Category: Resources

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

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

Chapter 37 – Waiting…
by Leesa Dean

keep-calm-and-still-waiting-18Before I bring you guys up-to-date, a little cool news: I was listed by ComedyTV is Dead,a really cool blog from the UK that reviews web series. They reviewed Chilltownglowingly a number of months back, so I knew they liked it, but was thrilled and surprised when they assembled a list of Women to Watch in Web Series…and I was on it!!I’m in heady company, including Issa Rae of Awkward Black Girl fame and Kylie Sparks from hit show Squaresville and L.A. Girls. Since I’m on hiatus and working like crazy putting together new material it was SUCH a shot in the arm to be included. And I’ve already heard form a producer who saw it and told me, “You are now on my radar.” Which is pretty cool.

Meanwhile, we’re waiting. Have a ton of feelers out to snag a celeb for the TOP SECRET PROJECT and, hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, we’ll line someone up. The holidays kind of slow things down a bit; people are out of town, have a lot of commitments, but things look promising.

So, what am I doing while I’m waiting? Tweaking things on the project. Working like crazy putting ideas together for Season Two of the Lele Show. And actually brainstorming a few new projects. I think it’s really important to always juggle a lot of balls in the air. read article

OMG…WALKING DEAD’s Frank Darabont Used the S Word

For the record, that word would be “sociopaths.”

Gotta love this dood. Of all the people on TVWriter™, only our BLLB can possibly imagine what he went through.

What are we talking about? This: read article

Peggy Bechko: Writers – The Only Real Mistake…

by Peggy Bechko

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” ~ John Powell

There’s a statement it’s hard to dispute and it can apply to many things in our lives, but I’m going to apply it to writing, and I’m going to take it a step further.

Actually you can’t make a mistake in writing. Yes, you can write poorly, but of course, hopefully you/we will learn from that so it’s not a mistake at all, right? Your grammar or your spelling may be awful, but that’s not unfixable, right? There are tools to help and of course you can, what was that again?, learn. read article

NEW GIRL Writer-Executive Producer Speaks

…And we, um, read:

Kay-CannonInterview with Kay Cannon, the Hilarious Writer Behind “New Girl” & “Pitch Perfect”
by Anne McCarthy

You may have never heard Kay Cannon‘s name, but you’ve definitely laughed at her jokes. An alum of Chicago comedy group The Second City, Cannon landed a job as a writer and co-producer on 30 Rock. Tina Fey wrote of Cannon in Bossypants: “Her success at the show is a testament to why all parents should make their daughters pursue team sports instead of pageants.”

These days, Cannon she is currently a writer and co-executive producer on the television series New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel and is the writer of hit 2012 comedy Pitch Perfect and its just-announced sequel. read article

Troy DeVolld: 20 Bits of Advice on a Career in Show Business

controlsby Troy DeVolld

Everybody seems to be posting lists these days. Here’s one… 20 things you should remember whether you’re trying to get ahead in reality television, acting, writing, directing, producing, pretty much anything show business related.

1. Do what you say you are going to do.

2. Don’t latch on to a mentor who has never done something. read article