ALL: Who are the best breakdown and dialogue writers?

[R Sinclair]

That's a shame, because while watching my tape to find out who wrote the funeral scenes, I watched the August 2, 2002 episode featuring the warehouse explosion that killed Kristina. No pun intended, but that was a dynamite episode. Great direction by Owen Renfroe, but the dialog was thrilling. That whole episode leading up to the explosion had a marvelous momentum. Thanks to the breakdown (who GH never individually credits), but Shelly Moore's dialog kept up the pace.

I was always a fan of her work. This scene in that episode between Alexis and Sonny on the docks, where Alexis is clearly on the verge of wanting to tell Sonny she's pregnant with his child, but also is holding herself back from doing it, has always stuck with me.

ALEXIS

Sonny, wait a minute.

There's something that I haven't

told you -- something that I want

you to know. You're a dangerous

man with a dangerous life which I

no longer want to be a part of.

But the time that I've spent as your

lawyer and as your friend I don't

consider a waste. In fact, you've

given me something that I will cherish

for the rest of my life.

SONNY

And that would be?

ALEXIS

A new understanding, and I'll always

be grateful for that. Excuse me.

(SHE EXITS)

SONNY

(CALLING AFTER HER) A new

understanding of what, Alexis?

[heatherwebber]

GH IS hideous. It's been a horrible mess for way too long.

[AntiNWO]

Writing Process

Head Writers conceive the long-term story of a series, and write the thrusts, outlining their tale approximately a week at a time, along with their Associate Head Writers and the show's producers. Sometimes, there may be a story document for one particular plot, summarizing all of the major beats, but this isn't required for all stories.

The head writer, associate head writers, and the breakdown writers then divide the week's thrust into five episodes by meeting three times a week. The breakdown writers outline an episode, breaking it down into acts and scenes, with a summary of the action. Sometimes a head writer or associate head writer may choose to write a breakdown. Then the script writers take the breakdown outlines and write dialogue for each scene.

Script/story editors like, Elizabeth Korte, proof-read each completed breakdown outline & script and check for continuity errors. From time to time, a script/story editor can also write breakdown outlines and scripts on their respective shows like Korte does on GH. A breakdown outline or script is not considered completed until the head writer gives final approval.

BEST DAYTIME DRAMA WRITERS

William J. Bell, Kay Alden, Lynn Marie Latham, Linda Schreiber, Cherie Bennett, Joshua S. McCaffrey, Sally Sussman Morina, Josh Griffith, Sandra Weintraub, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald, Jeff Gottesfeld, Pat Falken Smith, Claire Labine, Michele Val Jean, Mary Sue Price, Karen Harris, Susan Wald, Patrick Mulcahey, Irna Phillips, Douglas Marland, Bridget Dobson, Jerome Dobson, Lorraine Broderick, Anna Cascio, Richard Culliton, Agnes Nixon, Wisner Washam, Carolyn Culliton, Hogan Sheffer

Y&R WRITERS

Lynn Marie Latham, Scott Hamner, Natalie Minardi Slater, Eric Freiwald, Paula Cwikly, Bernard Lechowick, [s.W.S.N.B.N.], Cherie Bennett, Jeff Gottesfeld, Rick Draughon, James Stanley, Sandra Weintraub, Linda Schreiber, Joshua S. McCaffrey, Chris Abbott, Sara A. Bibel, Janice Ferri Esser, Josh Griffith, Lynsey DuFour

GH WRITERS

Robert Guza Jr., Brian Frons, John F. Smith, David Goldschmid, Karen Harris, Susan Wald, Elizabeth Korte, Michele Val Jean, Mary Sue Price, Tracey Thomson, Michael Conforti, Garin Wolf

GH should lure back/hire writers from various formats (playwrights, novelists, essayists etc): Shelley Moore, Michael J. Cinquemani, Todd A. Kessler & Sally Sussman Morina

OLTL WRITERS

Dena Higley, Brian Frons, Kay Alden, Chris Van Etten, John Loprieno, Leslie Nipkow, Lisa Seidman, Aida Croal, Shelly Altman, Ron Carlivati, Janet Iacobuzio, Mark Christopher, Carolyn Culliton, Daniel Griffin, Michelle Poteet Lisanti, Frances Myers, Ginger Redmon, Victor Gialanella

ATWT WRITERS

Jean Passanante, Christopher Whitesell, Leah Laiman, Christopher Goutman, Gary Sunshine, Elizabeth Page, Courtney Simon, Judy Tate, Bettina F. Bradbury, Susan Dansby, Judith Donato, Lisa Connor, Anna Theresa Cascio, Richard Culliton, David A. Levinson

B&B WRITERS

Bradley Bell, Charles Pratt Jr. (?), Michael Minnis, Elizabeth Snyder, Lee Phillip Bell, John Chambers, Patrick Mulcahey, Jerry Birn, Jim Houghton, Tracey Ann Kelly, Rex M. Best, Chris Abbott

