When Nathan Bransford offers advice, we listen. In case you’re wondering why, here he is with the kind of writing wisdom you don’t find just anywhere.
by Nathan Bransford
Crafting good mysteries is an important part of the novel writing process, no matter the genre. Mysteries pull the reader through the novel, they build anticipation and suspense, and they often result in the most satisfying payoffs for the reader.
Hey, what else can your friendly neighborhood el munchador say? Artists get the audiences they deserve. AmIright?
Julia was a masterful series and a ground-breaker of major importance. Herbie J tells us why.
Julia literally changed the face of television with a series of firsts.
It was the first TV series to feature a non-stereotypical African-American, specifically, a sophisticated African-American female, in the lead of a 30-minute comedy or a one-hour drama. It was also the first show to combine those genres, becoming an inaugural weekly half-hour dramedy, filmed with a single camera, without a live studio audience, or a laugh track.
Here at TVWriter™ we’re not afraid to say that one-half of the writing team that labored over this cultural revolution of a screenplay was one of Larry Brody’s first students way back when he was teaching TV and film writing at The College of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe, NM.
In fact, we’re proud to point that out. Wonder why the NYTimes, where this article first appeared last week, left that intriguing factoid out. Oh well.
Hi, Karen McCullah! Good job! Whatcha up to these days? (That’s a joke, people. Check out Karen’s career HERE.)
In real life we hide our true feelings all the time. In TV & film, actors and directors take advantage of enigmatic closeups and background music to show viewers that they’re hiding something. What can you, as a writer, do to set up this situation in your script without going over the top?
HINT: Subtext for the win. (Now all you have to do is figure out how to create it.)