Vol. 002: Jamie Varon & Hannah Pistoia

Jamie Varon & Hannah Pistoia on honoring your calling, social media culture, and getting older (and definitely wiser).

Jamie Varon: First of all, you’re hilarious, but you built a following by sharing original movie ideas that people reacted really well to. Was there a turning point that made you want to pursue screenwriting and turn those ideas into stories? Was that always the idea or did it happen naturally? 

Hannah Pistoia: I would say naturally. I was in my senior year of college and I had gotten an email from a pretty big agency. I hopped on a call with them thinking it would be about social media, but they asked me, “is this storytelling thing a hobby or would you want to make it a career?”. And you know, growing up, when you tell people “I want to be a writer, or a filmmaker, or an artist” they tell you to have a backup plan. So I was in college and working towards something else I was passionate about, but it never came as easily to me as storytelling. That was the moment I realized some dreams are within reach, it just takes time.

Jamie Varon: Wow, that's really cool, to have someone come into your life and kind of tap you on the shoulder and say, “hey, this is possible." 

Hannah Pistoia: It was very surreal, but something I’m learning since starting my writing journey is that I see myself in my work a lot since writing is so personal in nature. Do you find it easier to be vulnerable on paper?

Jamie Varon: Oh, definitely. I mean, I have to put it out of my mind that anyone's going to read it, otherwise I do get a little self-conscious of how it’s going to come across and then the writing loses that authenticity. But honestly, I'm kind of a vulnerable person. I'm the type of person at a party who overshares everything, you know? I don't really see that as a scary thing because, to me, keeping it all in and repressing things is what’s more poisonous. I can speak vulnerably and, when it comes to writing , that's always going to be a place to go even deeper.  

Hannah Pistoia: That's so interesting because I usually find myself being less vulnerable in person, and then I'll share something I’ve written with someone who knows me really well and they're like, "do you realize that this is something you do?".

Jamie Varon: That's why I love writing fiction so much, because I get to explore different parts of myself. And it helps me be a more understanding person as well.

Hannah Pistoia: It’s a great way to practice empathy.

Jamie Varon: What would you say made you fall in love with storytelling in the first place?

Hannah Pistoia: I started searching for an escapism at a very young age, and it came through music, books, and movies. I was always an avid consumer of all things fictional, and deep, and emotional. And I think what really fascinated me growing up was the idea of creating something out of nothing, recognizing that others also had that ability to take ordinary circumstances and turn them into something extraordinary.

Jamie Varon: What made you want to write for the screen instead of writing novels? Or are you doing both?

Hannah Pistoia: I usually work on many different projects at the same time because if I'm staring at one thing for too long, I'll get motivation for something else. Very unconventional, but it works for me. Some stories just have a lot more to say, and I can tell which ones would need that time rather than shortening it for the gripping element of TV, for example.

Jamie Varon: I love novels for that reason. I mean, you really have a lot more space to play with and truly get into the head of your character.

Hannah Pistoia: Yeah! And speaking of getting into your character’s head. I really like how in Charlie Quinn Lets Go, Charlie kind of reaches rock bottom on her 30th birthday which is a pretty big milestone for a lot of women because, even though you’re still young, society has kind of made us feel like we should have it all figured out by then. What was it like narrating such a big moment? And actually, what did being thirty feel like to you? Do you have any advice for someone like me who's in their late twenties, approaching thirty, and might be terrified of it?

Jamie Varon: While I definitely hit rock bottom, I don't relate to Charlie Quinn. It was so fun to write a character that is not me at all. When I turned thirty I was thinking and talking about all of the things I wanted to do but I wasn't actually doing them, you know? Thirty was a wake up call. I just turned forty and it made me realize there’s plenty of time, there should be no rush. All these timelines, of when you should or shouldn’t do things by, are totally arbitrary. I think too many people feel like once they turn thirty, if they haven't got it all figured out, they dial back on what they actually want. Thirty can be a milestone in the sense that it might be a beautiful time of reflection, but don’t get smaller. You should go all in even more now because you're wiser. You're more focused. Try and give it everything you’ve got.

Hannah Pistoia: I love that. I completely agree with realizing what you want to be doing, and then being like, why am I not doing this? I really hope that by then I am thriving, but also learning more about myself. My uncle has taught me that if the door is open, you run through that door until there's nowhere left to go because, when you close it, you won’t have to wonder what would’ve happened if you didn’t walk through it. 

Jamie Varon: I really do think you end up regretting the chances you didn't take. I have opportunities right now that scare me. I want them so much. It makes me very vulnerable, but I have to keep telling myself,  I'm not going to regret caring and going for it full stop and, like you said, running through the door. I'll regret that I hedged and I hesitated, and I took myself out of the game before it even got started because I was afraid. I'm sure you’ve experienced it too, when there are opportunities that feel bigger than what you can step up to and you get that impostor syndrome, and you think maybe you should want it a little less or try to, you know, uh hedge a little bit. I've always regretted when I've hedged. 

