40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
Because what could be more important for any writer than this:
To be precise, these are just some of the comics on the sales racks in the month/year I was born. But the reason it’s only some is because this is all I could screen capture. Every single other comic also popped right up on the page.
Actually, some of us here at TVWriter™ think loneliness helps the writing process. What but loneliness could drive a person to the toil of filling up page after page with words? Charlotte Rains Dixon, however, disagrees, and tells us how to become part of something more supportive than writerly insecurities:
How to Build a Writing Community – by Charlotte Rains Dixon (
Word Strumpet.ComWords Trumpet.Com)Do you feel supported as a writer? Do you have a writing buddy you can contact after you receive a rejection? Someone you can talk to (or write to) when the novel just isn’t going the way it should? Do you know other writers with whom you can talk shop?
If not, you’re missing out. I spent last weekend at the Writer’s Loft orientation in Nashville, and being surrounded by writers for two days reminded me how vital it is to make connections with others who share our passion.
…And they sure as hell know a lot more than most TV execs!
The Future of Sitcoms According to the Creators of ‘Parks and Rec,’ ‘Enlightened,’ ‘Don’t Trust the B—’ and ‘Raising Hope’ – by Alison Willmore
Greg Garcia (the creator and executive producer of Fox’s “Raising Hope”), Nahnatchka Khan (the creator and executive producer of ABC’s “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23”), Michael Schur (the co-creator of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”) and Mike White (the co-creator, co-star and executive producer of HBO’s “Enlightened”) gathered in Manhattan this past weekend for a New Yorker Festival event entitled “The Future of Sitcoms.” While the panel did not, as jokingly promised by moderator Emily Nussbaum, the magazine’s TV critic, come up with a plan for the next stage of comedy during its 90-minute run, it did cover some very interesting ground about how sitcoms are evolving in a way that may be quieter but is no less significant than what’s happening with dramas. Here are some highlights from the event:
Definitely worth reading:
The TV Industry’s New Rorschach Test – by Tony Cardinale (HuffingtonPost.Com)
A YouTube cooking show has just been picked up for network syndication. Ratings for the Summer Olympics surged, driven by an unprecedented amount of streaming content online. Last month, for the first time ever, not one single Best Drama Emmy nominee came from a broadcast network. The first week of the broadcast season was its lowest-rated in history[1], while on cable Here Comes Honey Boo Boo drew nearly three million viewers[2]. Oh, how the TV landscape is changing!
Today’s picture of consumers and their new entertainment behaviors is a Rorschach test of sorts. And as someone who likes to look at the glass as half full, we see opportunity in that illustration — the future is bright; but there are others who see disaster ahead.
The most helpful post of the month so far:
Science fiction is the literature of big ideas — so coming up with an amazing story idea often feels like the biggest stumbling block in the way of your dreams of authorship. Unfortunately, most of us can’t just have Robert A. Heinlein mail us $100 and a couple dozen brilliant ideas. So what do you do?