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Writing for Soaps: An Interview with General Hospital's Charles Pratt Jr. and Bob Guza Jr.

Author: Debra L. Eckerling

February 11, 2004

Columnist Debra Eckerling discusses the serious business of soap writing with General Hospital scribes Charles Pratt Jr. and Bob Guza Jr.

Writing for a soap opera requires a special talent. Writers must be able to handle the pace and the volume, while keeping track of the storylines. They also have to be able to write the voices of up to 30 different characters. Charles Pratt Jr. and Bob Guza Jr. are experts when it comes to daytime dramas. They are co-head writers for ABC's General Hospital, and have been in the business for 20 years.

Pratt and Guza met in the film school editing room at University of Southern California, and in the early 1980s started writing together on General Hospital.

"Gloria Monty brought us together again as young 25-year-old scriptwriters," Pratt explains. "That's really how we became soap writers. Ultimately ... I went off to primetime and was there for 10 years, and now I'm back with Bob and couldn't be happier. (Guza served as head writer of General Hospital from December of 1995 until June of 1996, and again from September of 1997 to December of 2000.) We're like a couple of soap characters——we drift in and out of each other's lives."

Pratt and Guza have a long history of collaboration in primetime, as well as daytime. Pratt served as executive producer, writer and director of Melrose Place and creator and executive producer on Models, Inc. Guza was executive story editor for both of those programs. The two co-created Sunset Beach, where Guza served as head writer and Pratt was consultant. Pratt and Guza worked together on Santa Barbara, as well. They each earned Emmy®® awards for their work on General Hospital and Santa Barbara, and were honored by the WGA.

"If Bob and I have any contribution to all the shows we work on, it's that we see them in our heads as wide screen, $30,000,000-motion pictures when we write," Pratt explains. "We don't see it as a soap opera. So, the pacing tends to be lightning-quick and the scenes tend to not end in the usual clichéé way. We do a fair amount of rewards for the audience, as far as montages and beautiful pictures and great clothes and that stuff, because that's a staple in the genre.

"In soaps, probably more than in any other kind of writing, you really are writing for the audience," Pratt continues. "It's their characters, their show. Some of them have been with this show longer than we have."

Guza adds, "I would have to say it feels to me like the characters are the ones who have the power. We'll put [characters] in a situation, they'll have an encounter and we'll know what they will do off of that because of who they are and the way they would act. So, I really think the characters are the ones who generate the stories, particularly in daytime. That's a good thing."

"The fun thing about daytime is the characters get richer and richer over the years," Pratt says, "because the characters, like real life, have gone through changes."

Pratt and Guza's work on General Hospital is the ultimate in multitasking: "Essentially we start out the week with a notes meeting from the network, in which we get notes on the previous week's outline," Guza explains. "Then, Chuck and I sit down and lay out a week, and that usually means coming up with five shows, breaking it down into acts, coming up with a fair amount of the content. Then we will either pitch it to a breakdown writer [the outline writer], or sometimes give the breakdown writer notes. That takes the bulk of the week.

"At the same time, we are reading the scripts that had been written off the outline and giving notes on them and also trying to be involved in what they're doing down in the studios," he continues. "Somewhere in all of this——and that's the thing that always gets you——is you have to figure out long stories, because you are gobbling up an hour's worth of material every day without any hiatus, without any time off. Somewhere, you have to know where you're going with six, seven, eight different stories ..."

"... Over the next six months," Pratt jumps in, "and building to the all-important sweeps period. As head writers, 90 percent of what we do is the so-called drudgery, though we have a great time doing it of what's going to happen next, literally act-to-act. In soaps, it's so important, how you hang each episode, whether it's a cliffhanger or you're ending on an emotional cliffhanger——all of those kinds of things——to propel the audience into the next day. You don't have a week for people to talk about the last episode before you get to the next episode. Knowing that many people are taping and fast-forwarding, you've got to hook them every single day, five-days a week, all year long. It just never stops.

"The thing we've learned is the great thing in daytime is that the story can never end. And that's also the worst thing about daytime," Pratt continues. "It's as much about endurance as it is about creativity," explains Pratt.

"Soaps are really a first-draft medium," Guza says. "In a sense, you are working so much on adrenaline all the time. It's also a lot of fun. There isn't time for second-guessing. There isn't time for going back. We've been lucky," he continues. "We get a lot of freedom, and we have a lot of fun, and we have a lot of respect for each other and the people we work with. It's about as good as it gets in this business."

Pratt adds, "As you go along, sometimes it's not the experience of the job; the people you work becomes almost as important as the final product."

General Hospital airs Monday through Friday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern/2:00 to 3:00 p.m., Pacific on the ABC Television Network.

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR

Deb Eckerling is a freelance writer currently writing for Venice Magazine and Latin Style. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.