Hannah Pistoia: A lot of people, when they have that realization of not having achieved enough, they get stuck on all the time they've wasted. And I think it'd be very beneficial for us to switch to, “look at all this time I have left”. I still have this whole life of opportunity. There are so many great filmmakers, and writers, and artists who didn't have their breakthrough until way later in life. 

Jamie Varon: Absolutely. Do you ever, when you’re starting a new project, do you have any recurring fears or anxieties that come up?

Hannah Pistoia: I mean, with almost every new project I start, I freak out that I'm not going to finish it, or I'm not going to like it, or I'm not going to like where it goes, or other people aren't going to like it, just the normal stuff. All of the above. What about you?

Jamie Varon: It used to be that I was afraid of not finishing, now I know that I have the tools and the discipline. I think my fears now are more about, you know, is it going to sell? Is this idea big enough? I tend to like things that are a little quieter, I don’t write for trends. I don’t know if people will want this particular story right now. I love a good character arc. So, it's more about the business aspect of it. Less about, is it going to be good enough? I know the first draft is not going to be good enough. It's going to suck most likely, but because I've been through the editing process so many times now, I know that it’ll just continue to get better each time I work on it. But the unknown of how it’s going to be received in the world scares me.

Hannah Pistoia: You brought up trends. How do you actually feel about social media and the pressure to use your platform as an author?

Jamie Varon: I know you have really utilized social media to your benefit, which is awesome, but I don't really like to hop on trends. I don't really do that very well. I'm pretty stubborn, so I found myself being on social media less and less. I used to feel a lot more comfortable sharing my opinion and talking about real stuff, but I've noticed the tone of things has changed and people are constantly looking for a reason to be against someone. So, in terms of marketing, it’s a whole thing because what works changes so quickly now that it's really hard. You almost have to be online 24/7 to be up to date, and people don’t want to be caught being uncool, so that’s a little nerve-wracking because I'm a millennial, you know? I'm out. I'm not paying attention. I'm not online. I dream about being offline forever.

Hannah Pistoia: Yeah, I get it. It's daunting. What I've noticed is that, in recent years, it's become more about the artist and less about the art. It’s less about what's being created and more about the creatives themselves. A few years ago it used to feel more freeing to express yourself, but now it feels like you have to go on there and you have to perform. I really do admire and appreciate people who have gotten there without social media. I do feel very lucky and very blessed about the opportunities I've had through it, but the transition of not really focusing on what's being put out there is a little scary.

Jamie Varon: Oh my god. When I see an author who really only posts updates once in a blue moon, I'm just like, how did you do it? Like, we have the Sally Rooney’s of the world who aren’t on social media but they're selling millions of copies, and I'm just like, “how did you figure this out? This is amazing." Because I agree, it's afforded me so many opportunities but at the same time it is a complicated beast to deal with. What would you tell someone who's terrified to put themselves out there?

Hannah Pistoia: It's very nerve-wracking. If someone's worried about putting their stories or their art out there, I would say there is a story for everyone. If you enjoy what you're working on, there is a very high chance that out of the billions and billions of people on this planet, someone else will really enjoy it, too. Would you agree?

Jamie Varon: I think that if putting yourself out there means honoring your calling, you have to do it. I mean, it's scary. You're probably going to get rejected from time to time. You're going to get disappointed. Some people are not going to like you. They're not going to vibe with it. On the other hand, some people are going to absolutely love it. And I think that people who ignore their callings, it eats away at them. I don't want to be that. If I'm called to do this, if this is what I think about from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, I have to honor it. I'm more terrified of ignoring the calling than I am of honoring it. My fear of having these gifts die with me is greater than my fear of rejection. Also, it gets easier. The more you do it, the more you put yourself out there, the more second nature it is. You might still have fears, you might still have anxieties, but you have a well of momentum behind you.

Hannah Pistoia: I've always told myself that the chances we don't take are the loudest.

Jamie Varon: I really love when people are sharing the real stuff. You'll hear of authors who had five books shelved before they got their book deal, and for some reason we don't totally believe that they felt the same way we did. But they did, it's just some people don't give up on it. 

Hannah Pistoia: That’s so true. There are musical artists who’ve put out a record that didn’t do very well and suddenly, years down the line, it’s a hit. Suddenly, people are discovering this incredible book series that was published in 2002. It’s crazy how things come back. Art will be appreciated in its own time. That’s one thing I'll never regret, putting it out there. It’ll eventually find an audience.

Jamie Varon: I did not have that same mindset at your age, so that's awesome because, if I had, I would have started earlier. I took myself out of a lot of chances, I talked myself out of a lot of things because of these fears. But really, that's the power, you know. You don't wait for someone to give you permission. 

Hannah Pistoia: Yeah. I'm glad that you're there now. You made it there. 

Jamie Varon: I made it, and you will too.

*Original image courtesy of Nicholas Fuentes