Category: Resources

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

John Ostrander: The Man

Our last article about Stan Lee’s life and death? We aren’t sure, but it’s certainly one of the best.

by John Ostrander

So there I was, working on finishing up this week’s column, when I heard the news. Stan Lee had died.

I can’t say it was unexpected. The Man was 95, his health wasn’t great, but still – Stan the Man.

I never actually met him to say hello or shake his hand. The closest I came was at a convention; Kim and I were having dinner in the hotel restaurant and it turned out Stan was having dinner at a table near us. I could’ve said hello but he was eating and talking with someone. I got the shys and didn’t feel I could break in on his dinner. read article

Former Disney animator returns home to teach a new generation

Wonderful article that answers the age-old question: “Is there life after retirement?” with a definitive, Yes!”

by Jon McMichael

A career artist with about a decade of work in the Disney animation studios has recently set up shop in Colorado Springs and is continuing in a culture of creativity. read article

The Best Way to Pitch Your Project to Netflix or Amazon

Richard Botto knows this stuff

Speaking of writing your way into the future (as we were just a moment ago here), does anybody remember when Netflix and Amazon were streaming dreams about tomorrow?

Well, they’re here, buddies, and also here is a quick primer in how to get your foot/feet/arms/face/imagination/whole self in today’s door:

Brought to us by everlovin’ Stage 32 read article

Why Writing is Better Than Sex

An infographic to remember, found by munchman (who else?) on our beloved interwebs:

More cool infograph-type stuff is here read article

Bri Castellini: How to Kill Your Darlings – @stareable

 by Bri Castellini

I don’t care how talented a writer you are, how witty your dialog, how ingenious your story weaving- it’s almost guaranteed your scripts are several pages too long. But especially when your story is good and your dialog competent, it can be easy to convince yourself you’ve done enough and you’re ready to shoot. Think again- today we’re talking about killing your darlings.

Defined: a “darling” is an element of your story (usually at a script level, but occasionally is a particular prop or piece of wardrobe) that is disproportionately important to you than the story itself.

An example is a three-page witty dialog sequence that you love because it’s funny and clever but doesn’t actually move the story or the characters forward in any way, or a particular poster on a character’s wall that would be expensive or difficult to attain but is an inside joke amongst the cast and crew. read article