Five Things Television Teaches Writers

Writing LifeWe’ve all watched television—dramas, police procedurals, reality shows, newscasts. Although television is a different medium than writing, it provides an abundance of advice wrapped inside the programming that’s relevant to today’s writers.

1. Jump Right In—Television shows start smack in the middle of the action to grab and hold our attention from the get-go. This method discourages the viewer from flipping the channel to find something more interesting. Once we’re hooked, backstory is revealed. Tune in to any drama or even the news and you’ll see this method in action. Today’s readers expect the same from their books. They want to be hooked after reading that first paragraph, the first page, the first chapter. They want a book so exciting that they can’t put it down, a story that captivates their hearts and souls and fires up their imaginations. They want a story that pulls them into a new world and threatens to hold them there until the very last word. It’s up to writers to hook the readers, to keep them interested enough to keep reading. And it all begins with the first scene. Make it exciting. Start with action. Right in the middle of it. Grab the readers’ attention and make them want more.

2.  Keep Them Hooked—What keeps us hooked to television shows when the distractions of home, family, friends, work, the internet, etc. threaten to pull them away?  It’s simple really. Good storytelling. But it goes beyond that. Just because it’s good doesn’t mean viewers will stay tuned, especially once a commercial comes on. Television shows tease us when going into a commercial or ending the show. They leave us hooked with an unfinished question or scene that makes the viewer want to know more and makes us wonder what will happen to the characters in the future. This process is a deliberate effort to keep us watching the shows. And it works. For writers, it’s important to begin and end a scene with a hook. It can be an unfinished question, a line of dialogue, or a bit of action—anything that grabs the reader’s attention and make the reader wonder what comes next. The hook compels the reader to turn the page and read more. As readers, we’ve all experienced that book that keeps us up well into the night when we have to get up early the next day. What keeps us reading each page, each chapter, when we know we should really go sleep? It’s simply a good story combined with great hooks.

3. A Break From Writing Is Not a Waste Of Time—We’ve all seen the television character who can’t solve a problem but who is then hit with a great idea while fiddling with the remote, hanging out with friends, playing basketball, or cooking. Some of the best ideas come to us when they’re least expected. Some writers believe that writing is the only way to find new ideas or resolve problems, but sometimes taking a step back from the process yields wonderful results.

Brainstorming4.  It’s Not Always Best To Brainstorm Alone—Ideas don’t occur in a vacuum. Television cops don’t work alone, the women on ARMY WIVES solve problems together, and the creative group on MAD MEN is just that—a group of individuals who work together to brainstorm ideas. Many of the ideas are terrible and are rejected, but then a unexpected gem emerges from the give and take among the group members. When stuck for ideas or for solutions to plot problems, writers often stew in their chairs, surf the internet, knock out chores, or play games on the computer with the hopes that the solutions will magically appear. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn’t. Shooting an idea past a colleague or brainstorming with a friend can be just the thing to bring freshness and excitement to your work.

5. Diversification Is Key To Success—How many good television shows have gone stale? They show the same twist on an old story line over and over again. As a result, we become bored, abandon the shows, and find new ones to watch. Also, have you noticed how advertisers don’t focus on only one market? They diversify among television, print, radio, and the internet and adjust their advertising to each market to achieve the highest success rate and to reach the widest audience. As writers we must diversify in order to succeed in this ever-changing industry and to ensure our work is constantly in demand. If we focus on only one market and that market becomes stale or fails, we’re out of work. But if we diversify and continually look for new opportunities in untapped markets, the opportunities are endless.

What forms of media have inspired your writing, and how?

13 Comments:

  1. Excellent article, Janice! Thanks for posting it!

  2. Lorie Greenspan

    Good advice – great blog!

  3. Love this post, Janice! I often say I watch too much TV, but now I feel better. 😉 I watch shows for great storytelling and characterization–from NCIS to Sons of Anarchy, there’s so much good stuff out there. The DVR allows me to watch when I want, usually when I’m too tired to do anything else… Thanks again for a great post!

  4. Purists think that television is the evil that has diluted the quality of our country’s literature. Okay, that’s one way to look at it. But if you want to make a living as a writer, I don’t think you can fight television–it’s here to stay. Much better, like you do here, Janice, to examine in what ways our writing can appeal to an audience indelibly steeped in the ways of TV Land. Case in point: the rise of confessional memoir writing has coincided with the reality television wave. Your point that the writer who is also a savvy businessperson should sit up and take note is well taken.

  5. This is fabulous! Clear and to the point, and so very true.

    Let’s not forget dialogue. TV shows often have little sniglets of dialogue that amp up tension or create wonderful undercurrents of trust or distrust between characters. It’s always the bit that’s unspoken and implied that grabs my attention.

    Looking forward to your new book!
    Best,
    Mitch

  6. Great post!

    Thanks for sharing, Janice 🙂

  7. I like that post. It may seem so simple when spelled out, but it’s amazing how easily we can forget the above tactics.
    Thanks for that post.

  8. Great post, very interesting. Thanks!

  9. Great post, Janice! Thanks for reminding me about those hooks. Hope to see you at the next coffeehouse meeting.
    Best,
    Eileen

  10. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

  11. Pingback: Donde esta el writing lesson? 5 winning techniques brought to you by Telemundo | Novel Publicity

  12. Pingback: Found in Translation: 5 Ways Telenovelas Can Help Your Writing | Mary Elizabeth Summer

  13. Pingback: Favorite Tweets For Writers This Week (May 24 to May 30, 2010)

Leave a Reply to Sarah Billington Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *