Guess Who’s Back…

Jane Espenson is one of the OG TV writing bloggers. Unfortunately, she stopped blogging last year after coming to the conclusion that she’d shared most of her wisdom. It was a sad day in my RSS reader.

…but that sadness was lifted when I saw a new post on her blog. Everybody interested in this line of work should check out her site ASAP. And, if you’re a first time visitor, take the time to cruise her archives – they’re priceless.

Meet Liz Tigelaar

“Life Unexpected” is one of the best show on TV today. For me, it harkens back to The WB salad days when they were dealing us shows like “Gilmore Girls”, “Dawson’s Creek”, and “Felicity” – snappy dialogue, real characters, and stakes that are grounded in reality.

I happen to know a bit about “Life’s” creator Liz Tigelaar and it’s no surprise that she wrote on two of the three shows mentioned above. In fact, her resumé is chock full of awesome credits and the story of how “Life” leap-frogged over pilots with stronger pedigrees last year is inside-Hollywood legend.

If you want to learn a bit more about someone who followed the assistant->staff->showrunner path we’re all trudging along, check out her interview over at the WGA’s website:

Path To Staff Writer

The Bitter Script Reader has a cool series of interviews with a staff writer from “Human Target” about the path he followed to get the job. I *love* stuff like this because it helps demystify the writers room to guys like me who haven’t worked there. Yet.

Interview with JERICHO and HUMAN TARGET’s Robert Levine

Do. Not. Wait.

I’ll admit it: it’s really difficult for me to start writing some mornings. But I know I have to persevere, even if I’m not chomping at the bit to get going most days.

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Golden Garbage Dump

Last year, I needed to crank out another original one-hour sample for a potential rep. Fast. I already had the show’s basic premise, characters, arcs, and theme in mind…but I knew I wouldn’t have as much polish time once I pounded out the first draft as I’m used to. And (as I’ve mentioned before) those rewrites are where I really find my scripts come alive.

So, once I hammered out that first draft, I opened up a special document where I’ve been stashing little pieces of awesome for close to a decade. Great stories I overheard, cool dialogue parted out from abandoned projects, unique characters I’d imagined but not utilized yet, etc. …it’s basically where I bury the babies I’m forced to kill – but plan on reanimating at the right moment.

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It Has To Be Bad To Get Good

I’m a serial rewriter – when I’m in the middle of a script, I can’t stop myself from reading back over what I’ve accomplished in prior sessions and doing a little polish work. Of course, this means I’m rewriting all of my scenes multiple times before finishing the first draft.

And it still sucks. Always.

This used to get me down because of all the work I’d put into that first draft. What I didn’t realize was that, despite it’s first drafty-ness, I’d done most of the heavy lifting. Which is to say I’d written everything down – front, middle, and end. Now, I can go about making it actually good.

Which is why I’m writing this post. Forget Hemingway, EVERY writer I’ve ever heard interviewed or spoken with directly has emphasized that the first draft is the first effort – and that it should never see the light of day. It’s quite simple to identify missteps when you have an entire story to contrast it against – not so much if you only have part of the whole and don’t know where you’re headed.

So I guess the long and short of this thought is: don’t be afraid to be bad. Because we all are. It’s how you work the rough shape that helps add a distinct voice and focus to the script you will show other folks.

Matt Weiner @ “The Treatment”

Although “The Treatment” usually deals with films, Elvis Mitchell occasionally interviews small screen folk. His recent interview with “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner is a superb look into the mind of a writer who’s working on a level that a lot of us never get to. His insight into character and truth in writing is worth a listen for anyone looking to sharpen their skills.

Running “Sons of Anarchy”

Another great post from Kurt Sutter about the responsibilities and mechanics of running his brilliant FX series, “Sons of Anarchy”.

Done Is The Engine Of More

I first came across this *brilliant* bit of inspiration on John Roger’s blog Kung Fu Monkey. It’s hanging in the writer’s room at “Leverage” and undoubtedly in many other places as well, but I’m not sure where it originally came from. (more…)

“Stiffing Staffing Season”

This is one of my favorite episodes of KCRW’s “The Business”. Although the show being discussed is no longer on the air, the story of its creators should prove inspirational to anyone trying to make it as a TV writer. The unconventional path they took is yet another example of there being no real rules in Hollywood…enjoy.