THANKS TO EVERYONE who came out to the College Street Public Library for Elize Morgan & Karen Walton's PWYC screenwriting sessions. I managed to slip in to catch the end of the session with Walton & Semi Chellas on adaptations, and learned more in five minutes than I did my last year of Ryerson.
Okay that's a bit of hypberbole. (I'm fragile and I've only had one coffee.) But it was pretty interesting.
I was extremely lucky to be on a panel about showrunning & show creation with two colleagues who I've learned a lot from -- Graeme Manson (The Bridge, Flashpoint, Rent-A-Goalie) and the great Peter Mohan. (Mutant X, Blood Ties, The Bridge.) Peter's in production right now on Lost Girl, but he's such a mensch that he still took time out of his Saturday.
I hope we gave good info -- it's always hard to tell at these things. I'm fairly sure we could have gone another hour.
And it was nice to see Peter Mitchell -- the WGC Showrunner of the Year -- winner of the Alex Barris Mentorship Award at the 2010 Canadian Screenwriting Awards --in the house, too. Another strong proponent of the kind of mentorship that makes writers into better writers, and probably better people, too.
Wish I could have been there the whole day. If you were at the conf, and want to share the best insights gleaned from the day of panels, I hand the mike to you now. Comments are open.
10 comments:
It was a fantastic show all around - I managed to drag my sorry butt out of bed to be presentable for the 10 am starting gun... and I'm really glad I did.
The Transmedia talk right off the top was invigorating. I learned a ton about web series and how to get them off the ground from some people who've already been there and done that.
In fact, I don't think there was a wasted moment in the whole day - all the speakers were keen to talk shop and spill the beans on their secrets... well, most of them... and they even stuck around to answer all sorts of follow up questions.
Pretty cool of them considering they were donating their time on a Saturday morning.
Big round of applause for Karen and Elize - this was a totally wicked day and I'm glad I made it!
Wish I could have gone but I had to strike it off my list as deadlines loomed. Good job to all! - Rob Pincombe
Peter Mitchell won the Alex Barris Mentorship Award. The Showrunner of the Year was Heather Conkie (of heartland fame).
I stand corrected, of course.
It was a great event, I for sure learned a lot about the business of screenwriting and TV. Very happy I went!
That was so fun, wow. Thank you Denis, standing room only and never enough time and wow. Rocked. Applause for writer & #crushingit scribe Elize Morgan; check out her blog on the charity we all got behind for this -
http://bike4change.wordpress.com/
Karen Walton, ink canada
canadian screenwriters
&their sketchy friends
Addendum:
If you can only write within the structure and format of television writing, then you’re not a true writer. Television writing is for mediocre minds; they need to work within borders and rules and a story that is already created. They need to latch onto an anchor. Working in television writing rooms is almost the equivalent to factory workers. It’s not creative work – there is a limit to having your own vision – you’re writing someone else’s show. You are not writing the show, the show writes the show. The factory worker is packaging together someone else’s invention. If you’re a staff writer on a television show, you’re basically a minion. People who have little thoughts of their own; who don’t have much to say, fall into television writing. Television writing is not for the independent mind. The independent mind will find it constrictive and difficult to write for television. Television programming is just filler for commercial advertisements. A writers work should be his own. It should not be tossed to 14 different people for their opinion and notes, otherwise it is not a work of his own. That is the entire point of a writer -- to give ones personal perspective -- not to reflect the perspective of the masses. A writers work should be his own. If he follows notes and writes according to everyone else's opinion, it's not a work of art. A writer either has integrity or he doesn't. A writer without integrity is one who writes and behaves according to everyone else's preference. Such a person would be more suited as a financial advisor or stock broker. What would the purpose of his writing be? For a paycheque? For credit? If it is for status, power and a paycheque, then it is just like working for a corporation.
In order to maintain contentment, many people create an idea about the world that they unconsciously know is somewhat deluded, so when they hear this unconscious thought articulated, it threatens them like they’ve been exposed, and they resultantly become either hostile or dismissive.
..and no word of a lie, 6 more comments from "The Ghost of Oscar Wilde" in a similar vein - each one a little bit longer; not a one of them with a hint of Wildean humor.
After comment 3 I started scanning. And after comment 6 I gave up -- so I'll spare you.
But I'm relieved to know that writing for TV isn't real writing.
Now I can concentrate on my first love: bringing the crazy to blog comment sections.
Since the world is mad, one must be crazy ;)
Or as Samuel Beckett puts it: We are all born mad. Most remain so. ;)
xo
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