Tag: Spec Scriptacular Contest

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

Chapter 73 – Back in it in High Def
by Leesa Dean

hdI’m back from a much-needed mini-vacation. Yes, I really needed a real vacation, but I take it where I can.

Went upstate for a long weekend, hung out with friends, relaxed, played some tennis and (gasp!) might even have gotten one step closer to a less embarrassing serve! (My serve is, um, a work-in-progress.) Even though it was a few days, I felt like I was gone for year and was itching to get back into it.

I hit the ground running Monday morning. Meetings, production and more. Had a long conversation with my production partner and we’re booking some meetings (not heavy duty pitch ones, but some exploratory stuff with people who might be helpful to us with the projects we’re working on) in the next month or so. I work really well under pressure and respond well to deadlines so….it’s on! read article

WGAW September 2014 Calendar of Events

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From NFL Running Back to TV Writer

Time now for a diversity update: The inspiring story of a successful athlete who gave it all up to become a television writer. You too can switch careers and follow your dream!

That is what this means, right?

ESPN Presents Body At ESPYsby Rashard Mendenhall

I wasn’t supposed to walk away from the NFL, but I did. I wasn’t supposed to be writing television, but I am. I’m supposed to be lost after football. I’m not. I’ve reinvented myself. This is my first transformation. I’m supposed to be broke right now, or maybe the statistics say five years from now. Either way, I’m not even close. I’m not supposed to be anything but a football player. But really, I’m just a guy who used to play football. There’s a reason I’m doing this. read article

Cara Winter: The Anglo Files 3

wallander_01WALLANDER
by Cara Winter

I’ve been a fan of Kenneth Branagh’s work since the early 1990’s. When my parents finally bought a VCR, the first movie I rented from our local mom-and-pop video store was HENRY V, directed by and starring Branagh. I rented it so many times, the store owner eventually just let me keep it.

Over the years, I’ve seen almost everything Branagh has done, both in front of and behind the camera. (By the way, if you haven’t seen him opposite Robin Wright in Michael Kalesniko’s HOW TO KILL YOUR NEIGHBOR’S DOG? Go, watch it. Right now. I’ll wait.) So imagine my excitement when I learned (via LB, from whom all good things spring) of the existence of the BBC’s WALLANDER, starring the man himself. (Yes, a happy dance ensued.)

On the surface, WALLANDER is a run-of-the-mill detective show: a crime is committed, Detective Kurt Wallander (Branagh) is called in, and he attempts to figure out who-done-it. But just scratch the surface, and there’s so much more. Wallander lives alone in a sparsely furnished apartment; he drinks (quietly, in front of the TV) until he passes out; he forgets (or ignores?) his dad’s birthday. read article

How to write the perfect crime story

This article is from a series of writing tips for kids. But, hey, we’re all kids, aren’t we? Otherwise how could we be writers?

Niall-Leonardby Niall Leonard

The crime novel, as a visit to any good bookshop will tell you, is a huge category, and I would never claim to know the definitive method of constructing and writing one; I can only go from my own experience of writing for TV shows like Silent Witness and Wire in the Blood, and the crime novel trilogy that started with Crusher.

The best place to start is with a story that fascinates you as a writer. If you feel excited writing it there’s a far better chance your readers will feel excited too. Real life is always the best source of stories, but never rely on newspapers or TV for the whole truth: journalists often omit inconvenient facts, or simply get stuff wrong, and TV writers constantly cheat and fudge reality to make their story work better, or to fit a timeslot or a budget. Recycling other writers’ work is not good writing any more than reheating a supermarket meal in a plastic tray is good cooking – research is essential if you want your tale to ring true.