Breaking Into the Indie Film Industry: Felicia Mead

Inside the Story Room

During a late-night writing session, Felicia wrote a scene in her latest screenplay, where one of the characters is supposed to be a tough guy, but is put in a situation where he was so afraid he ended up wetting himself. Another character looked at him and said,

“Bro, did you just pee your pants?” 

Learning to See in Scenes 

Felicia’s early love for other movies would probably begin around the age of nine, when she read The Lion,  the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was a very interesting book. Normally, she was into horror movies, but this was the first book she read that wasn’t about horror. Instead, it followed children living in a house who step through a closet and end up in a fantasy world. Felicia was completely fascinated by the story. She used to rush home just so she could read it, because she couldn’t wait to see how it ended.  The book truly captured her attention. Later, when they made it into a movie, she was extremely excited. The film wasn’t exactly how she imagined it, it was even better. She loved the characters, the fantasy, and the sense of illusion it created. 

Felicia’s first attempt at writing a script was a short film called The Axe. At the time, she thought she was  creating something incredible. However, when she looked back at the script she wrote in 2009, she realized how terrible it was. Felicia had no idea what she was doing. She didn’t understand what dialogue really was, how to write it, or even how to properly describe a scene. She was essentially just writing a story. Still, she had a clear vision of what she wanted to see on screen, she just didn’t know how to put it into script form yet.

Writing has never been a necessity or even a hobby for Felicia. It’s something she’s enjoyed since she was a kid.She’s always loved storytelling. She could look at almost anything in her grandparents’ living room and instantly make up a story about it. She especially enjoyed scaring her cousins, because that living room felt like a mini museum filled with all kinds of objects. Her grandfather had a deer head mounted on the wall, old paintings lit from behind, displays of army men, and a village of tiny figures spread across his coffee table. There was even a mannequin standing in one corner and a fake lion  resting on an end table. It was a living room you’d never forget. Everywhere you looked, there was a story waiting to be told.  This is where her love for storytelling began; not as a hobby or a necessity, but simply as something she genuinely enjoys doing. 

The Craft: Writing What isn't Seen

When building a story, she always starts by thinking about the plot: what will happen in the beginning,  the middle, and the end? What is the story about? Who is it about, and what is she trying to say through it? Once the story makes sense in her head, she grab a piece of paper and begin outlining those thoughts. 

The dialogue always relates directly to the story. It may begin with two characters talking about the  situation they’re in, or with a character at work having a conversation with a coworker. Sometimes the story opens with a couple discussing issues in their relationship. Other times, it might start with a character writing in a diary, using narration to introduce the beginning of the story. This is how she uses dialogue to bring the story to life and make it feel real. 

What’s written on the page doesn’t always match what ends up on the screen. One of Felicia’s biggest  challenges has always been time. Something almost always goes wrong on set, maybe the camera  operator forgets a piece of equipment, or they suddenly realize the battery is dying and they’re racing  against it to get the shot. Other times, there’s an issue with the location, and she has to improvise just to keep the film alive. These have been some of the ongoing challenges she’s faced in her time in the film industry. There’s always a checklist, of course, but with her luck, that checklist seems to exist mostly to remind the crew what they forgot. 

Characters as Truth 

Felicia often develops the depth of a character based on how she’s feeling at the time. Sometimes  influenced by who’s around her or someone she has seen before, and sometimes by past interactions. 

Other times, it comes purely from her imagination. Also drawing from past emotional hurt to shape a  character’s emotional perspective. 

Most of Felicia’s characters are fictional; however, she recently wrote” He Watches” which is a story  inspired by a personal experience she went through. The situation felt unreal.She was very scared, it was the reality of being alone in a place where she shouldn’t have been.

Fortunately, she noticed something out of the ordinary, which heightened her awareness and allowed her to stay conscious of her surroundings. That moment stayed with her, and she chose to turn it into a story to raise awareness for women who may find themselves in similar situations to the one she experienced. 

Felicia hasn't really experienced stereotypes so far. She writes a lot of horror, focusing on stories she wants to tell, whether they’re fictional or based on true events and usually draw from things she’s familiar  with. She writes about serial killers, strange or unsettling characters, people with multiple personality  disorder, or obsessive behaviors. Sometimes she explores purely fictional ideas, like vampires, zombies,  or werewolves, and those are themes. However, she’s definitely willing to dive deeper into stereotypes  this topic has given her an ideal to maybe write a new story about. 

The Process 

Rejection is hard. Felicia pours her  heart into a story, thinking it’s something special, only to have it turned down. Sometimes it really gets to her, because she knows what she’s trying to say but maybe the reader doesn’t see it the way she does. She’s done rewrites, followed the feedback, and still faced  rejection. Other times, she enters another competition and people see nothing wrong with the same piece. Felicia has learned that rejection isn’t the end, it’s part of the journey as a writer. It pushes her to step out of her own head, to see her work from another perspective, and to notice what she might have missed. Every “no” teaches her something, and every time she shakes it off and gets back on the horse, she grow stronger. She keeps going because she loves writing, and she knows the next story she writes could be the one that really lands. 

