I’m in California for a couple of weeks covering the new mid-season shows for the day job. The networks and cable parade there new and returning series in front of us, and we have a chance to talk to the actors, writers and producers behind the shows. I love what I do. It’s one of the reason I haven’t given it up to write fiction full time. That and there are three of us in college in my house and someone has to pay for it.
People think this part of my job is glamorous, and they are correct. Where else can you meet so many stars, writers and producers at one time? Many of them are regular folks like you and me, and some are dicks. There, I said it out loud.
But the best part of this is talking to the folks behind the shows. The creative geniuses who come up with some amazing television programming. That part of the job is an absolute blessing. It inspires my own work, and I love learning how they came up with their ideas. I like finding out how they work.
For example, Matt Nix was here for his new Fox show Code 58, and I think he might be back for Burn Notice later in the week. This guy is brilliant at mixing comedy and action. If you haven’t seen Burn Notice, you should. It’s clever and witty and the characters are so well written they feel real. It’s one of my favorite shows.
Code 58 was recently bought by Fox and they haven’t shot a pilot, but I did get to read the script. It’s funny and entertaining. And I’m interested in seeing how it comes together on screen. That’s the crazy thing about Hollywood in the film and television world. It might look great in concept or on paper, but the execution just doesn’t work. That’s how some of your favorite actors end up in really crappy projects.
It’s one of the reasons I like books so much. We get several do-overs in the creative process. Revisions are a pain, but they give us an opportunity to polish and perfect our manuscripts. I hate the revision process, but I’m grateful for it as I watch some of these new pilots. I’m sure many of them sounded great on paper, but they just didn’t gel.
But I like that I’m learning just as much from what doesn’t work, as what does. I also find it fascinating that one of my best critic friends sitting next to me, hates something that I absolutely love. What is it that he doesn’t like? What elements are there that draw me in?
The truth is, it doesn’t matter the medium, art is subjective. Our own experiences go into what we are reading or looking at, and that informs what we do. Those experiences also go into the process of creating art. I write my stories and books, differently than the person sitting next to me. You could give us both the same topic andwe would write totally different things.
This is my long way of telling you, that we should celebrate our differences. That we shouldn’t be afraid of trying new things, because even if we fail, we are likely to learn something important. Fear is a terrible enemy of creativity. Don’t let it consume you.
