Larry Brody: Live! From Paradise! #114 “Workin’ It Out”

THE USUAL NOTE FROM LB: From the summer of 2002 to  the spring of 2010, Gwen the Beautiful and I were the proud and often exhausted owners of a beautiful Ozarks property we called Cloud Creek Ranch.

In many ways, the ranch was paradise. But it was a paradise with a price that started going up before we even knew it existed. Here’s another Monday musing about our adventure and the lessons we learned.

Oh, and if y’all detect any irony, please believe me when I say it comes straight from the universe and not your kindly Uncle Larry B. read article

10 Most Viewed TVWriter™ Posts of the Week – September 21, 2020

Good morning! Welcome to another week of TV (and other) writing and production tips at TVWriter™.

We had a short week here because of a server failure, but that’s been fixed, so here are the most popular blog posts and resource pages during our somewhat abridged last 7 days. read article

Stephanie Bourbon Reminds Us – Story First!

One of our fave TV writers-illustrators-screenwriters-vloggers, Stephanie Bourbon, explains why great storytelling should be your focus from the time you sit down to write to…you know, that time when somebody yanks you out of your chair and forces you to stop.

by Stephanie Bourbon

Have you ever picked up a book that has been on the bestseller list for months and months and the author is all over the publishing news because all the movie deals coming in and how rich they are—and then the writing is bad, like really bad, and you think—WTF??? read article

Listen to your characters, but don’t let them run away

Nathan Bransford, TVWriter™’s favorite publishing know-it-all, has an important lesson about characterization for all of us who spend our days writing fiction of any kind.

by Nathan Bransford

Nearly everyone who has written a novel has had the experience of writing an unruly character who suddenly takes the story in a different direction than you anticipated. Even the best outline can quickly go up in smoke. read article

Herbie J Pilato is High-Stepping Along the Writing Path

We’re always happy to bring you articles by TVWriter™ Contributing Editor Emeritus Herbie J Pilato, but now we’re even happier to present the latest article (that we’ve seen) about him.

A Media Path Through the Life of Mary Tyler Moore and the Necessity of Imparting an Honest Narrative
via Media Path

“I love classic TV,” says Herbie J. Pilato. His passion for television history is unmistakable. In writing his book, Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story, he approached the life and legacy of an icon with deep respect, compassion and attentiveness. When he discusses the book, there’s such a genuine understanding of the significance fans and admirers would attribute to the task of creating the record of a life story as stunning as Mary’s.

Herbie is a historian above everything, therefore he spares no effort when it comes to chronicling the details of Mary’s life and work, his knowledge coming through clearly as he tells us about the development and trajectory of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. He’s an ardent supporter of Mary who is keenly insightful as to her desires, her insecurities, her hopes and disappointments, and when he speaks about these things one gets the sense that he’s extraordinarily well-suited to be her surrogate and her voice. read article