Words this TVWriter™ minion stumbled upon and discovered she really needed to read in these very trying times:
I’m a happy sort of writer. I write about parenting, puppies, chickens, family and the life lessons I learn. For the most part I’m an optimist, I have always believed in the goodness of the world.
But these days it’s difficult to write happy when I’m so angry and discouraged.
Above: Troy’s great new show. Perfect for Halloween!
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that the notes process is generally one of my least favorite things about working in television.
Some visitors to TVWriter™ may be surprised to hear that many artists in all disciplines don’t make a whole lotta money. Which means they – okay, let’s be honest – we sometimes – oops – often need help finding creative space or just plain making ends meet. Here are some tips getting yourself a very special kind of help:
Last August, I made a brief visit to paradise. I woke up early and took a quick walk down a flower-lined path and over a river to breakfast. Once caffeinated, I headed to my studio, a cozy room with a bookshelf, desk, and armchair for reading, with a window overlooking that river, whose burbling underscored several hours of writing. I went to lunch at 12, then spent some time lounging in an Adirondack chair in the sun, reading. After that, maybe I went for a hike, or to a yoga class, or back to my studio. Then dinner, followed by more writing, then a reading or artist lecture, then out for some drinks in town.
Don’t you just love stories about how other writers have made it in TV or films? Don’t you wish those stories were about you?
Here’s something to love. And it’s helped keep the wish alive for this TVWriter™ minion, that’s for sure. Hope it does the same for you:
Jeremy Bronson got his start in TV working as a producer for longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews. So, it’s only fitting that his new series The Mayor is about – you guessed it – politics. The half-hour comedy centers on a struggling young rapper named Courtney Rose who runs for mayor of his small town to increase his celebrity and ends up winning. That being said, the transition from Hardball producer to comedy series creator (with a few stops at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, The Mindy Project and Speechless along the way) wasn’t quite so easy. Ahead of Tuesday’s series premiere, Bronson reflects on how he made it.
When you begin crafting a story have you taken into consideration the needs and wants of your main characters?
You should. Because when you get down to it, those are the driving forces of your story.
Now many people may jump up and yell, no, it’s conflict! “If there isn’t conflict, there isn’t a story.” But where does that conflict come from?