40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
The wit and wisdom of David S. Simon (MAD ABOUT YOU, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR, THE WAYANS BROTHERS, etc).
Did that sound snarky? It wasn’t intended that way. How can TVWriter™ help but love the man responsible for this spot on description of showbiz achievement: “Failure is just ‘sucksess.'”
Here’s the plain, simple truth: most of us fail like unbroken clockwork most of the time. In fact you could say that the only thing that we succeed at with any regularity is failure.
We’re so glad we discovered Rita Karnopp’s blog. And we definitely think you will be too. Rita writes about prose writing, but good writing is good writing, regardless of whether it’s for the page or the stage:
What exactly [comprises] a scene? I think of a scene like a trip to the mountains. There are valleys of flowers and cliffs of varying shapes and colors. Sometimes the end of the trail leads to a beautiful waterfall. Suddenly we notice a dead body floating at the far end . . . and the story begins. Each scene you create should stand on its own and add to the story in a crucial way, creating a structurally solid read.
How do we make scenes intrinsically sound? The way I do it is to imagine every scene in my head. I see my characters and feel what they’re feeling and understand why they react the way they do. If you run your story through your mind like a movie, you’ll find holes and implausible behavior.
…Which is, you know, kind of important if you’re writing it. Recently, several of TVWriter™’s comedy writing friends (industry biggies, baby!) independently recommended this book as well for fledgling humorists/writers to get a handle on what it is exactly that they’re supposed to be doing. So we thought we’d pass it on:
The book is called What Are You Laughing At? and it’s written by Dan O’Shannon, MODERN FAMILY producer who knows his away around the funny, as somebody who prefers to remain anonymous for obvious reasons (but is otherwise a funny dood himself) has said to us. The Amazon description gets to the heart of the matter:
If you’re looking for a book that will teach you how to write comedy, we suggest you keep moving. You still have time to pick up a copy of Writing Big Yucks for Big Bucks before the store closes. However, if you want to understand the bigger picture — what is comedy, why do we respond to it the way we do — then you’ve come to the right place.
I am a perfectionist. You might not know it from my work, but it’s a trait that I and a lot of other writers/creatives share. Being a perfectionist can drive you crazy and can set up situations where you never ever finish anything. Which will also drive you crazy cause never finishing is like failing. Argh.
It is not atypical for me to write over 20 drafts of a script and continue to pick at it, even after I’ve submitted it or started production. Some people never finish. They’re like Sisyphus. Pushing that script up a hill and never getting there.
Luckily, when you’re writing for the web, because everything is short form and sorta disposable with insane deadlines and an unquenchable thirst for content, it forces you to just finish and not look back. Which, trust me, is the healthiest thing to do.
Our fiction writing, whether it be novels, short stories, screen scripts or whatever, needs good guys and bad guys. Either one can be very tricky, but for now let’s tackle the villain.
How easy is it to make your villain an unrepentant, painted-black totally negative figure with absolutely no redeeming features who no one can stand to be around? How easy is it to make it so that that ‘bad guy’ (or woman) makes very choice on the dark side, is so vile and depraved that he or she feels no remorse for what’s been done – ever – doesn’t car who gets hurt and manipulates and exploits every person, plant or animal that gets in the way?
Too easy.