Writerly Juices Blocked? Here Are Some New Approaches to Getting ‘Em Flowing

OMG! He has gears in his brain! Aargh!

Why Creativity Blocks Happen (and How to Overcome Them) – by Iris Shoor

Is creativity something people are just born with? For many of us, creative thinking isn’t purely intuitive—it’s also plain hard work. As writer Iris Shoor explains, coming up with fresh ideas isn’t always a natural gift—it’s a skill that can be learned.

A few days ago I was telling someone about my startup company. “How did you come up with the idea?” he asked, and added very nicely, “you must be very creative.” This line always makes me smile, as I believe being creative is not a natural gift. Every day I try not to think outside the box, but rather work hard on trying to live outside of it. I believe that creativity can be taught, and I know for a fact that I’ve become more creative over time. It’s not about finding the ‘one’ idea, but rather about using creativity to achieve everyday personal and professional goals. I use creative thinking to sell my product and ideas to people, design better, and even to overcome personal obstacles, going outside my comfort zone. read article

The Return of MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD – Sort Of

It’s in The New York Times, but we still can’t believe this!

PBS Is Going Back to the Neighborhood – by Elizabeth Jensen read article

Kyle Killen Gets Another Chance

Well, hey, it’s a track record thing. LONE STAR and AWAKE are the dood’s big credits.  LONE STAR was cancelled after two episodes, and AWAKE bought it after, what, half a season? So of course Kyle gets into the game again. Because intelligence is a much rarer commodity, isn’t it, than your teachers ever led you to believe? Anyway:

Kyle Killen Drama Lands at NBC as Put Pilot – by Nellie Andreeva (Deadline.Com)

EXCLUSIVE: Influence, a drama project from Lone Star and Awakecreator Kyle Killen, has received a put pilot commitment by ABC in a competitive situation involving multiple networks. The project, from 20th Century Fox TV where Killen is under a deal, is described as a provocative workplace ensemble centered on the complicated relationship between two brothers — a bipolar genius in human psychology and a slick ex-con — who head a unique agency designed to solve their clients’ problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation. In addition to helping their clients, the agency’s staff sometime turn their powers to pull strings on one another. Killen is the writer/executive producer. Influence marks a departure from Killen’s previous two series projects, Fox’s Lone Star and NBC’s Awake, which both had very complex, non-linear narratives as they centered on protagonists living dual lives. Still, Killen kept a duality element in his new show too, making one of the main characters bipolar. On the feature side, Killen wrote the Black List script The Beaver, which was directed by Jodie Foster. read article

Ever Wonder How People Would React to a Hipster Sitcom?

Vulture.Com has the answer:

Hipster Sitcom Destined for Ridicule – by Margaret Lyons (Vulture.Com)

Hipsters! Aren’t they the silliest/worst? Is there anything more fun than an Internet flame war about what does and does not qualify one to be a “hipster”? Indeed, there is nothing more fun. NBC wants a piece of that endless source of joy, which is why the network has bought the pilot currently going by Untitled Hipster Project. Stick with that name! It’s so unfinished and raw and edgy, which is exactly what hipsters like. According to Deadline, the show, from The Daily Show‘s Josh Lieb and comedian Nick Thune, is about an “un-hip” anthropology student who finds himself living among Brooklynites and studying their ways. “Behold the aspiring children’s librarian in her natural habitat, Instagram-ing her artisanal meals,” etc. read article

Graham Yost is the New King of the World

…Hey, he’s getting close anyway. (Just what we didn’t need. Yet another super successful TV genius writer-producer to hate.)

The Hollywood Reporter reports (What? We’re supposed to come up with a better word? We know it doesn’t sound quite right, but our thesaurus finger’s broken) that NBC is now in business with Graham Yost, showrunner of FX’s JUSTIFIED and creator of FX’s upcoming Keri Russell KGB spy series THE AMERICANS. The series is set in ’70s L.A. and is named L.A. WOMAN because not only do the networks go to the same people for everything, they also welcome the use of dreary old names that they think might be recognized by the audience. And we suppose that if NBC’s audience is geriatric rockers/Doors fans that could occur here.

But we doubt it. read article