A Brief Interview with Nicki Holcomb

You were a writer on Supergirl and Gotham Knights and recently you’ve been writing great stories that you’ve shared on podcasts. How have those experiences informed your recent fiction writing?

Funnily enough, I was a fiction writer long before I ever started screenwriting! I've been writing short stories since I was a kid, and I also studied them in college, whereas with screenwriting I've been much more self-taught through fandom and random classes here and there. What changed after I learned how to write TV is that I became absolutely obsessed with conciseness, and I mean OBSESSED. So sometimes I have to turn off that muscle in order to get in the right headspace to write prose. But that same instinct for conciseness comes in wildly handy when I go into editing mode, for both mediums.
 
I think of you as a big Taylor Swift fan. It’s been almost two years since she signed a deal with Fox Searchlight to direct a feature film. What kind of movie would you like Swift to direct? And if it’s rude of me to even ask that, I just pray the Swifties don’t find this.

Honestly, what IS going on with that movie? And where is reputation TV? These are the real questions. But as for what I'd like to see her make, my answer is the obvious one: Romance. Possibly a romantic comedy; she had some comedy chops in the Anti-Hero music video, so I trust she could pull that off. I also just friggin' love romance (how do you think I became a Swiftie?), and with Taylor's first foray into something major like this, I think it's smart to play to her strengths. That being said, I will watch it no matter what it is!!!
 
Thanksgiving is coming up. What are you thankful for this year and/or what’s your favorite dish?

This year, I have been very grateful that I have the time and motivation to dig back into who I am as a writer on my own, as opposed to who I am on a staff of writers. I love being on a staff for its own reasons, but there is also something gloriously intimate and self-loving about spending a lot of time with your own ideas and getting to know yourself that way. I'm also grateful for the residuals that have kept me from going broke. Love those guys.

Every Thanksgiving, I visit my aunt and uncle and eat dinner at their fancy country club buffet, where they have an AMAZING acorn soup that I dream about all year. I thought it was butternut squash soup for years, but it isn't.