A night of Star

Last night I went to see Maria Semple and Darren Star speak at the Strand. Maria was promoting her new book This One is Mine, which honestly didn't sound that appealing- maybe because she wrote it as her finger to the television industry. She said she could write sympathetic characters in her sleep and wanted to write some really rotten, unlikable, flawed characters. So that was the deviation from the way that all villains have to be redeemed. She also said she wrote the book in television like scenes because that was the way she was used to writing. An interesting contradiction between the plot and format of one genre versus the other. In person, she looked sort of like a television writer might look- a big colorful chunky necklace, glasses, stylish enough to pass in trendy places like LA and NYC, a bit fluttery but also very sharp.

Darren Star was there also, acting almost ashamed that he was a mere television writer in the presence of a Novelist. Although I firmly believe that a majority of the audience was there to see the beloved creator of Beverly Hills 90210 and Sex & the City. They had an interesting discussion about how they interact as writers with the way the public perceives their work. Darren said he tries not to think about the public at all. That when a show is in production there is no time to breath, it's all the next episode, what will be the next episode??? Maria said she had no idea how people were taking Arrested Development until someone told her they loved a certain episode. Darren seemed a bit envious that Maria could write a novel- to sit down and pour something like that out (which I can understand because it seems like a daunting task). He said he doesn't believe you should write until you have a story to tell and he's taking a break right now because he has run out stories.

All in all, it was like opening the production room and seeing the real people behind these fantastic created worlds. And really, it's just a bunch of cool literary nerds battling the Network and the actors who won't say their lines. But it also made me see that writing is a hard job that probably involves a heck of a lot of talent balanced with a heck of a lot of discipline. And since I don't have an overwhelming amount of either of those, I probably wouldn't make it in the cutthroat world of tv writing. However, if someone gave me a job writing on an already established show like Scrubs or 30 Rock I know I would do a great job. I'm just better at working within an already defined formula. That would be fun! Now who do I have to sleep with to make that happen...