“How I learned to tell stories on purpose” as a video game writer

LB’S NOTE: What? Video games are writen? By writers? And they even have to learn the craft? I thought AI’s did all that. Day-am!

by Jim Stormdancer

In this article, I’ll explain how I went from having basically no idea how to construct a story to making players cry with my story (in a good way this time). There are big spoilers for the Frog Fractions Hat DLC below, so maybe play it first (or keep reading until an explicit warning about spoilers comes up). read article

Cartoon: Against Despair

LB’S NOTE: TVWriter™’s all-time favorite artist/philosopher, Grant Snider, handles what may well be the biggest problem of our time, whether we’re writers or other creatives or accountants or, well, you name it’s. Thank you, dear Mr. Snider, for being so – dare I say it – fucking wise?

See more of Grant Snider’s extraordinary perception of human creativity at Incidental Comics, HERE

More of less: the dilemma facing the BBC

LB’S NOTE: TV viewing habits are in flux, for all practical purposes (notice that I didn’t say “literally” although this probably would be sentence in which that word would apply) changing every moment.

This of course has a huge effect on creatives, as in, “WTF? Who’s our audience? What does it want? What should we create?” and possibly an even bigger effect on the gatekeepers of the world. This interview with Tim Davie, new director general at the BBC explains.

This is a “director general?” Where’s his uniform? And his medals…?

by Jim Waterson

When Tim Davie used his first speech as the director general of the BBC to announce he wanted to have “more impact by making less”, staff immediately began sending round a clip from the sitcom W1A in which clueless BBC management attempt to implement a “more of less” programme. read article

Ricky Gervais Tells A Story About How He Learned To Write

LB’S NOTE: Speaking of most comedy writing needing to be shorter and funnier, here’s Ricky Gervais proving himself a true master of both.

More “creation stories” can be found at Fast Compajny’s YouTube Channel

How to make your writing funnier

LB’S NOTE: As a producer, story editor, teacher, contest judge, you-name-it, the most common note I’ve given writers is, hands down, this:

Could be shorter. Could be funnier.

Here’s comedy writer Cheri Steinkellner with further details on the “funnier” part. Oh, and notice that as TED TALKS go, this is pretty darn short, y’hear what I’m saying? read article