Some stories take longer to understand. That's where I write. Gwen Carmichael — Screenwriter & Storyteller.

For me ~
Most stories don't begin with a blank page.

They begin with things I can't quite fit together, yet.

A photograph, a conversation, a newspaper clipping, a place, a line in a book, a question.

Eventually they find each other on the page.

A journal open on a wooden desk with the handwritten line ‘Some stories take longer to understand,’ beside a candle, a mug, and baby's breath at golden hour.

My stories wander between genres, but they almost always find their way back to identity, belonging, and the choices that shape us.

GWEN

A Short Introduction

I've been fascinated by stories for as long as I can remember.

Not only the ones we tell, but also the observations — the quiet stories, the things that stay with us.

The ones that resurface months or years later because experience has given them meaning. Those are the stories I never seem to forget, and the ones I like to write.

These days I write screenplays, essays, and whatever else curiosity decides to leave on my doorstep.

If I'm not traveling, I'm with coffee, a notebook, and my dog — and entirely too many tabs open, researching something wonderfully specific.

Current & Upcoming Stories

Under Renovation

Feature Screenplay | Coastal Noir

When a guest is crushed by falling furniture at a half-gutted Florida motel, the assistant manager documenting the death discovers her own signature in the chain of neglect that caused it and must decide whether to expose the truth.

A story of the modern issue: when someone dies unexpectedly, there is usually an entire digital life left behind yet the person no longer has the ability to provide context. Its heart lies in the moral choices people make when truth, loyalty, and self-preservation collide.

The Hawthorn Berry Tales

Children's Book Series

A cozy collection of illustrated stories where little animals discover big truths about kindness, courage, belonging, patience, and home. Created with my daughter, Hayesley.

For children who are growing up and the grown-ups still growing too.

Spin to Win

Television Pilot | Satirical Sci-Fi

At a public relations company where every employee's worth is measured by an AI-driven "Spin Score," one young strategist begins questioning whether the most dangerous stories are the ones we tell or the ones we're told.

A story that asks who gets to shape the narrative and what happens when truth becomes something that can be scored, optimized, and sold.

Gravity of Love

Book & Feature Screenplay

A science-fiction adventure that begins with an impulsive alien teenager and becomes a story about family, forgiveness, and finding your place in the universe.

And, that love in all forms is the most profound and unyielding force in the universe.

Heir of Nowhere

Historical Fiction | In Development

Set between eighteenth-century Scotland and colonial America, Heir of Nowhere follows a young heir who gambles away his future and crosses an ocean in search of reinvention, only to discover that becoming someone new always comes at a cost.

Inspired by a branch of my own family history.

The Chair

Feature Screenplay | Contained Psychological Thriller

A believer in protocol and procedure is selected to validate the institution's Terminal Demonstration Protocol, only to discover the system was never designed to protect the people inside it.

A contained psychological thriller that explores institutional trust and the ways ordinary people become complicit in extraordinary harm.

A speckled ceramic mug, an open sketchbook, and a lantern on weathered wood as the sun sets over the ocean.

Now Playing

Record Player

Seasonal House Playlist

Vol. IV — Summer 2026

Come in. The windows are open. The music's already playing.

Open in Apple Music

The Porch

A space of gathering and growing.

Light. Sound of birds. Writing. Listening.

This is the home of In The Margins, a collection of essays, observations, photographs, and quiet discoveries shared as snippets. Some will remain just as they are. Others grow into larger stories, screenplays, or books.

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A weathered white rocking chair with a cream cushion, an open notebook and pen, a speckled ceramic mug, and a fern in a terracotta pot on a wooden porch in soft afternoon light.

Where observations meet the page and conversations continue.

Correspondence

If something here sparked an idea or you'd simply like to say hello, I’d love to hear from you.

Whether it's a writing project, a collaboration, a playlist recommendation, or a story you've been carrying around for years, my inbox is always open.

— Thanks for stopping by, Gwen