Sylvia L. Jones has been an eyewitness to history again and again. The former journalist spent more than 20 years chasing the news — reporting on monumental events including Nelson Mandela’s first visit to Chicago following his release from prison, the 9/11 terror attacks from ground zero and President Barack Obama’s historic acceptance speeches in 2008 and 2012.
Now, she has moved on to her next chapter. In the midst of traveling the country to cover the 2016 presidential primary elections, Sylvia decided to turn in her press pass and try her hand in Hollywood.
Never one to waste words or time, Sylvia hit the ground running. The Chicago native leveraged her comprehensive knowledge of the city’s politics and neighborhoods to help launch Showtime’s The CHI and USA’s Suits spinoff, Pearson.
Additionally, Sylvia developed and wrote a biopic on gospel singers, The Clark Sisters, which is set to air on Lifetime in 2020 and worked as a writer on season two of the CBS ALL ACCESS thriller, Tell Me A Story. She most recently wrapped as a writer on Ava DuVernay’s new romance anthology series, Cherish The Day, set to air on OWN next year.
Sylvia’s vast experience covering local and national news has set her in close proximity with a wide array of people and has offered her a deep well of prototypes from which to draw traits. As a result, she gives voice to characters who feel real and down-to-earth — even when their storylines are out of this world.
Sylvia earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Communications at Stanford University and her Master of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University.
She also completed the Professional Program in Writing for Television at UCLA and the Producers Guild of America’s Power of Diversity Master Workshop. Sylvia splits her time between Los Angeles and Chicago. She most enjoys sleeping, aisle seats and sweet potato pie.
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Sneak Peek Into What You’ll Learn…
02:40 – Sylvia shares her journey from television news producer to her current role as a TV and film writer. We get a glimpse of career highlights in her 20+ years of journalism.
07:00 – What in the world…? Sylvia talks about her childhood dream and the personal challenges that made her re-examine her life. She helps us understand how she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a Hollywood writer while she was at the pinnacle of her journalism career.
15:10 – God doesn’t give a vision without provision. Sylvia discusses her faith–a firm conviction that if Hollywood didn’t work out, she would bounce back and try something else.
20:18 – Sylvia talks about being flexible, recognizing that things rarely go the way you want or in the time that you want. Her wise words will inspire anyone prepare for career transitions and resets.
24:52 – Sylvia admits she was itching to jump 10 years earlier, though she didn’t know where she would land. She had prepared financially, emotionally and mentally.
30:27 – Before she breaks the rules, Sylvia needs to know what they are. She walks us through the steps she took to learn the art of screenwriting.
36:15 – Sylvia describes her search for mentors and how, as an Emmy-winning journalist, she humbly took her place as a production assistant in the props department of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.
41:13 – From props to almost screenwriting– Sylvia talks about how she secured a meeting with the show runner and landed a job as a writer’s assistant on The Chi.
46:41 – Sylvia tells us more about her faith and the opportunity that came her way because she was willing to raise her hand.
50:21 – Know how to sell your value to the right person–Sylvia speaks about being assertive, a skill she honed as a journalist.
55:34 – Brass Tacks: The lightning round of concrete advice and tips.
Quotable quotes:
“Probably more than anything, this was an opportunity for me to rely on my faith and I felt like God was with me in everything that I was doing.”
“To me, any day on this side of the dirt is a good day. You have another chance.”
“A lot of times, things don’t go the way you expect them to go… and they definitely don’t go the way you want them to go, in the time that you want them to go.”
“Some of the things that I have done that I think have helped me get ahead, are things that I’ve done out of sheer ignorance, sheer naivete.”
“You can’t be the person who just waits… You won’t get anything.”
