The Writer
About Donna
Donna writes stories that live in the space between what people say and what they mean. Her scripts are built on tension, character, and the kind of truth that makes audiences lean forward.
Background
Donna has been writing screenplays for over a decade, drawn to drama and psychological thriller for their capacity to expose what people hide. Her work is character-first — every plot turn earned through the interior lives of people under pressure.
She studied screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin and spent three years as a story analyst for an independent production company in Los Angeles, reading hundreds of scripts and learning exactly what separates a good premise from a great one.
Her scripts have placed in the Nicholl Fellowship, the Austin Film Festival, and the PAGE Awards. She writes full-time from Chicago, where the winters are long and the stories get darker.
Recognition
Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinalist
The Weight of Silence
Austin Film Festival Second Rounder
Last Light in Harrow
PAGE Awards Semifinalist
Still Water
Austin Film Festival Second Rounder
The Cartographer's Lie
Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinalist
Red Meridian
The Approach
Character First
Plot is what happens. Character is why it matters. Every script starts with a person who wants something they can't have.
Earned Tension
Suspense isn't a trick — it's the result of an audience caring deeply about what happens next. That care is built scene by scene.
Silence as Dialogue
What characters don't say is often more revealing than what they do. The space between lines is where the real story lives.
Work With Donna
Scripts are available for option, co-production, or development. Donna is also open to assignment work for producers with the right project.