That reminds me of one of my favorite Simpsons bits.
Homer: Well, here we are at the Brad Goodman lecture.
Lisa: We know, Dad.
Homer: I just thought I’d remind everybody. After all, we did agree to attend this self-help seminar.
Bart: What an odd thing to say…
I didn’t get it until I started writing.
What he said. Lots of complaints recently about the board not being as interesting as it once was- here we have an intrigue that could rank with the all time greats. Can’t wait to read the script and the opinions of it that the pros will bring forth. Better than TV any day! 
That made me laugh out loud. Good one.
I would try to give his work a fair shake, but I probably won’t read it.
I can never grasp scripts or dramas without them being performed. Things that sound good to my inner ear come off as weird when an actor gets hold of them, and vice versa.
Diogenes (the one who’s so much smarter than the average human.)
Being intelligent enough to do something is a far cry from being talented enough to do something.
I can grasp all the music theory in the world - I still can’t sing. I’m bright enough to “get” how to do it - I just don’t have the talent to do so.
I’ll bet you’re an expert in a lot of areas - just as an armchair quarterback knows exactly how the QB should have thrown the ball.
I had the impression that you were a pretty cool dude.
You’ve corrected that today.
If Dio actually has to literally piss it into the snow in order to fulfill the terms of the bet, or dare, or whatever it is, then I respectfully withdraw my request to read the thing.
Good grief, walk away from the computer for a day and you end up with two pages to catch up on…
Oh my, Dio! You mean you have to do your own research! Welcome to stumbling block numero uno. Most of the time, you have to do it yourself. The time you get to write your script doesn’t change. So get to it boyo. When you’re done, we’ll run it by a consultant. If he says it’s shit, you’ll have to rewrite it. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
ivylass - if I did, I’d probably piss off my showrunner and a bunch of other people. I like the anonymity that the Dope affords and I’d like to keep it that way. Even in so-called real life, friends know what I do for a living, but not everyone knows exactly which show(s) I work for (though many know which network). It keeps me from getting poked at for stuff, and I just kind of like it that way. 
I tend to keep a low profile, in general. It’s just the way I am.
Regarding whether or not I am taking this time to get ahead… As someone else picked up from the Guild’s advertising campaign: PENCILS DOWN MEANS PENCILS DOWN. We are not breaking stories, we are not writing scripts, we are not polishing scripts. Pencils down means pencils down.
OMG…that’s funny. That’s why I love The Simpsons…they make fun of everything!
I agree 90% of what’s out there is crap. I’d question whether or not it follows that this means that writing must not be easy or else the shows would be better.
If 90% of things are crap, I think the system is probably not optimal in terms of producing good quality; which may be besides the point.
Maybe, for example, even if writing were easy (and I’m not saying it is, but for the sake of explaining this theory) to do well, the shows would still be crap when you consider what someone upthread said about how the script has to get adjusted for other considerations like sponsorships and the decisions of higher ups about wanting to force into an otherwise-good script elements that fuck it up because someone decided for marketing reasons it’s good to stay current, etc.
Perhaps the specific process would produce crap regardless of whether the original script came from good writers on the premise that good writing is hard to do or from writing done by anybody on the premise that it’s easy to do; either way, if the system fucks up whatever artistic quality the script had anyway by whomever wrote it, you end up with crap.
Just ironic that the residuals issue comes up in regards to what is frequently admitted by many – perhaps everyone involved at different times – to be crap.
Personally, I have a hard time empathizing with whole 9 and everyone involved given that the end product produces tons and tons of…what’s the word I want to use here?..oh yeah, crap.
This is nonsense. You agree that the writers have a theoretical right to the money they’re seeking. But you don’t think they should take any effective action to try to get that money. What’s your plan? Should they stand outside the studio gates with cups asking executives for some spare change?
The music business has shown what happens when a bunch of creators try to negotiate individually with a studio system. The studios have teams of experts who negotiate thousands of contracts - they know every little trick. A musician comes along and signs what looks like a good contract and ten years later he’s still waiting for the royalties from his first album that went triple platinum because the studio accountants are still insisting it hasn’t made a profit yet.
A studio is going to be organized and experienced and is going to have a complete legal team on call. No individual writer is going to be able to negotiate with them on anything approaching an equal basis. The only hope that writers have is to pool their resources and form their own organization. And then all of the individuals benefit form the collective strength of the group. The guild is not restricted - anyone is able to join. But if you’re a writer and you want to get an equitable contract then you have to join the guild - you can’t be a free rider who enjoys the benefits that other people worked and sacrificed to obtain.
Okay. But I don’t want to hear you’ve been shopping this thread to any of the networks.
No sir! I’ve been a good girl, sir! 
This thread has been triggering an urge to set idiots on fire, though. So far, I’ve been able to keep the urge under control.
twitch So far. twitch
If Betty and Helen show up on House, I’m suing!
(I wouldn’t find out, but I’d suuuuue!)
Oh great, now I have “Tim Stack, Tim Stack, set him on fire” in my head.
I am impressed that Dio is picking up the formatting and writing of a script so easily. look forward to seeing if his output is in any way interesting.
But, more closely on topic here’s a link with a really good writeup of how and why residuals work. I tried to say some of when I posted last, but I didn’t do nearly as good a job as Mark Evanier does in this piece. Check it out:
pat
Was I complaining about it? No. Was I saying I didn’t want to do it? No. So why don’t you tone down the fucking condescension already. I’m actually finding the writing pricess even easier than I thought I would. I just happened to pick a show that would require some extra technical research. I didn’t say it was crippling me. It’s just annoying and it’s slowing me down.
By the way, it’s really kind of supercillious and snotty to come in here posing as an expert and claiming that you’re some kind of professional writer if you aren’t willing to tell us anything you’ve ever written. If you’re going to argue from authority then you should at least have the decency to back it up. One thing is for sure. When I get this thing finished and posted online, I will at least have proven that I’ve ever written a script. All we have from you right now is assertions.
You think other shows don’t require some extra technical research? This is as rich as you saying it was all “just dialogue.”
She doesn’t owe you anything, least of all loss of anonymity. She’s talked about the writing process which has been more than confirmed by many others in this thread.
I’m 100% on the writers’ side, and I hope you do well with your project, but I probably won’t read it either. I hate reading screenplays/scripts. I admire people who can make any damn sense of them, let alone write them, let alone write them well. I’d much rather see the finished product, and/or read the book. It’ll be interesting to see what those who know what the finished script is supposed to be like say.
It’s hilarious, in a thread about writing, the Google ad I just saw was atrociously written!
Me so bipolar! Me love you rong time!
No worries. I completely understand your position…I’ve claimed the same myself when someone asked me specifics about my job.
Pencils down must be twitchy for a writer…it’s what you do, for crying out loud, and not being able to do it must be very frustrating.
Anyone notice that Justin Bailey hasn’t posted in his OP lately?