Guest blog: Paula Finn

So today and for the next several posts I'm going to shake things up. Yes, I'm crazy like that. So...I'm going to have...drum roll please...a guest blogger! Tada! Her name is Paula Finn, she's the daughter of the writer of Honeymooners, Herb Finn. I know, wow, right? And she's written a book called Sitcom Writers Talk Shop: Behind the Scenes with Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, and Other Geniuses of TV Comedy. Awesome, right? 

So I'm completely honored to share some of her tips that she's learned from interviewing and sitting down with these comedy greats. And they're in her book if you're interested in reading even more after reading these tips in my blog. The book is published by Rowman & Littlefield, and available on Amazon and through Rowman.com. So without further ado, the first tip: 

1) Get real.

Carl Reiner believes the truth of the material and of the actors is critical to any show’s success. In his words, “Once in a while you get a fanciful idea for a show and sometimes that carries it for a time…but really, there’s nothing better than the truth.”

Phil Rosenthal makes the same point: “…As long as you stay in the real world, in the world that’s believable and relatable — then you really can’t go wrong.”

Janet Leahy suggests that writers do research to get to what’s real: “If you’re stuck for a story or if you’re stuck in the middle of a story and you don’t know how to get yourself out of it — ask yourself what would really happen in this situation. A lot of times writers will make things up, and that’s why they feel a little awkward because they haven’t done enough research. Even in comedy you can do research. And the more truth you find, the more creative your storytelling becomes…go out and do research, meet people, read books, whatever you need to do — but the truth always helps you.”

2) Know your characters.

Hal Kanter illustrates the importance of knowing your characters with one of his favorite anecdotes. The story is from the Amos ‘n’ Andy radio show, but it applies equally to screenwriting: “All of the writers were sitting in the room with the actors putting together the final script. And we were trying to get a line for the Kingfish; nobody was happy with the line that we had. Everybody was throwing lines back and forth, back and forth. It was a large group of writers, all of whom were excellent, and nobody came up with a line. I finally turned to Freeman Gosden who was the headman and also played the part of the Kingfish. I said, “If the Kingfish himself were to come into this room right now, and you were to explain to him what the problem was, what do you think he would say?” And Freeman immediately shifted into the character and he said, “Well, boy” — whatever the line was — and we all fell down laughing. That was the perfect line! Even Freeman himself was startled by the fact that that character had come out of nowhere. That was a lesson we all learned; you have to know your characters before you sit down and write. And he knew his so well that the Kingfish actually came alive.”

These sound like two really great tips to me! Have you used these tips to help you get out of a writing jam? If so, I'd love to hear how it helped.