The original version of this article contained multiple errors and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for more information.
Between classes, UCLA alumnus Michael Soll navigated the stories that unfolded in his imagination. These thoughts often progressed to the next phases of Soll’s writing processes, into his phone, then to his computer, on which he would write from his dorm room desk.
By the time Soll graduated in 2009, he had completed two pilots and 12 feature-length screenplays while he worked toward his political science degree. Since then, Soll has placed as a quarterfinalist for the 2010 and 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards, Francis Ford Coppola’s 2013 American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest and the fall 2013 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. He has also written for the 2012 CBS Diversity Showcase.
This October, Soll released his first novel “Scorched,” an adventure story following three teenagers born into an underground colony after a solar flare incinerated the atmosphere. The teens, curious about the world that lies above ground, discover other surviving civilizations as they journey toward the surface.
“Scorched” has been ranked second on Amazon’s top free 100 list for Teen and Young Adult Action and Adventure and eighth in Teen and Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. The book is free with Kindle Unlimited, and can be downloaded or purchased as a hard copy.
From having stage acted as a child, Soll became accustomed to reading scripts, later exploring screenwriting format by reading screenplays online. When he was 16, Soll began writing across various genres, including romantic comedies, science fiction and fantasy. He said that his UCLA political science classes cultivated an interest in the nature of different kinds of civilizations.
Soll wrote the first six chapters of “Scorched” in winter of 2013. He said he conceptualized the story by considering questions that provoked both his political curiosity as well as his long-time passion for science fiction.
“I thought to myself, ‘What if people were born underground, and what would those humans be like?’” Soll said.
Soll said he chose to write “Scorched” as a novel instead of a screenplay because of the creative control he feels better characterizes novel writing. He said his experience writing 20 feature-length screenplays and four pilots throughout his career helped improve the writing processes behind “Scorched.”
“(In writing) ‘Scorched,’ I think I was better at manipulating the reader,” Soll said. “It’s one thing to get readers hooked, but then you have to keep them involved.”
“Scorched” is Soll’s first self-published work. As a screenwriter who was used to working closely with his manager, he said novel writing was a significant transition, as he had to edit and promote the material on his own.
“I learned that I had to take some things into my own hands and not wait on a lot of people,” Soll said.
Soll said he has been influenced by filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson and authors such as K.A. Applegate, J.K. Rowling and Louis Sachar. He said the individual character portraits in Sachar’s “Wayside School” book series inspired the way he jumps from one character’s perspective to another in much of his work, as he does in “Scorched.”
Soll’s girlfriend Kelly Bach, who helped him in the editing process and has read “Scorched” several times, she said she thinks Soll immerses himself in the world of his characters.
“(Soll’s) characters completely take on their own identities,” Bach said. “He experiences the stories with them, and the writing is for him.”
UCLA alumnus Shyaam Subramanian, who was Soll’s dorm and apartment mate in college, read Soll’s various screenplays throughout college. With the help of his and Soll’s other roommates, Subramanian said that they would perform table readings of Soll’s work.
“I always thought (Soll’s) dialogue was very realistic,” Subramanian said. “He is very observant – he notices things, not just the obvious but under the surface.”
Subramanian said that he thinks Soll is naturally funny, which allows him to write about everyday life situations through an interesting comedic perspective.
Soll explored comedy writing as a head writer in the 2012 CBS Diversity Showcase, which invites about 20 actors from across the nation to perform in comedy sketches.
In writing his two skits “Good Cop, Bad Cop, Sara McLaughlin” and “Last Laugh,” Soll said he quickly learned how to be receptive to live audiences. He said it also taught him the roles of perseverance and luck in pursuing a writing career, regardless of the genre.
“As a writer in general I think the greatest challenge is to stay motivated,” Soll said. “You have to commit for several months, and you have to be in the world (of the story) and know it better than anybody.”
Soll is currently working on a science fiction space novel that he hopes to submit in the 2015 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.
Soll said that although rejection is inevitable when trying to promote one’s creative work, he would not caution aspiring writers away from the publishing processes.
“Everybody I know who’s gotten their big break has been talented but also lucky,” Soll said. “You have to have the mindset that you’re going to be different. … And you keep trying until that lucky moment.”
Correction: Soll wrote two pilots and 12 screenplays, not 12 pilots and two screenplays. Soll placed as a quarterfinalist for the 2010 and 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards.