Have you ever tried to write a soap opera?

[Ben]

I do! I've entered it into a comp, so I don't really think I can talk about it.

I also co-wrote one with my uni class. It was set at the turn of the 19th century, and followed the lives of a travelling carnival. It was really weird and very soap opera. We had a comedic dwarf; a strong man who was secretly involved with a married woman; a bear trainer who's bear was poisoned; two orphaned siblings searching for their father, who turned out to be the resident preacher; out of wed-lock pregnancy... The pilot ep opened with a murder, which pitted the (older) alcoholic wife against the (young) mistress.

Sadly, the continuity was lacking between episode to episode. And the person who had the responsibility of the "season finale," decided to follow their own agenda, and had the entire show moved to Ireland and back to London all in the space of one ep(!), only to blow them all up. This killed it.

What I find difficult, is titles. I always struggle naming projects - they don't come easy 90% of the time.

You might have a talent for storylining. I mean, that is half of the work, anyway... right? When writing episodes, do a scene breakdown for the episode - you know: start with a brief synopsis of each storyline that'll play out, breaking them into 'A' and 'B' stories, then plot the scenes in chronological order. Then type it up in standard format, with dialogue. I've made that seem really easy, and maybe you all ready do that...

I remember reading that! I don't think I read it all, though. It was really good.

[Manny]

Aw, you read it? Wow, thanks for the compliment! It's nice to meet someone after all those year who read my stories! You're actually the second person that told me they read my SuBe...

[DrewH]

I have my own version of Days of our Lives, entitled As Days Go By. I created this alternate version of the show shortly after Hogan Sheffer joined DAYS. The actual premiere date is October 20, 2006 and the show celebrates it's 2 year anniversary today! You can find this in the blog section if you're interested.

I've also tried my hands at writing for The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. Unforunately, both projects have failed repeatedly because DAYS is my baby and I focus all of my attention on that. It's my number one priority in regards to writing. But I'll find myself with some extra time on my hands and I start having all of these ideas for Y&R and B&B and I'll start writing, but it never works out in the end because I just don't have the time to write for two shows.

[Sylph]

This is precisely the kind of answer I feared you would give. Shame, really.

[cct]

It made me cackle! So RSinclair.

[Vanguardian]

This part of your story channels THE EDGE OF NIGHT like you wouldn't believe. EDGE did it pretty much this way with a combination of romances/relationships intertwined with seedy and shady characters engaged in various shady/criminal acts. UKBoi, this is really good and I wish someone would put it on TV! Where can I read more of your series, Heart and Soul?

[UKBoi]

I'm totally unfamiliar with The Edge of Night but it gets mentioned around here a lot in a pretty positive light, so to be mentioned in the same way as that is a huge compliment! You can read more of the series at http://www.geocities.com/heartsoap, and you're at the perfect time to jump in as season 5 just premiered on Thursday.

[JAYJAY]

I do have a fan fic.

But I also have this one that plays in my head. It's about this town of rich people. And believe it or not I have most of it planned. It's got like a 30 year run of plans!!!

I always dreamed that someday I could share it with the world.

And like most of you when I'm bored it just plays in my head.

I even have another soap that I am planning to do a cross over with!!! I know crazy!

All of the characters have names. The weddings, children, deaths, are all planned. So I pretty much have like a 40 show planned. Just need to pitch it!

[Aback]

I've never been a big fan of fan-fictions. I mean, I've never read any, but there's something about them that just drives me away. For example: when I wrote my soap, I did it in a way that it could easily be picked up and shot and put on the air. Even if I knew it was never going to happen. A fanfiction can hardly become the real deal: the product has been online, your ideas can be stolen, readers come and go... it's really weird. At least for me. So that was the idea behind my post, the beloved 'manuscript' whose existence we have never shared with anyone.

Something I noticed about your fanfictions is that (and I mean no disrespect) their contents are kinda old. The small towns, those surnames, the situations, the companies. To me, they sound like a rip-off of the 80s. I see nothing really modern in them. It's not like you have this idea, and you put it on paper. In fact, you take what you've seen been considered a soap opera and tweak it on your own. And I mean no disrespect, really, I'm just saying. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. Sometimes instead, characters are just a projection of ourselves and the fact that we would let them dominate one show, and let it revolve around them, says a lot about our egocentrism.

But one thing I learnt from my time as a 'soap writer' is this: it's so easy to write a cliffhanger every freakin' day. It is easy. Really. I don't why the actual writers can't manage doing that, but you just need to have some imagination, and there you have it. Either your soap is plot driven or character driven, the events will give you a cliff-hanger.

[Sylph]

People need a reality check. This very instant.