My Main Tumbling Domain!

Where did you learn to write for tv animation? Were you always interested in writing? Do you ever wish you could make something with deeper themes than what you write now?

I don't think that working in Kid's TV Animation prevents me from dealing with deep themes. We weren't really allowed to deal directly with death as a theme in Bill & Mandy, but it was in there. Along with fear, (ultimate) power, responsibility, and growing-up-as-horror. On Jellystone we've got episodes in Season 2 that deal with the pandemic, politics, and justice... if you're willing and capable of digging through the satire to find it.

When you're pitching shows, networks always want something "from the heart". Meaning that they get a lot of pitches from hacks looking to earn some cash who may or may not have a vested interest in making a good show. I don't have that problem because my one mission is to get what I want. That's my Mandy side. Put me on a show that I think is a destined-to-fail crapsack, and I'll still find a way to please myself and squeeze in every theme, character type, and gag that I wanted to... one way or another. Because that's what I care about.

Would it be nice not to have to fight for every little thing I want to say while also jumping through hoops to meet unreasonable schedules, to protect my crew, and to process external feedback from people who are more worried about looking good within the company than making good TV? Sure would. That's where my renewed desire to do something indie comes in.

Looping back around to the first question, I've always loves writing (and drawing). For me, it really did all start with silly comics and storyboards for amateur movies. I guess (like most things) I just learned along the way because it's what interested me. I read a bunch of books on writing and took creative writing, literature, and screenwriting classes in high school and college, but a good bit of it probably came from learning on the job and trying to improve.

I want to get into writing stories, for games, comics, and maybe animation. So I wonder, how do you do it? Do you write it as a novel then adapt it or so to say? Or do one write it another way? And if so, how? I have many stories in my head, but I have no idea how to write them down properly.... Thanks for your time :D

That’s sort of the magic (and horror) of writing. There really isn’t any one way to do it. It’s completely up to you.

In animation you have scripted and “premise” based animation. Scripted stuff is storyboarded from a script and Premise is usually written by the storyboard artist as they go. Premise cartoons are almost always comedy, but they don’t have to be. In truth, both methods are just different paths to an end.

I’ve read a lot of books on writing and entertainment. Robert McKee’s “Story” and “Save the Cat” are both books on how to write screenplays, but they come at it from different directions. If you read screenplays, you’ll know that they’re pretty formulaic. Even so, screenplays can distinguish themselves in all sorts of ways. The script for Alien reads more like a poem than a script at times. Futurama used an unusual format for TV which is a big no-no, but nobody balked at it.

I guess if I have any advice, it’s to just start writing and see where it goes. If you’re like me, you’ll probably hate whatever you’re writing at first, but reworking stuff is half the journey. If you can, force yourself into a commitment to finish something. A page. A chapter. An act. Whatever. Make yourself get that into a place where you’re happy enough with it that you can move on.

If you get stuck, skip ahead to the next part you’re excited about. By the time you’re into that, you may see threads of how that moment can connect to those before it. If you don’t want to think linearly, you don’t have to. You’re in charge of the entire history of your story and characters.

People always say not to be afraid to kill your darlings. I say learn to revel in it. Eventually, you’re going to have to flush dozens or hundreds of hours of work down the drain. But that’s nothing in the face of what you’re trying to build. Anything you tear out just makes way for something better.

It’s going to be awesome, so finish it!

I mean, start it first.

But then finish it.