I’m a Scandi TV addict. Ok? I am. Everything Nordic, no matter what the topic—and let’s face it, it’s usually the topic of crime—I’m on it. I watched Midnight Sun, smorgasbord-style, all I could eat, back-to-back episodes, could not help myself, in one sitting. I will gorge myself, without a shred of guilt, and also without a shred of regard for how badly written some of this stuff is.Read More →
Famous Australian playwright, Michael Gow, once said in an extraordinary writer’s workshop given at JUTE that “there are no rules, only examples”. I cannot recall if he was saying something brilliantly original, or quoting someone else who is awesome. Yeah. That would be because I don’t read enough examples.Read More →
“Where do you get all your ideas?” some people ask of writers as if there is some secret trick of the trade. That’s like saying to an actor, “I don’t know how you remember all those lines!” There is no trick. It’s just what happens. Writers get ideas. But that’s not to say anything after the getting of an idea is easy.Read More →
So much of our life and language is tied up in our understanding of time. Work deadlines, milestones, catching planes, gym timetables, shop opening hours, making time, wasting time, time on our hands, killing time. We glance at our smartphone or our fitbit or the clock on the wall to check the time because we know time means something. Hey, but do we really know what time it is? Apparently not.Read More →
Ever watch that trainwreck of a reality TV show Intervention? Compelling viewing, wasn’t it, watching the details of a human tragedy unfold with the promise of redemption and release always hanging the air? See now, I’m living in my own private script intervention, complete with a rehab program, and turns out, it’s far from entertaining. Damn right unpleasant.Read More →
It’s Modern Family’s Jay Pritchett. It’s Star Trek’s Doctor McCoy. It’s Orange Is The New Black’s Galina “Red” Reznikov. It’s a Hollywood (and small screen) staple, and some might conclude a complete cliche. Yet the ‘crusty but benign’ character, forever firing off conflicting messages of love and disdain, has something to tell us writers.Read More →
I saw one of my Write Sparks workshop writers today at the markets. He was busy at his foot reflexology stall, but I caught him between customers. He wanted to get some advice about where to go with his script and I told him a bit about creative developments.Read More →
Next time you’re at some fancy-schmancy dinner party and someone asks you what you do for a living, just for laughs, say that you are a dramaturg. The more socially adept in your company will nod their heads politely and feign the appearance of a passing knowledge of such a profession. They will pause for a sip of wine to give them a moment to think of something to say, then come up with a conversation-stopper comment like “Wow. That’s terrific.”Read More →