LOREN DAVIS
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 PictureLOREN DAVIS
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Santa Rosa, CA

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
The inspiration came from attending a concert at a local pub that featured a band “The Sam Chase and The Untraditional”. They were playing their album “The Last Rites of Dallas Pistol”. A Western theme though the story line occurs in modern day. The idea just came to me in one of those epiphany moments. (And I only had one beer the whole night.) Went home and started writing. Originally it was a short titled “13 Steps”. Tradition holds there are 13 steps leading up a gallows. (And if you ever see videos of when we hung Nazi criminals after WW II there are 13 steps as well. My late in-laws met in a Nazi labor camp as well as my father flew in that war, so I am sort of interested in such things.) 13 Steps won numerous contests in the shorts division. It held the #1 spot on the Red List for several years until the Red List went away when Coverfly was pulled.
Problem with shorts is that unless you have enough money to finance it yourself, they just don’t get made as there is little to no financial reward.
So late last year, 2025, I decided to hunker down and write it as a feature. I basically spent the winter months in my PJ’s , I’m a retired Fire Chief, and a cup of coffee glued in front of my computer.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
I originally wrote a short outline then I just opened Final Draft, typed FADE IN, and took it from there. As far as process I pretty much get up in the morning, brew some coffee, and start at it if I have a project I’m really excited about.
Burning Water has roughly 1000 hours on it. Much of that staring at the screen until my eyeballs bled. Then rewrite after rewrite after…I also have iTunes playlists I listen to that set the mood. For Burning Water I had “The Last Rites of Dallas Pistol” on endless repeat. For other projects I put together different bits of music to set the tone and pacing I think each story needs. Put my headphones on to drown out everything else and get to work.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
As I mentioned previously, I am retired so I’m not hard pressed to become a staff writer or anything like that. I don’t want to be a gun for hire but would rather build a relationship with a manager who will push different projects out as I finish them. Assuming of course they have the quality and are something production companies are looking for.
My aim is to write stories I find intrinsically interesting. Improving my craft every day. Sure would like to get something into production. I’m pretty competitive and self-driven so once I do, I’ll keep pushing for something else.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
Full script. I don’t enter anything until it’s pretty much complete with rewrites expected after receiving feedback. I really like the feedback Wiki provides.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
Well, since I’m here due to my Western screenplay let’s use that genre: “The Searchers”. Close decision with “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”. Several reasons: We see Ethan (John Wayne) reform somewhat. Yeah, not totally but at least he doesn’t kill Debbie, his niece, towards the end. But in the final scene, we see him walk away and the door closes, societies rejection, on him. Brilliant opening and ending framing scenes by John Ford. We also see a look at a projection of daily western ranch life of that era. Whether true or not is another matter.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Love your story. Love each character, even if they are the most vile, evil incarnate of a human ever. If you want to see what I mean by that last watch “Downfall” (2004). Last days of Hitler down in his bunker. One of the most evil persons in modern history and it is so well written and superbly acted by Bruno Ganz, you actually feel for the murderous b*****d.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I have another project, Whippoorwill, a one-hour psychological-thriller pilot, that I was developing and won a few awards with before I set it aside and started Burning Water. I’ll likely get back to that in the next few days. That is also based on a short I wrote a few years ago.
I have two other features I have been working on over the years.
1) “Remembrance Road” This is about a woman whose USMC fighter pilot father is shot down over Vietnam and unrecovered when she is a child. Years later, grown up and a medical doctor, she goes to Vietnam to try to find his crash site and recover his remains. Of course this journey is filled with danger and conflict.
There is a similar documentary that came out a few years ago titled “Blood Road” following a woman who did similar and found her fathers crash site. Her story is documentary while mine is drama. (I have been wearing a POW/MIA bracelet for over 40 years for a USMC pilot who was similarly lost. I often wonder what it is like for a child, now grown up, to not know where their father rests.)
2) “Terminal Mission” (I originally came up with the story idea and title back in 2013 while I was fighting the Rim Fire in Yosemite. Now that there is a series by a similar name, I’ll likely have to rename it.) Standard revenge story. Open on a Delta team hunting Bin Laden before the battle of Tora Borra. Things go south, our protag is injured and saved by his best friend and teammate. Twenty years later hero is now retired out of CIA and enjoying life in Northern California. Buddy, still active duty, is killed in a terrorist attack on an airliner. Hero is brought back by CIA to track down terrorists. Finds it’s Pakistani and Russian arms dealers behind it and a larger event is coming… Scenes track from Afghanistan to Northern California, to CIA headquarters, to Atlanta, to Las Vegas, to Moscow. (This was written before Russia attacked Ukraine so will likely have to change that last locale.) (I have friends who are retired special forces who helped me write much of the first act.)