Allison Raskin is a New York Times bestselling author who writes both fiction and nonfiction. Raskin is a screenwriter who has developed shows with FX, Netflix, MTV, YouTube Red and 20th Century Television. She also runs a YouTube channel, Just Between Us, which has over 170,000,000 views and her mental health focused Instagram account Emotional Support Lady and Substack.  She is also a podcast creator and host.

Tell us how you got started in screenwriting. What drew you to it and what has your career progression in the space looked like?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was fifteen. But things really clicked into place for me when I was on a college tour of USC and my mom suggested we check out the film school instead of the creative writing program. That day I realized my love of dialogue was pulling me toward screenwriting. But after some early success in the space, I’ve actually returned to the original plan and spent most of my time writing books! Hollywood has had a tumultuous last few years and I’ve had to pivot to keep my career going. It’s been helpful to think of myself as a storyteller who can work across mediums rather than just a screenwriter.

Can you walk us through your typical approach to starting a new screenplay? Do you begin with character, theme, or plot?

I love to work in themes so I am often drawn to what message I want to explore then try to build the world around it. Genre is often another starting point. For example, if I know the marketplace is looking for a romcom or a half-hour comedy. Plot is what I struggle with the most so I kind of have to have faith that it will come to me in time. But this fear prevents me from attempting some of my plot-heavy favorite genres like sci-fi (at least so far!).

How do you balance creative freedom with the collaborative nature of screenwriting, especially when working with directors, producers, and other writers?

I take a very practical approach to writing since it is my job. I try to do everything I can to get something made aside from completely abandoning the part of the project that matters to me the most. Luckily, you are often able to make a lot of superficial changes to appease other people without losing the core of what you are trying to say or do. That said, I will occasionally put my foot down about something if I find it necessary. Mostly though, I want to be someone that people like collaborating with. Part of my journey has been realizing that I don’t always have the best idea in the room.

You mention in your bio that a number of projects you worked on for FX, Netflix, MTV and others “died in development”. Can you talk to us a little bit about the reality of screenwriting and also the positives of working on scripts that may not make it to the screen?

Most projects don’t make it to production. There are a dozen steps along the way that can get a project killed. So each time I’ve sold a show, I’ve tried to just celebrate that step and not expect it to go past that. There are plenty of writers who make a solid living selling scripts without ever getting produced and while that probably isn’t anyone’s dream career it’s still better than most. I view getting paid to write as a huge accomplishment even if no one other than a few execs ever read it. Especially if they pay you enough to make you eligible for a year of health insurance through the WGA.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give aspiring screenwriters who are just starting out?

Finish your script and then write another one. The only thing that has kept me alive as a writer is working on multiple things at once. It’s incredibly important to diversify and not be too precious with your material. If you pour five years of your life into one script it is going to be dangerously devastating if it doesn’t sell. Learn to write efficiently, learn to take notes and learn to move on to the next thing.

Who are some screenwriters who inspire you?

Nicole Holofcener, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sharon Horgan. I love a multi-hyphenate.

Save the Date

You have your debut rom-com hitting shelves in April 2025, tell us a bit about the book and how writing a novel differed from your other projects.

While this technically is my third novel, it is my first romance and also the first one I’ve written without my comedy partner Gabe Dunn. I was very lucky to work with an amazing editor, Lynn Raposo, who helped fine-tune my prose writing and teach me the tricks of the genre. The idea for it came following my own broken engagement in 2020 when my dad joked that I should just find a new groom in time for my scheduled wedding date after my fiance abruptly walked out on me. I thought that was a bananas idea for real life but a perfect plot for a book. And so Save The Date was born. Obviously a lot is fictionalized (my protagonist is a couples therapist and she actually goes through with the plan in an extremely public way) but the heartbreak of being abandoned when you finally thought you got your happy ending was very real.

Preorder the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

You’ve also written nonfiction and you produce a YouTube channel and a podcast, what does the writing process look like for your nonfiction endeavors? And how does that change from your fiction projects?

Nonfiction is a lot harder for me than fiction. My latest book, I DO (I THINK): Conversations About Modern Marriage required a ton of research and interviewing. I then had to weave so many elements together to make it a coherent narrative. Most days I wanted to pull my hair out the moment I sat down to write. Fiction, while challenging in its own way, is a lot more freeing. And I don’t have to worry about anyone getting mad at me for getting something wrong because it is all made up! Ultimately though, I feel lucky that I get to use my creativity in so many different ways. It helps me from burning out and makes me appreciate the joy of fiction writing.

What would you say is the key to working across so many mediums? Is there a particular skill that you feel is a driving force regardless of the medium you work in?

Being able to multitask and stay on a schedule are crucial. I have to carve out time for what I need to do each week and I might work on multiple projects in one day. The driving force that makes it all work is probably just discipline, or if I’m being brutally honest, guilt. I feel bad if I don’t get everything done so to avoid that feeling I do my work. (This is not necessarily a healthy approach but it is the truth!)

What project are you working on next?

I’m writing my next romcom novel about two people who meet in an OCD support group and have to pretend to be a couple while on the woman’s family vacation, which forces them to confront their mental health issues. I’m really excited to get to share the realities of living with this disorder while still making people laugh and, hopefully, swoon.