Daily Inspiration: Meet Carolina Massote

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolina Massote.

Hi Carolina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a Brazilian woman from a small city in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew there was something different about me – how I interacted with other kids or chose not to, since I thought my time was better spent reading and playing by myself, creating my own world. By the time I had to choose what to study in college, I went to Journalism. That was a great choice, which led me to work in different newspapers in Rio, and also for The Guardian and The New York Times.

But when I was invited to work at Rede Globo, everything changed. It was the biggest TV network in Brazil and one of the biggest ones worldwide. I started to work with scripts there and only then I realized I wanted to be a fiction writer all along – Journalism and all the rest was just the means to get there.

When I moved to LA in 2017 to study at UCLA and take a Screenwriting course, I had no idea what to expect. But the friends I made and the independent movies I wrote once again changed my life forever. Now, I could also write in my second language, for which I’m extremely grateful. I have had amazing experiences writing in Portuguese and English.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s not easy to become an artist. I imagine even for trust fund kids or for those whose family is already in this business, it must be tough. But for a middle-class Latina, it has been one of the hardest things. It’s tough. It’s a particularly lonely road, and LA is especially lonely. But I don’t regret for one second. I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to do. And not many people are blessed to say that for sure.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a screenwriter. Since this isn’t the steadiest job in the world, I also work with two things I love: I teach English and I am a translator. These two jobs help me pay the bills even when no one is hiring me to write. Ever since I decided to become a writer, I realized many writers have been down this very same road. Stephen King was an English teacher for a long time before he became Stephen King.

I am known in Brazil and in independent circuits in LA mainly for my comedies. I am currently working with Detroit Street Films.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I have recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s. People with autism usually think in images more than neurotypicals, which explains why I chose this job and why it makes me so happy. I have my friend Andressa, who is a therapist, to thank for in finding out so much about myself. And my psychiatrist Paula, who has been instrumental in the path of learning how to love myself just the way I am.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/cmassote
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/for.migarosa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolina.massote
• Linkedin: https://br.linkedin.com/in/carolina-massote-0298802b
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/c_massote
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@formigarosa5539/videos