SIX QUESTIONS WITH PAUL GUYOT

Fiction Is The Truth Inside The Lie

PAUL GUYOT has written and produced more than 200 hours of television. He served as showrunner on the TNT hit series THE LIBRARIANS. He was the Co-Executive Producer for NCIS: NEW ORLEANS -- at the time the 8th most watched series in the world.

Guyot co-wrote the Warner Brothers film GEOSTORM starring Gerard Butler and Andy Garcia, which grossed more than a quarter billion dollars worldwide. But don’t hold it against him.

He has adapted books and foreign films for multiple studios and, most recently, is producing a pair of independent feature films.

He is the author of KILL THE DOG: The First Book on Screenwriting to Tell You the Truth, which was an Amazon bestseller upon its release and is available in print, ebook, and audio everywhere books are sold.

Guyot attended the University of Arizona. In his non-writing time, he enjoys golf, cycling, mechanical watches, and has been called the Tony Hawk of making old fashioneds.

1 - Which writer who came before, do you admire the most?

Too many to list. My favorite living author is James Lee Burke. Before him, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Graham Greene. On the screen front, Tony Gilroy, Nancy Dowd, Goldman (both William and Bo), Chayefsky, John Hughes,  the list goes on.

2 - Which teacher(s) had the most profound effect on you?

A guidance counselor in high school named Kevin McGirr. At the time I was very lost. A misguided youth with a very depressing home life. It was manifesting in unhealthy behavior. He was the first adult in my life to tell me I mattered and that I could do great things. He told me I should be a writer. Before that I had no idea writing was even a job. 

3 - Besides writing, what’s your favorite hobby or passion?

Golf has always been a passion. It came very close to being my job instead of writing. I’m glad it stayed a passion. 

4 - What is something that those who don’t write fiction do not know or understand about it?

I think Stephen King’s quote, “Fiction is the truth inside the lie,” says it best. We make stuff up, but it is really all about telling the truth. People who are not writers and not even avid readers don’t truly understand that. They desperately want to figure out how we do what we do, but they can’t. That’s what contributes to the ubiquitous How-To garbage about writing. It’s an emotional act, not binary. It’s imagination and whimsey and creation. Even the most plot-driven, characterless works are still works of art. There is certainly an engineering aspect to good storytelling, but not to good writing. Writing is like painting or playing music. And unless you do it and do it deeply and regularly, it’s very difficult to understand that. 

5 - Can you think of a key breakthrough moment in your work for you that you’d be willing to share?

My breakthrough moment for my work was actually a breakthrough moment for me as a human being. It’s when I realized that I was writing the way I was living - trying to please those around me; trying to be accepted by everyone. Sacrificing myself and what I believed and inherently knew in order to be liked. And this way before “LIKE” became a social media activity. Once I let go of that - as a writer and as a person - my writing improved exponentially. As dichotomous as it may sound, one must truly let go of expectation and outcome and pleasing others in order to give themself the best chance at the success that comes from others enjoying one's work. 

6 - What’s next for you?

I’m finishing up my first crack at a novel, which has been so much fun, and I'm in the midst of co-writing a big spec feature script with a good friend. I’m also getting more into producing this year, mostly smaller indie films.