Category: Resources
40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Rejected Master’s Thesis – on Writing
Now this is one cool infogram:
Found at Maya Eilam & then lost again?!
Peggy Bechko: How Talented are Your Characters? How Skillful?
by Peggy Bechko
Have you given real thought, I mean REAL thought, to skills, talents, gifts and abilities you might imbue your characters with? How those skills, etc., can add to the texture of your story, move it forward, integrate within it?
Think about it. From the simple every day like being a spectacular baker or gifted seamstress to the more peculiar like a person who has an amazing tolerance for pain or can see unusually well in the dark to someone who can fix anything or has a photographic memory or is gifted with clairvoyance or the ability to discern tastes or smells no one else can.
There are literally hundreds, maybe even thousands of such scenarios. People can be pretty amazing (not to mention irritating, but we won’t go into that).
Meet the women who put words in Don Draper’s mouth
Five of the eleven writers on MAD MEN are women, which is just another way this venerable hit is unique. Recently, these writers spoke about the show, sexism in Hollywood, and – yes, it’s true – what the writers room is really like:
by Laura Lorenzetti
Don Draper and Roger Sterling often claim top billing on AMC’s hit drama Mad Men, but behind the scenes it’s a different story. Five of the 11 writers for the show are women–a rarity in television prime time.
The writers represent a range of Hollywood talent. Janet Leahy and Lisa Albert are the seasoned veterans; they both worked with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner in the late 1990s. Then there are the younger industry players, Erin Levy and Carly Wray, who both got their big break on the show. Rounding out the group is Semi Chellas, a co-executive producer and runner of the Mad Men writers room.
A Glossary of Bullshit Hollywood Terms
by Ken Levine
Reader Eric J. has a Friday Question:
How about list of “Bullshit Hollywood Terms” writers should be familiar with?Most of the real creativity in Hollywood goes into positive spin. Here are some industry expressions and what they really mean:
“Hospitalized because the actor was simply feeling dizzy due to a medication he was taking for an ear infection” – drunk