ALL: Writing for Daytime Television

[bellcurve]

I see what you mean, but I also felt like PC(under Karen Harris. I feel the need to stress that, because no one remembers when PC was a well-written show) had slower building stories that came to a head during the story projections. I think the shorter/13 week stunts were mainly "hospital-related," like The Nurses Strike, Lucy and Rachel going toe-to-toe for the board seat, Claire Wright dying, Ian launching the clinic. The slower building stories, like Joe dealing with possibly being HIV +, Julie being Christina's real mother, Lucy breaking down, etc. took more time.

I do, however, feel like not seeing Karen's recovery from drugs the second time around was a HUGE copout.

I should also admit that I was a huge fan of Americanized Telenovelas, similar to MyNetworkTV. I do admit getting sucked into innovative ideas. But nothing beats a good, traditional soap opera. But I don't think we should reject new ideas either.

I was devastated upon learning MyNetworkTV no longer did the novelas, especially since it looked like they were getting better every cycle. Tatum O'Neal was not to be missed.

It's a shame really. This is a matter of opinion, but DAYS(under Reilly 1) was a good example of slow-bulding story arcs with good resolutions. Granted, he would place the character's back in the same situation they were in before, but at least the characters enjoyed a moment of bliss without the foil or the obstacles.

I assume you mean old Y&R, not new Y&R.

[sheilaforever]

Wanted to ask the same thing. The show once known as Y&R does absolutely NO cliffhangers since it has NO pacing.

Thanks for the infos about the writing panel, BTW!

[R Sinclair]

LMAO!

I'm sorry, but I found humor in that on so many levels.

[bellcurve]

I'm sorry, but did you even WATCH PC when Karen Harris was HW in 2000?! Was probably the best and the most underrated soap of that year. Harris brought that show from the depths of hell with smart, witty dialogue, interesting storylines, and most importantly, allowed us to get to KNOW the people on the other side of Port Charles. It's a shame Harris's turnaround was sacked for the lousy, poorly written Dark Shadows clone it became following.

Karen Harris is to me what Jimmy Reilly is to Toups. Or what....wait...nevermind, I have no clue who your favorite writers are. You spend so much time criticizing other people's posts to even comment on what you like.

So, instead of getting into Message Board Bitchfight #5555, I challenge you to do something different for a change. Tell me who your favorite writers/HW are in daytime. You know, since you post on every single post that has to do with writing for a daytime serial.

Just go ahead and share.

[R Sinclair]

No. By then I was an AMC and GH fan.

I talk about a lot of what I like. As a matter of fact, I was accused of having some sort of connection to my favorite AMC scriptwriter Joanna Cohen because I praised her work.

Claire Labine

Lorraine Broderick

And after her insightful interview, Kay Alden.

I also enjoyed the much hated 2003 AMC head writing team of Gordon Rayfield and Anna Theresa Cascio.

Karen Harris can keep penning her homogenized GH scripts for all I care.

[bellcurve]

Okay.

If I saw a Harris-scripted GH, I wouldn't know it because GH interests me that little lately.

I think Karen Harris wrote scripts for Lucy/Scott's breakup during the 2000 Nurses Ball when was working at PC(as Head-Writer). That was GREAT stuff, IMO.

You missed out!

[Sylph]

I, however, wasn't. (P. S. I'm well aware of your liaison with the American telenovelas, you+re one of those people whose posts I watch regularly. R Sinclair is one of those people, too.) I found ther pace quite interesting, but the whole plots, motivations and so on, quite unbelievable and shabby. They did a great job of adapting those horrid Cuban originals and made them as believable as they can be, but everything else is just - sh!t.

I'm not sure I'm happy they cancelled them altogether, sicne, maybe, there might have been a chance of making them more classy and literary.

I love the fact that great writers of daytime drama (they don't include Reilly for sure) had their own individual styles, Harding wrote one-act play everyday, Claire had a slower pace "scene-wise" than Bill Bell, Bill knew how to stretch the story ove two years and so on. Of course, they are/were great just because they were unique and didn't copy each other.

However, on the matter of half-hour soaps I'm not sure I have an opinion apart from the fact that I wouldn't like them all to be half hour. And I certainly don't like the 90-minute thing.

Yes, the new one is just a pice of cr*p.

