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08/01/2007: Good Writing = Good Lighting


If you're writing a spec pilot or another piece with original characters, remember that your readers don't necessarily know who the star of the show is. Help them out. Let your main character have the last line in a lot of the scenes. Give her the big jokes, too. Tell the readers more about her expressions and reactions throughout a scene than the other characters. All this stuff will make her seem to sparkle. And you won't run the risk of having the readers focus mistakenly on some character you kill off in act two.

This might seem obvious, but it's often the case that a secondary character, because he can be more broadly drawn, has the funnier point of view. It's easy for that kind of character to get the last word all the time, and to highjack the script. Let them be funny, but make sure the spotlight stays on your star.

Lunch: Something called a "sombrero salad," but it contained no actual hat.