ranger and Due South. Concurrently, she wrote, story-edited or produced comedy series’ for ABC, NBC and CBS, and dramas for CBS, 20th Century Fox, USA Network, Sony Pictures and first-run syndication. She then went on to write feature-length movies and create series for broadcasters around the world, including CBC, YTV, ABC Family, Family Channel Canada, France 3, Channel 4 UK, EM, Disney International, and more.
Known for her versatility and expertise in multiple genres and formats, Kathy's credits include comedy, drama, suspense, action-adventure, science fiction, children’s live-action and animation. As a Canadian citizen, she participates in international co-productions and has received numerous international awards for her work, including seven Academy of
Canadian Cinema and Television Gemini Awards, two Banff Television and Film Festival Jury Awards, the Telefilm Canada English Prize, as well as a nomination for Hollywood’s prestigious Humanitas Prize.
Kathy is currently developing television series in association with Lawless Entertainment, and a screenplay, O'Reilly's Run, in partnership with Mad Cow Pictures (Sydney). She acts as a creative consultant to producers, and lectures on screenwriting to writers of all levels in the Los Angeles area.
Site Purpose
The articles on this site focus on successful actions in screenwriting; my own and those of writers and producers from whom I have learned.
When I embarked on a career in television in L.A. in the 1980s, there were few learning opportunities available to aspiring writers. You learned on the job - providing you had enough raw ability to create something saleable enough to get you in the door. I had a grasp of story thanks to a background in the theatre, and a couple of connections which helped considerably.
Still, at first, like most freelancers, much of what I wrote never appeared on the screen. My work was quite deservedly rewritten by writer-producers of far greater experience. That didn't teach me much, though. Few showrunners have the skill to teach, even fewer take the time. So I created my own learning methods. As I moved from show to show working with some of the top writers and producers in TV and film, I was keen to observe the ingredients that went into their successes or, more often than not, their failures, and improved my own work through comparison and (at times painful) trial and error.
My hunger to learn eventually paid off. I developed a thorough command of story structure in multiple formats and across a wide spectrum of genres, from black comedy to science fiction - a rarity in screenwriters. I also found I had a skill for teaching. Later, as a writer-producer and "showrunner," I often shared my successful actions with freshman staff writers and took pleasure in helping them to increase their abilities.
I have mentored many writers over the years in an effort to help make their road a little easier. This blog is a summation of those advices; a helping hand for other screenwriters with a true hunger to learn.