AMC WRITERS

Megan McTavish, Brian Frons, Kay Alden, Courtney Bugler, Joanna Cohen, Rebecca Taylor, Chip Hayes, Stephen Demorest, Marla Kanelos, Michelle Patrick, Amanda L. Beall, Jeff Beldner, Karen Lewis, Addie Walsh

GL WRITERS

David Kreizman, Donna M. Swajeski, Tita Bell, Rebecca Hanover, David Rupel, Christopher Dunn, Lloyd Gold, Kimberly Hamilton, Jill Lorie Hurst, Penelope Koechl, Royal Miller, David Smilow, Brett Staneart

DAYS WRITERS

Hogan Sheffer, Meg Kelly, Ken Corday, James Harmon Brown, Barbara Esensten, Beth Milstein, Frederick Johnson, Gordon Rayfield, Jeanne Marie Ford

**all dramas as of 1/5/07**

[PAsoapfan]

AMC WRITERS

Megan McTavish, Brian Frons, Kay Alden, Courtney Bugler, Joanna Cohen, Mimi Leahey, Rebecca Taylor, Chip Hayes, Stephen Demorest, Marla Kanelos, Michelle Patrick, Amanda L. Beall, Jeff Beldner, Karen Lewis, Addie Walsh

**all dramas as of 1/5/07**

Mimi Leahey is no longer a writer with AMC

Robert

[EricaKane4life]

AntiNWO, I'm glad you posted the line up of "Young and the Restless" writers so I wouldn't

be the only one saying it.

The following is from a Dec. 29th interview with [s.W.S.N.B.N.]:

Kam Williams: Are you working on another book or some other project?

KB: Oh, I’m working on tons of projects. Novels, poems, movie scripts that I’d like to direct—someday my own cooking show. I’m currently serving as a “ghost consultant” on one of daytime’s top rated soap operas and that’s always fun, because I learned English by watching soaps as a kid, and since I don’t have any formal education and can’t teach at the universities like other literary writers do. Writing for the soaps helps me to supplement things. Fans should look for two [s.W.S.N.B.N.] novels coming out in 2007—“Virgins In the Beehive” and “The Sexy Part of the Bible,” and a new poetry collection, “The White Man’s Mother,” meaning Africa, plus, at last—a book tour.

THAT WAS DEC. 29th

THANKS AniNWO since I always take the heat for simply telling what I know and everyone hates me.

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Ginger Redmon is not on OLTL anymore.

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

And may i add that Barbara and James left OLTL in 2005

[R Sinclair]

And may I add that Frons isn't a writer?

[EricaKane4life]

Just as Stephen Wyman and Chris Goutman write a healthy portion of their

soaps Brian Frons writes his soaps, too. You'd have to be in the business to understand.

The ABC shows have Frons all over them.

[ClassicsSoapFan]

I have heard that Jill Farren Phelps has written on every show she has been on.

I heard she was the head writer of OLTL when they were without a regular HW.

I think the EP's should leave the writing to their HW's.

[R Sinclair]

LMAO!

Thanks! I needed that laugh! I keep forgetting you worked for ABCD... ABC Daydreams.

[DruRocks]

^LOL. You crack me up

[EricaKane4life]

My point was that HW is a very loose term and even a 12th grader should be able to comprehend

that these shows are written by committee. At ABC they have a very special situation where everything

must be approved by Brian Frons (is that secret from you?) so it makes perfect sense to mention that

he's part of the writing teams, because truth is HE IS.

That's probably the reason he won't fire McTavish and Higley is because he's the one who had them

write some of these bad storylines.

[R Sinclair]

Okay. Well, as far as the WGA is concerned, Brian Frons isn't a member of the writing staff -- which was my point. So go hang some more lights, gossip with Burton Armus and his golfing buddies or whatever it is that you do. You'd have to be a writer in order to understand that getting credit for television writing has to follow WGA guidelines. Being a network executive that approves the stories the show runners on his network pitch him isn't being a writer. It's being -- what is it -- a network executive. All shows, whether in daytime or primetime, have to have their stories approved by the network.

What else you got?

[EricaKane4life]

Brian does actually WRITE just like the EPs of the other shows I mentioned do actually WRITE story, create characters

and even re-write portions of SCRIPTS. That's a fact that anybody knows.

WRITING story, creating character and doctoring Scripts is a lot more than being an executive

approving storylines.

Like any other UNION people break WGA guidelines each and every day. You already know that.

SON fans would probably crack up laughing if they knew who some of the oddballs were actually CONTRIBUTING

and WRITING these soaps without WGA knowing about it.

I actually knew a Producer who had teenaged daughters writing the TEEN scenes for his soap in 1984. He would

bring his daughters work to the "WGA writers" on staff and have them TYPE IT.

Ever heard of the Writer's Strike? Well every since then--it's been the way I just described to you.

Brian Frons writes on all the ABC soaps.