CHARLES PRATT, JR. AND ROBERT GUZA, JR. TO HEAD GENERAL HOSPITAL WRITING TEAM

Emmy Award-winning writers Charles Pratt, Jr. and Robert Guza, Jr. will head the "General Hospital" writing team, effective Monday, April 8, 2002, it's been announced by Angela Shapiro, president, ABC Daytime. Megan McTavish will be stepping down from her current post as head writer.

"Bob and Chuck have a long list of successes working on so many award-winning shows," said Ms. Shapiro, "and it's with great pleasure that I welcome this incredible team to 'General Hospital.'"

"We had a fabulous collaboration on 'Santa Barbara,'" commented Jill Farren Phelps, executive producer, "General Hospital." "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these talented writers again." Ms. Phelps served as executive producer on "Santa Barbara," where Pratt and Guza worked together on the head writing team. She also added: "Megan is one of the most talented writers I have worked with, and I want to thank her for her hard work during her time at 'General Hospital.'"

Charles Pratt, Jr. and Robert Guza, Jr. began their collaboration as script writers for "General Hospital" under then executive producer Gloria Monty, in the early 1980's. They also worked together on "Santa Barbara," "Melrose Place," "Models Inc." and "Sunset Beach." They graduated from USC Film School together in 1978.

Charles Pratt, Jr. served as executive producer, writer and director of the popular primetime series "Melrose Place." He was creator and executive producer of the primetime series "Titans," co-creator and consultant on "Sunset Beach," consultant on "Pacific Palisades," creator and executive producer on Models, Inc.," co-producer on "Life Goes On" and head writer on "Santa Barbara," during which time he won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing on a Daytime Drama Series and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for "Santa Barbara."

Robert Guza, Jr. served as head writer of "General Hospital" from December, 1995, until June, 1996. He left to co-create "Sunset Beach" with Mr. Pratt, where he also served as head writer. He returned to "General Hospital" and served as head writer from September, 1997, until December, 2000, during which time he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing on a Daytime Drama Series and was twice nominated, in 1997 and 2000. He also received two Emmy Awards for his work on the Daytime drama "Santa Barbara," and four WGA Award nominations for the Daytime dramas "Sunset Beach," "Santa Barbara" and "Loving." Among other writing credits, Mr. Guza was executive story editor for "Melrose Place" and "Models Inc."

"General Hospital" premiered on April 1, 1963, and will air its 10,000th episode on April 17, 2002. The program consistently ranks as the highest-rated Daytime drama among the key demographic of Women 18-49. In May of 2000 "General Hospital" made Daytime Emmy history as the only Daytime drama ever to receive the prestigious Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series a record seven times. "General Hospital" airs MONDAY-FRIDAY from 3:00-4:00 p.m., ET/2:00-3:00 p.m., PT, on the ABC Television Network. Jill Farren Phelps is executive producer.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

CHARLES PRATT, JR. NAMED HEADWRITER AND CONSULTING PRODUCER FOR ABC'S "ALL MY CHILDREN"

Brian Frons, president, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group announced today that Emmy® Award-winning writer Charles Pratt, Jr. will serve as headwriter and consulting producer for ABC's Emmy® Award-winning Daytime Drama, "All My Children." Mr. Pratt will begin on June 23, 2008.

"Charles Pratt, Jr. is a master storyteller. His talents in writing today's biggest primetime hits in conjunction with his vast experience with daytime dramas will undoubtedly elevate 'All My Children' stories in new and exciting directions," says Mr. Frons.

"I am incredibly excited to welcome Chuck as headwriter of 'All My Children.' I look forward to his contemporary storytelling sensibility, his warmth and sense of humor enriching the entire canvas of Pine Valley," says executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers.

Mr. Pratt. served as co-headwriter of ABC's "General Hospital" from 2002-2006. His additional TV credits include ABC's megahit series "Desperate Housewives" and "Ugly Betty," in addition to "Melrose Place," "Titans," "Manchester Prep," "Sunset Beach," "Pacific Palisades," "Models, Inc.," "Life Goes On," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Santa Barbara." Film credits include "The Initiation" and "A Cry for Angels." Currently Mr. Pratt has two primetime pilots in the works.

"All My Children" celebrated its 38th Anniversary on January 5, 2007. The program has successfully maintained its popularity and continues to be one of daytime's most compelling dramas. "All My Children" took home the 1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, the third time the show received this top honor, having also garnered the award in 1994 and 1992. In 2004 the show also received its third consecutive Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series Writing, its third Writers Guild Award and its fourth GLAAD Media Award in March 2007.

Created by Agnes Nixon, "All My Children" premiered on the ABC Television Network on January 5, 1970, as a half-hour show; seven years later it expanded to an hour. Julie Hanan Carruthers is executive producer, Casey Childs, Conal O'Brien, Angela Tessinari and Steven Williford directing. "All My Children" is produced in New York and airs MONDAY-FRIDAY (1:00-2:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.