Month: October 2017

From the Creator of ‘The Mayor’: How I made it in Hollywood

Don’t you just love stories about how other writers have made it in TV or films? Don’t you wish those stories were about you?

Here’s something to love. And it’s helped keep the wish alive for this TVWriter™ minion, that’s for sure. Hope it does the same for you:

by Kate Stanhope

Jeremy Bronson got his start in TV working as a producer for longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews. So, it’s only fitting that his new series The Mayor is about – you guessed it – politics. The half-hour comedy centers on a struggling young rapper named Courtney Rose who runs for mayor of his small town to increase his celebrity and ends up winning. That being said, the transition from Hardball producer to comedy series creator (with a few stops at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, The Mindy Project and Speechless along the way) wasn’t quite so easy. Ahead of Tuesday’s series premiere, Bronson reflects on how he made it. read article

Peggy Bechko on Your Characters’ Needs & Desires

The Joker’s Wants vs. Batman’s Needs – now THAT’s conflict!

by Peggy Bechko

When you begin crafting a story have you taken into consideration the needs and wants of your main characters?

You should. Because when you get down to it, those are the driving forces of your story.

Now many people may jump up and yell, no, it’s conflict! “If there isn’t conflict, there isn’t a story.” But where does that conflict come from? read article

Larry Brody’s Poetry: I Dreamed I was the Messiah

Did you know Confucius was this cool looking?

NOTE FROM LB

Unlikely as it always has felt to me, I’ve spent a significant amount of time working with people in China. Teaching, mostly, and even being called “Maestro” by important men and women who have been my students there.

This strikes me as pretty damned mystifying, but there it is. Delusions of grandeur, do you think? So do I. But here’s one of the results of such a delusion: read article

TVWriter™ Don’t-Miss Posts of the Week – October 23, 2017

Good morning! Time for TVWriter™’s  Monday look at our most popular blog posts of the week ending yesterday. They are, in order:

Travis Richey has Good News for Us read article

Laura Conway on Web Series: Whatever You Do, Don’t Be An Asshole

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ah, the second chapter in Laura’s series on the making of her very, very, very popular – over 3 million views – interweb series hit.

MAKING A BUDGET AND FINDING CASH FOR YOUR WEB SERIES
by Laura Conway

The first thing I do is accept that I won’t make back a single penny of what I’m going to spend and be OK with that. Then I find some cash.

One way to find financing is by telling as many people as you can about the project. Network like crazy. You will find people who want to help you. Unless you’re an asshole and nobody likes you. The road of life is lined with bridges. read article