How Lore V. Olivera Discovered the Path to TV Writing Through Coverfly

At just 25 years old, horror writer Lore V. Olivera is already on her way to both television and film success. Currently staffed on the upcoming Amazon show El Gato, based on the comic book series El Gato Negro, Olivera recently sold her TV show, Blood Runs Down, to Blumhouse. She’s also working hard to set up her feature film, The House in Coyoacán.

We sat down with Olivera to find out how she jumpstarted her career and hear her advice for other writers.

Discovering Her Love for Screenwriting

Growing up in Mexico, Olivera always knew she wanted to be a writer. At the tender age of 16, she had already developed a love for gothic literature, so going to boarding school in Scotland, the land of mysterious lochs, blustery highlands, and whisky, made perfect sense. But it wasn’t until her first year of college at Stanford University that she discovered her true calling.

Lore V. Olivera

“I was going to major in English and then just be a writer in the woods. But then I came across screenwriting my first year, and I was obsessed! It's so cool that it's an invitation for other people to collaborate. I'm a very social person, and I don’t do very well alone in my room writing. I just need more back and forth,” she says.

It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Olivera found the time to start writing scripts. Although she was alone, it allowed her to truly focus on writing her feature screenplay, The House in Coyoacán. But once it was completed, she struggled to determine her next move. That’s when she discovered Coverfly.

“Everyone's at home [during the pandemic], so I got onto Coverfly, and I started applying to competitions. I sent out my script for table reads and that sort of stuff. And it got attention fairly quickly, which was great,” she says.

After that, Olivera began writing original TV pilots, which led her to win the Roadmap Writers Diversity Fellowship. “It helped me so much because they taught me how to pitch myself, how to go to meetings, and how to present myself as a writer. I also learned the importance of branding,” she says.

How Lore V. Olivera Branded Herself as a Writer

Most writers know how to create a logline for their script, but many don’t think to create a logline for themselves (or a website). Olivera has done both to establish herself as a horror writer, and it’s paying off.

“I know a lot of creatives that are like, 'Don't put yourself into a box!' But especially when you're starting, I think it doesn't hurt to have an intro card and be like, ‘This is who I am and what I like to write.’ It helps you brand yourself and your scripts. If you post on social media, it's very helpful to have that,” she says.

Though her logline isn’t set in stone and will continue to change as she gets more professional projects under her belt, her current logline reads:

Born in Mexico, I write dark tales that bring Latinx creators together while also appealing to larger audiences. My work includes mostly female-centered stories that explore intersections between the horrific and the beautiful.

“I would say that a lot in general meetings. After a while, you find a way to say it more casually, but it's great to just know it at first. I like to talk a lot, but usually not about myself, so it helped,” she says.

Olivera also says that being able to tell your story/background in under two minutes, which is usually the limit of people's attention span, is helpful too. “In my case, it was also about finding what made you different, and that's something that Hollywood is very much into these days,” she says.

Though she says it’s not necessary to become a brand, “It just helps in an industry where you're selling yourself most of the time. A lot of people hate it, I understand. We’re artists in the end, but you aren't doing this for other artists. You're branding yourself for producers and directors and for actors who do look at you like a product. You’ve got to play the game sometimes, I think.”

Lore V. Olivera's Advice for Getting Started in Hollywood

While Olivera thinks finding ways to network, like going to mixers is helpful, she says this one thing can make a huge difference in navigating through the Hollywood landscape.

“I feel like the biggest thing is to find a mentor. And that's tough and tricky—especially in this industry, and especially being a woman, it's a challenge. But if you are lucky enough to find one, that can be a game changer. In my case, I found a mentor very early on, and she’s an absolute queen,” she says.

But Olivera has another piece of advice that may be particularly helpful to women who encounter overconfident, entitled men.

“So many men will undermine you for being a woman or for being young or Latina, and you have to learn how to stand up for yourself. Sometimes as a woman, you feel like you don't belong in the room, or you feel like you have to prove that you belong at that table and you need to work twice as hard. For men, that's just not the way it works and that's tough,” she says.

'Seinfeld'

So what’s her solution? A made-up dude named Chad.

“I made up this internal alter ego that's a white guy that I bring out in general meetings. His name is Chad, and he’s cool," Olivera said. "Chad doesn't give a shit if he's qualified for the job. He doesn't care that he has no experience. He doesn't care that he's young, and he thinks he deserves twice what he's being offered just by the nature of being himself."

"So that helps me a lot because I have huge imposter syndrome from being Mexican and Latina and young. I think to myself, ‘What would Chad do?’ When I’m in a meeting and they're asking me, ‘Do you think you can write this episode on your own?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course!’ Then, you can shut down the Zoom and panic. But on Zoom, stay Chad, and then you can crack later. Honestly, that’s what's taking me the farthest so far.”

The air date for El Gato on Amazon Prime has yet to be announced.