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&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 238px; height: 365px;&quot; src=&quot;https://media2.vault.com/14340492/melind-snodgrass-headshot.jpg?width=238&amp;amp;height=365&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; data-udi=&quot;umb://media/a92e58f86b4b4f86a933ce066a549117&quot; /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Melinda M. Snodgrass &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;studied opera at the Conservatory of Vienna, graduated from the University of New Mexico,&lt;/em&gt; magna cum laude&lt;em&gt;, in history, and went on to Law School. After practicing for three years, she left law and turned to writing.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;In 1988, she accepted a job on &lt;/em&gt;Star Trek: The Next Generation&lt;em&gt; and began her Hollywood career. She has worked on staff on numerous shows and has written television pilots and feature films. Currently, she is an executive producer on &lt;/em&gt;Wild Cards&lt;em&gt; for Universal Pictures and Peacock.&#160;&#160; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;In the prose world, she writes for and co-edits the shared world anthology series &lt;/em&gt;Wild Cards&lt;em&gt; with George R. R. Martin. Her space opera, the &lt;/em&gt;Imperials Saga&lt;em&gt;, and her urban fantasy series, &lt;/em&gt;White Fang Law&lt;em&gt;, are available on multiple platforms. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;For fun, she rides her dressage horse and plays video games. She used to spend a lot of time in the gym, but there was this pandemic…&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;---&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Vault spoke to Melinda about her career path, how her law degree prepared her for her career as a screenwriter and novelist, and what advice she has for pursuing an alternative legal career path. Read on for the interview.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vault: Why did you initially decide to go to law school?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melinda: It was my father’s dream, and he was my hero, so I wanted to meet his expectations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vault: Can you share your path from law school to where you are today?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melinda: My best friend at the time [Vic] was a science fiction novelist. I grew up reading and loving science fiction, and he knew I was deeply unhappy at the law office. He introduced me to his writer friends, and they were the most fascinating, witty, and welcoming people I had ever met, and I left the party determined to be part of that world. So, I started writing in secret and Vic mentored me. It was another mentor who got me into Hollywood: My friend George R.R. Martin.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vault: Can you describe your current role as a screenwriter and novelist, including day-to-day duties and your most notable achievements/achievements you are most proud of?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melinda: Day to day, my life consists of working on one project in the morning, going to ride a horse, then working on a different project in the afternoon and sometimes a third one in the evenings. The key to being a writer is simple—butt in chair, hands on keyboard, write.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The thing I’m most proud of is my script for &lt;em&gt;Star Trek: TNG The Measure of a Man&lt;/em&gt;. It seems to have touched a lot of people. It will certainly be the thing I will be remembered for.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vault: What would surprise most people about your current profession?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melinda: That it’s like any other job in that it requires discipline and a work ethic. I find the &quot;Muse&quot; rarely speaks to you, and if you wait on her you’re likely to never get anything written because Muses are notoriously fickle.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vault: What types of skills and training are most important for someone aspiring to work as a screenwriter or novelist?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melinda: Read a lot. Watch a lot of movies and television. Read scripts to see how the masters do it. Stay curious. Learn how to accept criticism. And write a lot of bad words until you start writing some good ones.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vault: What advice do you have for law students and lawyers who want to pursue a career outside of the legal field?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melinda: Go for it. If you choose writing, remember that the beautiful thing about writing is that no one has to give you permission. You just sit down and start.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Without my legal education, I could not have written &lt;em&gt;The Measure of a Man&lt;/em&gt;, ended up working on &lt;em&gt;Reasonable Doubts&lt;/em&gt;, or creating my &lt;em&gt;White Fang Law&lt;/em&gt; series. Law teaches us how to think, analyze a problem from multiple sides, [and] see the world through a different lens. Science fiction and fantasy have a tendency to gloss over issues of law and economics (which sort of go hand-in-hand).&#160; My education has enabled me to delve deeper into issues that are often ignored in the genre.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I can guarantee that the education and the discipline that law provides will stand you in good stead no matter what you choose to do.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get to Know Melinda...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Favorite Law School Class:&lt;/strong&gt; Constitutional Law&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Favorite Legal Movie, TV Show, Book, or Podcast:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;em&gt;Marshall&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;The Verdict&lt;/em&gt;. I also really like &lt;em&gt;The Good Fight&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Favorite Hobby:&lt;/strong&gt; Horseback riding—dressage&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lawyer (alive or deceased) you’d most like to have dinner with:&lt;/strong&gt; Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We could talk not only law, but opera. One year I saw her from a distance at the Santa Fe Opera and it was real thrill.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If I wasn’t a novelist and screenwriter, I would be:&lt;/strong&gt;&#160;An opera star&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;Download&#160;the new&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/vault-law-app&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;c-link&quot; data-stringify-link=&quot;/vault-law-app&quot; data-sk=&quot;tooltip_parent&quot;&gt;Vault Law app&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;&#160;to prepare for your next law firm interview!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;Follow @VaultLaw on&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/vaultlaw/?hl=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;c-link&quot; data-stringify-link=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/vaultlaw/?hl=en&quot; data-sk=&quot;tooltip_parent&quot;&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;&#160;and&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://twitter.com/vaultlaw?lang=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;c-link&quot; data-stringify-link=&quot;https://twitter.com/vaultlaw?lang=en&quot; data-sk=&quot;tooltip_parent&quot;&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong data-stringify-type=&quot;bold&quot;&gt;!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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