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The Missing Link. More about Cold Feet and TV Series and Serials

10/23/2012

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Rushing, as usual, in a recent post on this blog I forgot to add a crucial  link to a discussion about TV series and Serial Writing that I was having on a Linked In Discussion Group.  We were discussing Cold Feet and the issue of TV Series and Serial Writing . So here is the discussion I mentioned.  Sorry!

Here's what I said.

For me a lot of the success behind Cold Feet was the choice and blend of characters which permitted excellent comedy writing and of course the writer's brilliant wit. Comedy was the big seller in that, I'd say.
The issue you're discussing here is the well night impossible question to answer of 'what makes a good series?' . While we can't really answer that, what we can do is be very tough about staying on task during development, trying to isolate and hang on to what we think is the big seller. One thing I created when I was working on devising TV drama series was something I called 'The Series Template', and a lot of people have found it useful. It's an extra bit to go in the bible, but it precedes the bible. It's essentially, 'what you have to get in each episode', and it covers specific character interaction, type of structure, style etc - all in one sentence grabs. The great thing about the Series Template is that you can create it very early on in the development process so it help in development (when it's really easy for discussion to go off the point), but also for ongoing use. I've written about the Series Template in a book on TV I wrote called 'TV Writing: The Ground Rules of Series, Serials and Sitcom'  It's now available as an ebook.
 (Television Writing: The Ground Rules of Series, Serials and Sitcom)

It's a bit out of date but constantly pirated so someone must be finding it useful.

One of the biggest problems we have as writers is staying on task - we'rewriters, we're inventive - we can easily get distracted away from writing Little Red Riding Hood by getting really interested in Little Red Riding Hood's wacky Auntie. Great, but that ain't the job description. So a constant reminder of 'what am I supposed to be doing here' is immensely useful.
There is also a general need for new series arc each season to stop atrophy. So, how? In practical, technical terms? Now that TV is delighting viewers by breaking new ground in things structural (you can barely watch an evening's TV drama these days without seeing flashbacks, time jumps etc) one way that I suggest is the use of a range of nonlinear series arcs. Technically difficult, but I've recently given talks to TV writers in Poland and at the BBC TV Drama Writers' Festival on exactly that, and there's a lot of interest because, as you rightly point out, there's always a need to punch up drama series before they get tired (and as quickly as possible when they do).

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Questions for Linda - London Screenwriters Festival Appearance

10/21/2012

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This year I'm delighted to say that at 9.00 am on 28 October I'm again talking about non linear and multiple protagonist screenwriting at The London Screenwriters' Festival, the biggest screenwriters' festival in the world. Talking about Parallel Narrative (non linear and multiple storyline films) in London at the London Screenwriters' Festival

This year my topic is 'The Non Linear Minefield', and as well as giving a quick overview of the various types of nonlinear screenplay and how to structure them, I'm talking about what can go wrong in writing these sorts of scripts. I'm asking delegates to send me questions ahead of time about what they're finding difficult in nonlinear screenwriting. Now, whether or  not you're coming to the LSF, if you want to ask a question, email it to me at info@lindaaronson.com and I'll see if I can include it. I'm then post answers on the blog. We really need to get a dialogue going about nonlinear, now it's so common, so let's start now.

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    Linda is a screenwriter, novelist and playwright. As well as teaching and mentoring writers around the world, she regularly consults on screenplays at the highest level in the US, UK and Australia.

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