A Station Eight Fan Web Site
: « First : « 10 : Displaying #23 - #32 of 58 records. : 10 » : Last » :
Posts Per Page: 1 : 10 : 25 : 50 : All :
What do I need to write in character biographies? As I'm making my project, the way I do my character bios, I write a lot of backstor, the characters' personality, birthday and age, and a bit of present, etc. Is that all necessary or do I need to do them in a better order?
There aren't any rules. You do what you need.
Hi. A little while ago I requested a character oriented slant for a hypothetical third season of Young Justice. I want to rescind my request. As I sit here working on my YA novel, I realized that no writer can work that way. He/she can only tell the story she wants to tell and hope other people like it.
Yep.
Hi Greg,
In your opinion, what are some of the key factors that separate a good story/script from a poor one (especially as it applies to writing in episodic television)?
Thanks
Uh...
Good structure.
Story that comes out of character.
Dialogue that sounds like something human beings would actually say.
Some amount of surprise.
And if we're literally talking about the script itself: PROOFREADING!
Hello Mr. Weisman,
I'm very much a writer like yourself and am trying to break into the animation industry with a story of my own; its tone and maturity much like Young Justice, which I loved by the way (Go Robin!).
My questions are:
1.) How much should I have in my story's portfolio before I pitch my idea to various networks? I already have concept drawings, practice scripts, and I'm having an independent studio make three animated shorts, but what would you suggest?
2.) Who, generally, should I know or get to mentor me in breaking into the industry? I was trained as an Engineer before realizing my true passion for storytelling.
3.) Any other tips I may have missed?
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
1. Less is more. You already have way more product/content than I'd use to pitch an original idea. The thing you may be missing is experience. But you never know. Sometimes they go for it.
2. As many folks as possible. Networking is an important skill.
3. Proofread religiously.
Hi Greg!
My name is Mexi Gremillion and I am going to be writing for film and television when I finish college in May. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions possibly about your experience as a creator and writer of fantastic television series like Gargoyles and Young Justice via email if possible, but it is totally fine if I ask you publicly on this sort of forum. I love your work and it's totally fine if you don't answer this, but I hope you do. Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Mexi Gremillion
Hi Mexi,
I'd prefer to keep things in this forum. I know you asked this question nine months ago, so if you're still checking this, I'd recommend that you look at the Ask Greg archives under WRITING and/or WRITING TIPS. See if your questions were asked and answered already. If you still have more questions, post them here.
Hi Greg,
I'll try and keep this short, as I'm sure your busy and having things to do, but basically I would like your honest opinion on something. And no, don't worry, it's not about ideas for any of the things you've worked on, nor anything that I or others have written.
Anyway, I'm an aspiring writer who wants to make his own series, and there's an aspect of storytelling that I can't seem to decide on. You see, I have always felt that there are, primarily, two types of villains:
1. The kind who do bad things and don't care
2. The kind who believe that their actions are justified
Summarily, I can't seem to decide which one is worse, as it could really be argued either way. I've asked some friends what they think, and have gotten back different answers.
Admittedly, the self-justifying villain tends to fall under a trope that I have a disliking towards:
Knight Templar - a villain who is convinced that he/she is the hero.
And, after thinking about it, there is at least one thing to appreciate about the "bad and don't care" villains; at least they have no illusions about what they want or what they're doing. Plus, we've seen a lot of the self-justifying villains in recent years, to the point where I think it might be overused. Which is why I think a balance between the two needs to be met, as too much of one can get old fast.
But anyway, I mainly just wanted to ask which type of villain you think is worse; the "bad and don't care" kind, or the self-justifying kind?
I take some issue with the reductive nature of your question. And so I think you're going about things the wrong way. It's not about which is worse. It's about what fits your character. Take, as an obvious example for this website, GARGOYLES.
We have two rather unique and memorable lead villains, DEMONA and XANATOS. I suppose you could reduce Xanatos to your definition of a type one villain. And I suppose you could reduce Demona to your type two. But there are moments when Xanatos thinks what he does is justified, and moments when Demona does a bad thing and just doesn't care. There are also moments when each has done truly heroic things.
The point I'm making is that a great villain is nothing more or less than a great CHARACTER. Write a character with consistency, backed by consistent motivation and history and I don't really care if he or she is type one, type two or type three. (Because, among other things, I doubt that there are truly only two types.)
I leave tomorrow for CONvergence 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Okay, really Bloomington, MN, but close enough.) CONvergence is one of my favorite cons. And I have the honor of being their first fan-funded guest. Here's my schedule for the long weekend:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
GUEST RECEPTION 07:00pm - 09:00pm
Atrium 4
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016
"Why Gargoyles is Still Relevant" 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Atrium 6 w/Christopher Jones, Patrick Fisher, Alana Profit, Chandra Reyer.
RADIO PLAY AUDITIONS 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Plaza 3 w/Christopher Jones.
"Physics of Time Travel" 03:30pm - 04:30pm
Edina w/Renate Fiora (m), Dan Berliner, Melanie Galloway, Jim Kakalios.
"Fancy Bastard Pie Competition" 08:30pm - 09:30pm
Garden Court - Southwest w/GPS.
FRIDAY, JULY 01, 2016
SIGNING 11:00am - 12:00pm
Autograph Table B.
