Month: September 2013

TV Critics Name ‘Agents of SHIELD’ Most Promising Fall Series

Cuz it’s all about the writing, right? And Joss Whedon is producing the show and he’s a great TV writer, right?

We mean, the goddam Avengers and Marvel and S.H.I.E.L.D. have nothing to do with it…right?

shield-TV-twriter.comby Michael O’Connell

For the first time, members of the Television Critics Association are putting together something of a united front on the new fall season. An inaugural polling of the 220-plus journalists recently dubbed ABC’s Agents of SHIELD the most promising new fall series. read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

trolls-tvwriter.comChapter 27 – There Will Be Trolls
by Leesa Dean

Most people have, at times, had to battle that inner little voice that tells you you’re not good enough, you’re not talented enough, you’ll never truly make it. Welcome to the internet where that little voice is now not only in your head, but in the comments section of your videos for all the world to see.

Everybody’s gone through it. Everybody. When I went to an all day YouTube workshop a number of months back, it included a panel with some of the biggest YouTube stars there are. Half of what they discussed had to do with trolls who comment. The bigger you get, the more trolls you get. It’s inevitable. So how do you deal with it?

You could: read article

Why Broadcast TV Lost Its Edge After ‘NYPD Blue’

TVWriter™’s answer: Cuz it could.

Variety.Com, however, sees it a little differently. But only a little:

nypd-blue read article

The 2013 WGAW Officer & Board Election Results are in!

And here they are direct from the horse’s mouth:

WGAW2013Election-tvwriter.com

TVWriter™ congratulates all the winners and looks forward to a period of writerly peace and prosperity. read article

Kathy Fuller: What Writers Can Learn from My Mad Fat Diary

by Kathy Fuller

I LOVE BBC television. I’m a big fan of their short seasons, clever writing, tight plotting, and real characters. But I’m also envious of BBC. The writers seem to have much more freedom to be honest, messy, and politically incorrect. They take chances. My Mad Fat Diary is one of them.

The story premise (based very loosely on the published diary of Rae Earl) is straightforward: set in 1996, an overweight teen with self-esteem issues re-enters the world after a stint in a mental hospital. Rae’s issues have issues–she’s fat, her mother is self-centered, her father is absent, her best friend is often her worst enemy…the list goes on. To deal, she overeats, cuts herself, and is suicidal. Pretty much your standard angst-ridden coming-of-age story.

Except when it’s not. There’s an excellent balance between melodrama and humor. The pacing is slightly askew and impulsive, just like teenage life. Basic writing formula is present, but it’s often turned on it’s head. So what can writers learn from this show? read article