[Sylph]

What's going on with you, R Sinclair - I thought you're were gonna write a miles-long post. Instead I got thic laconic thing.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

BTW, for those of you who went, what were some of the tips the panel offered on how to get into the soap writing business? I know this was addressed a bit earlier in this thread, but is there more to it?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Karen Harris is a Claire Labine protege, she started on GH during Labine's tenure there. Take it for what it's worth...

[Sylph]

The industry is changing. Whereas back in the day you were asked to submit a two-pages scene between protagonsist on a show, now you're more likely be invited to send original material and not spec scripts:

I'm sure R Sinclair, who submitted his material to AMC and got a flat-out rejection, can tell us what he submitted.

[bellcurve]

It doesn't surprise me for some reason.

I don't follow very many script/breakdown writers, but I do know one of Harris's many specialties at PC was character development and interaction. It almost seemed as though everything had a purpose and every character had motivations for the things they did instead of just throwing them on the wall(much like Lynn Marie Lethal and her partner-in-crime did at PC).

It would be a dream to have Karen Harris as GH's New Head-Writer, to see if lightining would strike twice.

[stenbeck212]

I wihs I had gone to this event, since it took place just a few miles away from me. Then again, I feel I would have been even more depressed about the state of soaps and the opportunities for new blood afterward. It's ridiculous how the industry insists on recycling the same hacks from show to show, network to network. Lots of people would love to step in and improve things, but they'll never get the chance, and those networks will get their wish of cheaper, reality based programming once we all finally tune out. I used to think I had what it took to write for a soap, and not just breakdowns, either. But who would hire me?

[stenbeck212]

I wish I had gone to this event, since it took place just a few miles away from me. Then again, I feel I would have been even more depressed about the state of soaps and the opportunities for new blood afterward. It's ridiculous how the industry insists on recycling the same hacks from show to show, network to network. Lots of people would love to step in and improve things, but they'll never get the chance, and those networks will get their wish of cheaper, reality based programming once we all finally tune out. I used to think I had what it took to write for a soap, and not just breakdowns, either. But who would hire me?

[R Sinclair]

I don't know. I guess it was someone got their wish last night! "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have R Sinclair SHUT THE FUCK UP TONIGHT!"

I do. I'm not saying she's a bad writer or anything, but it must be a "Karen" thing. Because I find Karen Lewis's scripts at AMC kind of blah too. As for GH, I love the three longtime script writers, Michele Val Jean (also a Labine protege who, in my opinion, transcends Harris in the script department), Mary Sue Price (who was my saving grace for GH during McTavish's 2001-2002 reign of terror) and Susan Wald. I'm even beginning to enjoy Tracey Thomson's work, too. Elizabeth Korte seems to always give her Sam-heavy episodes to write. It's like, whenever I see Thomson wrote the script, I know Sam's usually going to be driving story that day. Karen Harris seems to always write the Scrubs scripts, and I find them, coincidentally, kind of cute but boring. It's all in how you look at it, I guess. Over at AMC, some people are praising the work of Amanda L. Beall and how she's AMC's brightest hope and should've been promoted to head writer -- and unfortunately, I find her ego and voice are smeared all over her episodes (breakdown and/or script or BOTH since she's such hot shit! ) -- so no matter which head writer she'd be working under, I'd still find her annoying. Some writers' literary voices are their voices, and it can't or won't change.

It was an original work, I provided a character breakdown and summary of the overall plot, and submitted a prologue and two acts. It came back to me about 2 weeks later with a form letter "Thank you for submitting your material. Unfortunately it is not what we are looking for at this time. Be assured your submission was given detailed attention. We are aware of the time and effort you put into this work. Best of luck in the future." And to add insult to injury, a gorgeous bold black stamp RETURNED was across the cover. That was back in 2001. Oh well. But it's all good because, now, I have no desire to aspire to work anywhere near daytime, with it being a formula-driven, network-controlled mess that it is. I'm moving more toward theater and screenplays, because there's more freedom to tell the stories I want to tell, which is what writing -- to me -- is all about. Now, I just sit back and love pontificating with all you kids about daytime writing. But yeah, man. Back in the early 00's, I was living, breathing, drinking, sleeping writing. I'm surprised I didn't make the WGA site my homepage during that time! LOVED me some Written By magazine articles!