Felicia really enjoys collaborating with actors. Somehow, the professional relationship often turns into  friendship, and she genuinely starts to feel the support and energy they bring. She also enjoy working with other producers.

She’s getting ready to bring her short film to life, and this time she brought on a new  producer. It’s her first time working with someone she doesn't really know, and it’s a chance to step  outside usual circle. Normally, she works with people she’s familiar with, but it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and give new collaborators a try. 

Industry Realities: Between Vision and Business 

Although she hasn't reached the level of working with a studio yet, she’s looking forward to that experience. Creating notes is an essential part of preparing for any meeting. You want to know what to say, how to plan, and how to present your ideas. After the meeting, you and your team coordinate and come  to an agreement on how the shoot will go. When it’s time to shoot, the deadline can feel  intimidating because it creeps up on you. But the notes you’ve prepared help you stay aware of the  schedule and make sure you meet it. For example, with this article, there was a set deadline, so she  started working on it well in advance to ensure it was completed on time. 

Breaking in vs. Staying in (the industry)

Felicia hasn't broken into Hollywood yet, but as an independent filmmaker, she’s been grateful for the  opportunity to participate in several respected film festivals in Los Angeles and to receive a few film  awards along the way. She’s also been fortunate to meet people who have firsthand experience  navigating Hollywood. She believes staying relevant comes down to how you move and how consistently  you show up for your craft. Her advice is to keep working, stay true to your vision, and don’t give up. No matter how things look in the moment, steady effort will eventually lead you where you’re meant  to be. 

Felicia doesn't consider myself fully successful yet, but she does recognize that she achieved more than she ever  imagined. She never thought her work would be selected for and win film festivals across the globe, or  that one of her short films would receive distribution and appear on platforms like DIRECTV, Frontier  Airlines, and AT&T. She never expected to be featured in local newspapers, have a magazine spread,  collaborate on a commercial with well-known comedians, or have her voice heard on internet radio  shows. Even so, she knows she still has a long way to go. But looking back, she’s grateful for how much she  already accomplished.

One thing she refuses to compromise on is doing work that she’s not comfortable with. She’s learned about  herself and the importance of honoring her comfort level as a writer. She was once asked to work on a film  that involved torture. While she respect different creative approaches, that style of storytelling isn’t  something she feels connected to, as she don’t write or gravitate toward torture-based stories. What she’s come to understand is that writing places you deeply inside the world you’re creating. After  considering the project, she began experiencing unsettling dreams, which helped her realize it wasn’t the right fit for her creatively or emotionally. In the end, she chose to step away and trust her instincts. 

The Screenwriter You Are Today 

Felicia’s personal history shapes her work through lived experience, emotional memory, and knowledge.  While many of her characters and worlds are fictional, the emotions that drive them are rooted in real moments from her life—particularly experiences involving vulnerability, isolation, and awareness.  She often draws from times when she had to rely on instinct and insight , moments that taught her how easily ordinary spaces can become unsafe, especially for women. These experiences push her to create stories that blend suspense and emotional truth, using horror as a way to explore fear,  resilience, and survival. Her work is not only about storytelling, but also about awareness, inviting  audiences to look closer, trust their instincts, and recognize the unseen forces that shape human  behavior. In this way, her personal history becomes the foundation for narratives that are both  imaginative and deeply grounded in reality. 

In February 2026, she plans to produce/direct her short film He Watches, which is a silent film centered  on awareness for women. Later in the year, she will start a fundraiser for her first feature film, The Riddle Behind the Wall. She’s incredibly excited about both projects. She hasn't filmed a project since  2022, and creating the short film first allows her to reconnect with her craft and assess where she is creatively and technically before expanding into a larger production. Her biggest fears aren’t the creative challenges, but the possibility of not completing the project, whether due to limited  funding or collaborators falling through. Despite those concerns, her excitement outweighs the fear,  and she genuinely looks forward to what the future holds. 

Her writing has grown tremendously over time. In the beginning, she could only write a three-minute  short script. Eventually, she reached a middle stage where was able to write 15-minute scripts, or  about 30 pages. Now, she’s writing full feature-length screenplays—often 100 to 120 pages—which is  incredibly exciting for her. Seeing that progression has shown her how much my craft has evolved  and how far she’s come as a writer. 

In all honesty, she feels like she has two more stories left to tell. After that,she’d like to take a small break  from her strange, imaginative mind that loves to expand into fantasy worlds. She’s excited to write these two screenplays, but she is also considering stepping into something new by writing a stage  play. It would be a departure from screenwriting, and she’s curious to explore how her storytelling  translates to the stage. It’s a new challenge, and one she is genuinely looking forward to pursuing in the near future.

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ABOUT ENA-ALESE

I'm Ena-Alese an erotic-romance and dark poetry Author. I am also a magazine and content writer and a Freelance Journalist/Housewriter for Gangtales Publications.

Outsider of my writing career, I am a mom and coding intern. I enjoy fishing, music and laughter.