40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
We love our brains, we writers do. Really. I mean look, you toss stuff in (experience, memories, tragedy, love, human stupidity…) and stuff comes out in the form of stories, scripts, novels, even writing for commercial use such as advertising. Waaaay too cool, right?
It is.
Every word here is pure gold:
The film industry is all run by the conglomerates and studios who hatch small boutique companies to trade on the name ‘independent’. These production companies are run by the same moguls as their bigger budget Hollywood counterparts. In this corporate realm, moguls offer actors scale work on the promise that the cool films and directors they work with will enhance their careers. The producers of these lower budget films are offered elusive back end deals based on the success of the distribution process. Of course any profit is gobbled up by expenses.
A good political mind is a far better asset to a budding filmmaker than anything else. Get really good at building relationships with the people that will matter to your career; distributors, sales agents and journalist. While you are at it, find out who the hot new PR’s are, and budget their fees into your monthly budget.
Dood nails this one:
Writing, by its very nature, is a solitary activity. It requires blocking out the world around you, surrounding yourself only with your own thoughts, and swimming and diving through the oceans of your imagination.
It’s also a tremendously time-consuming activity, one that requires blocking off days on the calendar when you would much prefer to be out doing something far easier than pouring your heart out onto the page. You have to focus, power through when the writing gets hard, and above all, make sacrifices to complete a novel.
And very good advice it is. For TV and film writers as well. Read on, por favor:
In a previous Writer Unboxed column, I discussed the value of starting your story strong and how an “inside-out” approach to narrative action can help your case. But just as important as knowing what to do when beginning your novel is knowing what not to do.
“People care about people. We watch version after version of the same seven stories on television simply for that reason.”
Robert Cringely
