Category: Resources

40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.

Troy DeVolld: Bride of TV-enstein: On My Obsession With Reality Television

by Troy DeVolld

Someone I know posted an entry on Facebook this morning along the lines of “Every time you watch a reality TV show, a book dies.”

Ironically, I died. Not completely, but just that little bit more inside.

Where other people have photos of their wives, husbands, and kids at home, I have framed title screen captures from every show I’ve ever worked on, show memorabilia and a wall of promotional content from Dancing With the Stars, Basketball Wives and Flipping Out, the latter of which still feels like some of the best work I’ve ever done.  My bathroom sports photos of everyone from Ted Mack to the cast of Basketball Wives LA, and there’s a signed photo of Allen Funt staring back at me from my desk right now. read article

An Unexpected Journey: Book Length vs. Movie Length in Adapted Franchises

Overthinking It strikes again, with a lesson for all of us who write for the visual media. (Um, you know, like not just films but also TV.) And wait’ll you see the neato graphs!

The-Hobbit-Movieby Mark Lee

I know I’m late to this party, but I finally got around to seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey after hearing much belly-aching over how the story of a single book is split into three separate movies: it seems like a blatant cash grab by the studios, a cynical move that put franchise movie economics ahead of things like storytelling and pacing.

After seeing the movie, I can definitely sympathize with these complaints. It felt slow at times, particularly during the multiple expository scenes in the first half and the interminably long action sequence in the second half. Most importantly, I felt like the story didn’t advance far enough to justify taking up an entire movie on its own, especially compared to the Lord of the Rings movies. read article

Peggy Bechko: Giving Your Characters the Squeeze

stressby Peggy Bechko

We writers know readers, whether novel readers or script readers, can’t hardly resist turning your pages when you work to force your characters to face difficult decisions. It’s nearly a compulsion for that reader to find out how your characters are going to cope with, sort out and come to terms with those decisions.

It’s a fact.

So, how do we, as writers, manage to accomplish that? How do we take characters of our creation, for whom we actually form some gently twisted attachments, present them with moral predicaments in the story and get them to flounder through to solutions? read article

Do You Suffer From “Creative Fatigue?”

No, that question isn’t a set-up in search of a punchline. It’s a very common writers’ problem. Here’s how Nathan Bransford looks at it:

some-old-creator-tvwby Nathan Bransford

I’m on record saying Writer’s Block doesn’t exist. There’s really no writing problem that can’t be solved by staring at a blinking cursor until you think of something.

But man do I get tired sometimes. This happened to me in the past month. I worked like crazy to get my guide to writing a novel finished and published and promoted just as I was starting a new job while still maintaining my commitment to make sure I’m getting enough time away from the computer and spending time with friends in person. It was a lot. read article

Marc Alan Fishman: How To Succeed In Comics Without Really Trying

This is actually about succeeding as a writer in just about any medium, and the word from LB is that it especially works for TV:

by Marc Alan Fishman

Consider this a free lesson in becoming a rich and successful writer, be it in Hollywood, comic books, TV, movies… whatever. Yes kiddos, you too can be a mega-player in the game if you follow my patent-pending advice. And since there’s no use to wasting time, let me get to themwrite now. Get it?

Copy someone better than you. See, I’m already gonna copy legendary John Ostrander, who in his article this very week gave out five tips to aspiring writers as well. But as you’ll learn, babe, it’s not about who did it first… just who does itnext. I recall, fondly, that one of my professors at college had his intro to screenwriting class begin the year by dissecting their favorite romantic comedy for structure, and then literally rewrite it according to the corresponding skeleton etched out. Nifty, eh? So when the chips are down and your screen is blank, just boot up Netflix, and get prepared to appropriate your masterpiece. read article