Eva Todică has been a microFILM collaborator across various projects, taking on roles from story editor to screenwriter. She has been developing the limited series “As If Nothing Had Happened” with us and is now writing her feature debut “Major Drama”. Since she’s currently participating in a genre TV writing workshop, we thought it was the perfect time to ask her about her approach to storytelling.

Full Moon Creative Lab focuses on developing genre TV series: thriller, horror, and fantasy, within a structured writers’ room setting. What’s the biggest lesson you learned about writing genre TV from this workshop?

My team is working on a mix of thriller and horror, and since I’ve never worked in any of these genres before, it is quite the learning curve for me. I think the first lesson was that regardless of the genre, structure is still queen of storytelling, especially when it comes to series. The second lesson was to fully embrace the genre, clichés and all. There is a reason people love it, and you do not have to reinvent the wheel to tell a catchy and interesting story. Just have fun in the given convention.

Writing for genre often requires balancing audience expectations with originality. How do you keep a genre story feeling fresh while still giving the audience what they expect?

I think I went ahead and already started answering this above. Having original, funky ideas is the easiest part of the process, in my opinion. Making them work in a coherent story is the challenge. People love to be surprised, but it can become very disappointing if the creative elements of the story don’t work as a whole. I try to have one clear goal in mind: write an interesting story that makes sense, even if you have to kill some darlings along the way. In terms of the public, I just hope it works.  Writing for a wide audience often feels like a leap of faith – you jump and hope they catch you. If they don’t, you have to get up and try again.

You’re currently developing “Major Drama”, a teenage romantic comedy, as your debut feature film. What’s one cliché in romantic comedies that you love, and one you try to avoid?

Yes, I am super excited about this project, especially since I am doing with microFILM, a company I’ve always wanted to work with.  I grew up watching romantic comedies, and I was honestly surprised when the genre sort of went out of style. There used to be so many rom-coms in the past, and for a good reason: they’re great. The enemies to lovers plot is one of my favourite tropes in the genre, and what I play with in “Major Drama” too. But I am doing lovers, to enemies, and back to lovers again. So, we’ll see how it goes, since it is a rarer structure in rom-coms.

In terms of dislikes, I was never a big fan of the Cinderella story in the genre, especially when it is a modest, goody two shoes girl who gets with a rich man and all her life issues are solved all of a sudden. It always felt bland and superficial to me, even for rom-coms. But I can understand the appeal, of course. Who wouldn’t want a rich prince (or princess) to sweep them off their feet, given that they are also super nice, caring people and a perfect match?

You co-wrote “In the City” in a writers’ room setting, while “Major Drama” is a solo screenwriting process. How is working in a writers’ room different from writing a script on your own?

When I was writing the very first draft of “Major Drama” I would often stop and ask myself “why am I doing this?”. I wanted to write it on my own, I felt I needed to tackle this challenge, to see what I make of it. But I do feel lonely sometimes, and I do wonder how other people could enrich my script. Maybe I will not be the solo writer of this film by the end, I might still open it up for collaboration.

Writing in a team can be so much fun. Especially a comedy. If you are lucky enough to find the right co-writers, like I was with “In the City”, it can be a wonderful creative journey. Because you also get to learn so much from each other. And I don’t mean that you always have to agree, quite the contrary. We would often disagree with each other in that writers’ room, but we always found a way to come back together, to grow from those discussions. I think we had a common understanding that the project comes first, no matter what, and that helped us tame our egos. And we would really-really strive to out-joke each other, to make the room laugh out loud. We laughed all the time. For my first experience in a writers’ room, it was amazing, and it made me love the collaborative process. I think the key is to not make it about yourself, even if you are the creator of the project. Put your ego aside, it has to be about the story, not about you.  

Apart from the genres mentioned above, you also recently completed a script for a sci-fi short film. What draws you to genre storytelling at this stage in your career, and how do you see it helping you grow as a writer?

Yes, hahaha. One thing is that I do truly love genre movies, the appeal they have with the public, and the fact that we don’t have a lot of them in Romania, so I want to help remedy that. But I also like that they give me a sort of structure, a set of rules to stick to. I am still finding my voice in this career, and I want to use genre films as a learning aid. I do care a lot about all of my projects, but I know that my first films will also be exercises, a way for me to gain experience. I am trying to give myself a clear question for the exercise, and see how I solve it.