Writing

Neil Gaiman on Writing

Considering I shared some interviews of Rod Serling on writing earlier, what are the odds that I’d share an interview with Neil Gaiman after last week’s post? Pretty darn good. So here’s a good 100-minute interview with Tim Ferris from 2019 where Neil Gaiman goes into all sorts of things from his formative years to fountain pens to his writing process (and I have to say, I do like the change in format enforcing the…

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Writing

Neil Gaiman here. What is the Nature of your Mythological Emergency?

I had a lot of reactions when I first read The Sandman in the previous millennium, but one of them was noting how clearly Neil Gaiman adored mythology and storytelling through history. American Gods, Anansi Boys, and more recently Norse Mythology all cement this observation. The connection between Gaiman and mythology isn’t exactly a secret these days, which, combined with the debut of the TV incarnation of The Sandman, is likely why Wired decided to…

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Writing

A Lot More Q&A with Rod Serling

After watching the Rod Serling video compilation back in July, I’ve gone down a modest Rod Serling rabbit hole looking for other videos and talks and interviews he’s given. As you might imagine, YouTube does provide. This nearly hour-long entry is essentially a long question-answer session from UCLA circa 1971. As with many of the other videos I’ve come across, many of his answers and references are very topical to 1971, so be warned that…

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Producing Writing

The Showrunner Role in Transition

Thinking of Monday’s post regarding Rod Serling, I’m continuing to read up about showrunners and industry trends in the wake of COVID. And if you’re wondering what a ‘showrunner’ of a TV show actually is, well, that’s changing too — as covered in this very long form article for Vice by Katharine Trendacosta. Perhaps from my time studying anthropology and perhaps my dayjob role of analyzing business processes, but I love detailed articles like these…

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Writing

Rod Serling on Writing

I was recently writing a short story that I purposely wanted to have a “Twilight Zone” feel for both the structure my overall understanding of how the story would unfold. I mean, I linked to it above, but the phrase “Twilight Zone” and its implications has permeated culture so thoroughly that, even without an impressive three follow-up series, I think it would still occupy a place in people’s minds. So, after finishing the story, I…

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Writing

Things to Come: Sci-fi Adaptation Edition

I’m way overdue in posting about David Agranoff’s article for Tor from last December. In the wake of the adaptations of Dune and Foundation that were released last Fall, adaptations of quintessentially influential science fiction series, what landmark work might be adapted next? (And yes, I see you there amid your psychohistory textbooks, ardent Foundation fan. I know you’re waiting to wryly expound about how Foundation has yet to be adapted. A Seldon Crisis which…

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Writing

Hard Work or Hardly Working: Writers’ Edition

A couple posts I read this past weekend inspired me to update my “Writing” section, but before I get to that, here are the posts in questions. Ken Levine on the difference between amateur writers and pros. Ken Levine is, as one might expect of a veteran writer of shows like M*A*S*H and Cheers, pithy and to the point. I’ve heard both the anecdotes before, though I don’t think I knew the sources. Mark Evanier…

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Various and Sundry Writing

Ted Lasso and the Turn, Turn, Turns of TV Seasons

Note: This post and the related links abound in spoilers for Ted Lasso, season 2. This past weekend, my wife and I finally finished the second season of Ted Lasso, the comfort-food comedy-drama that is nominally about soccer, but really seems to be a backdoor effort to assemble a Gen X mixtape playlist whilst making equal numbers of jokes and pop culture references every single minute. The gentle yet foul-mouthed comedy of season one remains,…

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Writing

The Work, not Art, of Screenwriting, via Billy Ray

Given last week’s post about David Lynch and screenwriting, I knew I wanted to do another screenwriting post. And then last night’s Oscar ceremony got me thinking about the film industry and its future and I remembered a column by screenwriter Billy Ray. It’s from 2016, but it doesn’t seem any less apropos in its calls to action. Note that the column is very much about Hollywood/mainstream film industry filmmaking, but it’s not like the…

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Writing

Screenwriting through the David Lynch Lens

Last week, I posted a few videos about David Lynch and how to hook yourself an idea or two. Well, as you might expect, I plowed through a number of Lynch videos at the same time, in part because the two I shared last week are just about the nature of getting ideas. But, in fact, the first video I watched was a piece asking Lynch about his screenwriting process… and since it’s just over…

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