An Interview with Writer Pia Wilson

Pia Wilson is an accomplished television writer, screenwriter, and playwright, and she is also the writer of the wildly popular Realm podcast, If I Go Missing the Witches Did It, and she was kind enough to sit down with NTG and discuss her podcast, her career and the craft of creative writing.
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John Betancourt: What was it that got you into writing?

Pia Wilson: Ah, you know, I got praise in school for this calendar of poems. And my teacher said one of my poems was profound. And of course, you know, I fell in love with the praise, and I started writing from there. I wanted to be the great American novelist. That didn't work out… yet. But I got into writing films, and then I wanted to, move forward from there. And so, I found the theater. You know, I found writing as a playwright really worked for me. And then I got into TV writing. And from there, I got to meet the lovely people at Realm, and I got into podcasts. So, it's been a journey. I love writing.

John Betancourt: What is it then, that’s kept writing so engaging for you?

Pia Wilson: You know, the characters come to me. So, they have a need to be birthed into this world. If that makes sense. It's my responsibility to tell their stories.

John Betancourt: What then, led to the creation of If I Go Missing the Witches Did It?

Pia Wilson: Well, you know, I was looking for a project to do and I, I met Rhoda from Realm, Rhoda is one of the producers on If I Go Missing, and I was introduced to them, and they had two story ideas. And I fell in love with the idea of a writer crossing paths with a coven of influencer witches. So, then I developed it from there.

John Betancourt: Now something that caught me off guard with this podcast, is the amount of depth and meaning packed into it. What motivated you to pack so much commentary into this story?

Pia Wilson: I'm a political writer, first and foremost, you know, characters first. I like to explore our society and what's going on and project to the future or look to the past and how that informs the present. So, I guess I've always written this way. Making a difference and having a voice and observing what's happening in our culture is very important to me. So, it was natural for me to make that part of this podcast.

John Betancourt: Also, it is probably the most refreshing witch story that I think I've ever I've ever dealt with personally. What went into the motivation of making it just so… incredibly different and original from anything else that's been out there on the market before?

Pia Wilson: Well, thank you very much, first of all, and, you know, I did a lot of research. First of all, I like the idea of magic to me, that is like – the little kid inside of me, is like jumping for joy. I've always love I've always loved like, witch stories, fairy stories, anything magical. You know, I was always into it. But it wasn’t very modern. It was always like; the witches came from nowhere. And they were dressed in a very old style, you know, the most modern we got was like The Craft and stuff like that. And I was like, well, there are witches, like, witches still exist. So, what does that look like? And then I got books on magic and what the actual ritual rituals are and so I tried to keep it grounded as much as possible while still having fun.

John Betancourt: Speaking of getting into that process, because it's a pretty well-known fact that writers have to get into a certain mentality to get a certain piece done. What did you do to get into the mindset to really assemble the story?

Pia Wilson: Well, I'm a writer, so that part was easy. And I do have a lot of mental chatter that that happens. So, I know that style of thinking and judging yourself, which Elise does a lot, and, you know, taking some of the things that have happened to me in my life, and kind of infusing the story with that. As far as the magic part goes, you know, I have books on witchcraft, I have spell books, I have Tarot books, I have all kinds. I'm a bookworm. So, I was like, I was just taking parts that seemed to work for this story and use my intuition a little bit. And I also have a family that's kind of mystical at the same time. So, I was able to sprinkle a little bit of that in. And, you know, it seems like, my whole life has been geared towards writing this podcast and writing about witches and I love sci-fi, too. So, I have like, a sci-fi play. I dream of making a sci-fi TV series, you know, like, this is my “realm.” Ha. Ha.

John Betancourt: Oh, look at that! That was good.

Pia Wilson: They don’t call me a writer for nothing!

John Betancourt: Now, obviously, a podcast is a vastly different format from novelized work and screenplays. And I would assume playwriting as well. What challenges did you run into in putting together this particular story and the format that it serves?

Pia Wilson: Well, you know, I didn't have the crutch of special effects. I was like, oh, man, you know, like, people aren't going to see them working the spells, so you kind of have to describe it. And, to let it have the same energy that visual cues would have. So, it was interesting to think about describing the scene. It was interesting to work on that as a writer, describing the scene yet keeping it light. And so that people don't notice that you're describing so much. And making the magic… interesting.

John Betancourt: Now out of all the underlying messages that you've injected into this, which one has the most meaning to you on a personal level?

Pia Wilson: What makes the most difference to me, I think is the message of, you know, we need to give each other grace. Right? And that we're all living in our own worlds, of course, but at the same time, we're still connected. So, let's not judge each other to extremes. And also, at the same time, if you know you need to work on something, work on it, and don't subject other people to your mania. Like Elise wants to be, you know – not politically correct – she wants to be… a good person who's always on the right side. But in her pursuit of always being right, she is wrong. So much. So, I feel like, you know, she's social justice gone wrong. And I want people to have that intention, because it's a good intention, but to actually do the work that’s needed to do that properly, and also acknowledge that you're going to make mistakes. And we should allow each other to make mistakes, too. And Jenna, Jenna has her own issues, you know, like, she's let her anxiety, cause her to make mistakes as well. So, we have to acknowledge that on our end too.

John Betancourt: You mentioned earlier, prior projects and prior which stories, and I really want to circle back on that. Because commonly, you know, writers tend to put elements from stories that influenced them into their work. Were there any bits and pieces from other witch stories that you wove into this as well?

Pia Wilson: Let's see, I've been watching, you know, witch and fairy godmother stories since I was little, I would say that Practical Magic with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman is one of my comfort movies. I love that movie. And that's about being true to yourself. There's a movie with Tia and Tamera, it's a Disney movie. I can't remember the name of it right now (Editor’s Note: the film is Twitches). But that movie always makes me laugh. Like one is the sun and one is the night and like I find that movie to be funny other people, might not, but it's funny. Also, Witch Mountain. That was from back in the day, like, the 70s and it scared me a little bit when I was little. I still love it. But the story that probably influenced this podcast the most in terms of writing it and structure and things like that is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Which also influenced another work of mine that was a play. But it's not the subject matter, it's the style in which she wrote it.

John Betancourt: So, to start to wrap it up here, what are you most proud of when it comes to this series?

Pia Wilson: I love that Realm gave me such creative freedom and so, I was able to make little observations and, you know, be funny in a way that wasn't like slapstick or anything like that and I was able to make that social commentary and leave it in there and feel… free! Freedom is very important to creativity, and so that is what allowed me to be as original as I was. You know, they didn't throw bad ideas at me, that I had to make work for some reason. They let me be who I am.

John Betancourt: Okay, before we go, without spoiling, what are you most forward looking to listeners experiencing as we come to the close to the end of this of this podcast?

Pia Wilson: Oh, there's so much fun coming up. But I can’t spoil my favorite thing. So, Jenna coming into her own is one of my favorite parts. 

John Betancourt: Well Pia, thank you so much for your time today. I really do appreciate it.

Pia Wilson: Thank you!

This interview was lightly edited and condensed for clarity. To experience ‘If I Go Missing the Witches Did It’ visit Realm’s website, here, and to check out our spoiler-free review of this podcast, click here.

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