RADIO PLAY AUDITIONS 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Plaza 3 w/Christopher Jones, Khary Payton.
"Writing by Ear" 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Bloomington w/Patrick Marsh (m), Emma Bull, Aimee Kuzenski, Jim McDoniel.
"Don't Call Them Sidekicks: The Enduring Power of Teenage Superheroes" 03:30pm - 04:30pm
Bloomington w/ Christopher Jones, Jessa Markert, Khary Payton, Sylus Rademacher.
"Drawing with the Masters" 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Plaza 2 w/Christopher Jones, Ruth Thompson.
"Why Diversity Needs to be Deeper than Marketing" 08:30pm - 09:30pm
Edina w/ Trisha Lynn (m), Kate Norlander, Jonathan Palmer, Dirk Ykema.
"Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome Live Podcast" 10:00pm - 11:00pm
Edina w/Windy Bowlsby, Melissa Kaercher.
SATURDAY, JULY 02, 2016
"Building Worlds for Fiction" 09:30am - 10:30am
Plaza 1 w/Michael Carus (m), J.M. Lee, Melissa Olson, Lynne M. Thomas.
"Why We Need Representation in Superheroes" 11:00am - 12:00pm
Edina w/ Christopher Jones, Bri Lopez Donovan, Khary Payton, Lynne M. Thomas.
RADIO PLAY REHEARSAL 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Atrium 6 w/ Christopher Jones, Jim Kakalios, Khary Payton and a cast of tens.
RADIO PLAY PERFORMANCE 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Atrium 6 w/ Christopher Jones, Jim Kakalios, Khary Payton and a cast of tens.
"Superficially Strong Female Characters" 05:00pm - 06:00pm
Edina w/ Crystal Huff (m), Kathryn Sullivan, Chrysoula Tzavelas, Joan Marie Verba.
"One on One with Christopher Jones" 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Edina (m) w/Christopher Jones.
ANIMATION BLUE 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Atrium 6 w/Christopher Jones, Lyda Morehouse, Khary Payton, Jenna Powers, Edmund Tsabard.
SUNDAY, JULY 03, 2016
YOUNG JUSTICE 09:30am - 10:30am
Atrium 6 w/Christopher Jones, Khary Payton.
SIGNING 11:00am - 12:00pm
Autograph Table B.
RAIN OF THE GHOSTS 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Edina.
READING 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Rm 2201.
ONE ON ONE 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Atrium 6 w/Melissa Kaercher.
Hey Mr. Weisman
I consider your and your collaborators' take on Young Justice to be a masterpiece, not just in terms of action but in terms of planning and structure. And that leads me to ask the question of how, exactly, did you go about mounting that type of beautifully complex operation? I mean how were you able to develop all of those intertwining stories for literally hundreds of characters and feed them all into the larger agenda? Did you start by breaking a general story for where you wanted the series to go and which characters you wanted to take it there? Or did you start with the main characters and work your way out from there?
I suppose we did start with general story. And characters, including general directions for each major character.
Then it's about index cards on a bulletin board. You move them around until you've got a cohesive set of stories, creating an arc or tapestry for the entire season.
Hello Greg,
I just had a few questions concerning Series Bibles if that's alright.
1. How are Series Bibles typically constructed? Is it divided into sections like characters, locations, and story events usually or does it depend on the show?
2. Do they contain much in the way of art or concepts? If so, are there perhaps unused versions or is it typically the finalized designs?
3. Given how much the passage of time is a factor in your shows, do you typically have a series timeline that gets added to as you progress? Do events tend to stay where they are or can things be moved around if need be?
Thank you for your time.
1. It depends on the needs of the show. But generally, there's an introductory section. Then characters. Major settings. Perhaps gear. Stories. Conclusion.
2. Most don't include art because no art has been done yet. (I'm not sure what you mean by "concepts".) By the time there is art, generally no one bothers to update the bible with it. But there are tons of exceptions.
2a. Could be either or neither.
3. I do, yes.
3a. Nothing is canon until it's appeared on the air or in some other canon source, for example the YJ companion comic. So things can change until then. But we tend to stay on track most of the time.
Hello, Greg. I'm a huge fan of yours. I'm really interested in animation, and storytelling and writing- and would eventually like to have my own show at some point. And I'm a big fan of superheroes and comics, especially DC ones. So- Young Justice had a huge impact on me. Anyway I wanted to know-
1)What advice do you have for young aspiring writers?
2)What are the people in the industry/companies looking for, when they're hiring?(I would love your insight)
3)What's the first step one needs to take, in order to get into the TV animation field and break through?
4)What sort of educational background is preferred in the industry, or proves helpful/useful in it?
The last question, I wanna know specifically as I think that'll help me determine what I wanna take for my University course. I love storytelling, always have and I would love for you to share your knowledge of the industry, and insights of writing. :)
1. Look through the "WRITING" and "WRITING TIPS" archives here at Ask Greg.
2. Good writers with good sample scripts.
3. Write scripts. Rewrite scripts. Rewrite some more. Get an agent.
4. No one cares. Seriously. Personally, I'm big on education, and I think it'll make you a better writer if you have a strong liberal arts background (even if you majored in the sciences or whatever), but no one looks at a resume and says, "Oh, no, he didn't go to Harvard! We can't hire him!"
: « First : « 10 : Displaying #23 - #32 of 58 records. : 10 » : Last » :