Advice — the writers store

It's hard to imagine television without the situation comedy, perhaps the most intrinsically American form of comedy today. From 'I Love Lucy' to 'Friends' the genre has taken many twists and turns, going from one-camera to three-camera setups, from black and white to color, filming stories that have touched us as much as amused us. Do you have to be funny to write comedy or can a good writer write any situation funny? What kind of person writes for situation comedies? One such person is Lenny Ripps, who has been hugely successful in writing for standup comedians, situation comedy writing...

John Wirth is writer and executive producer of 'Nash Bridges' starring Don Johnson and Cheech Marin. He serves on the board of the Writers Guild of America west on its Television Writers Council. He graciously took time out to tell us about his career and advice for the young writer who wants to be in television. HOW DOES ANYONE PREPARE TO BE A TELEVISION WRITER? The answer from John Wirth is in one word: Write. 'It's just that simple,' he says. 'You write and write and write, and if you have talent, you will get better. The thing I always...

Biographer and historian Donald Spoto believes the goal of the biographer is first and foremost to tell the truth. 'Our purpose,' he said, 'is to set the record straight, celebrate lives, and set forth certain aspects of history and human behavior that is good for people to read about.' After 19 thoroughly researched books, he's earned the right to say, 'The biographer is obliged to tell the truth--even at the risk of saying something good about someone. I know it's not popular today, for we are part of a culture of gossip and innuendo, and professionalism in writing has taken...

Lewis Colick: Script Tips Lewis Colick estimates that he's been writing for 25 years and 'making a living at it for about 18.' His critically-acclaimed 'October Sky earned him the 1999 Humanitas Prize for Best Feature Script and a Writers Guild nomination for Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. Colick, in fact, began work on 'October Sky' before Homer H. Hickam Jr. had finished writing 'Rocket Boys,' the autobiography on which Colick based his script. Preparing to write 'Ghosts of Mississippi,' Colick spent a lot more time on interviews in Jackson than he'd originally anticipated. But those...

Vickie Patik has enjoyed success in nearly every facet of entertainment, first as a singer/dancer in Los Angeles civic light opera and Broadway productions and actress on soap operas, then as a screenwriter of numerous movies for television. A frequent lecturer on screenwriting, her best-known work, 'Do You Remember Love', starring Joanne Woodward and the late Richard Kiley, won her an Emmy, a Writers' Guild Award, the Humanitas Award, the Christopher Award, D.W. Griffith Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award. Her script for 'Silent Cries' won both Christopher and Writers Guild awards. Her film directing debut, 'Now or Never',...