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12/19/2006: Unwriting


More and more writers seem to be doing what I do, namely, moving back and forth between writing for hour dramas and writing for half-hour comedies. Maybe this will ultimately result in more similarities between the way the two kinds of shows are written. But for now, there are still some stark differences.

Unlike drama writers, comedy writers spend a lot of time looking at dialogue *together*. This is because comedy staffs do the group-rewrite thing, going through every line of the script over and over as a group, usually while looking at it projected on a monitor in the writers' room. Lots of time is spent changing jokes, looking for a funnier take on a situation. But I would estimate that just as much time is spent on minor wording tweaks. Usually, this involves removing words, looking for the fastest, tightest version of any line, whether it's a joke or not.

Tightening lines like that is especially important for comedy, where timing is an integral part of the whole point of the exercise. As a spec writer, you don't have the -- advantage? distraction? -- of a whole room full of people chiming in on the best way to tighten a line, so you have to do it on your own. It's worth making a whole separate pass through your script, just looking for words to cut.

Do you have someone saying: "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"? Does it maybe work better as, "I've been sayin'!"? In comedy, faster is almost always better (there are exceptions, but in general, fast = good). Make the cut.

Drama doesn't rely as crucially on speed, but timing is still important, and lengthy chunks of speech tend to be boring, and intimidating to the eye of the reader. It's not as important, I would say, in drama, to shorten an eight-word sentence to three words, but it's really important to shorten a five-sentence speech down to two sentences.

Remember, it's a sculpture and you're Michelangelo. Chisel away enough stone and there might be a naked guy inside.

Lunch: poached eggs on a bed of spicy Indian beans