On The Page

Shelley Dennis grew up loving the TV show Roseanne and now she has a staff writing position on The Conners! Hear how hard work, attention to story and a little mindfulness paid off.

Veteran producer and creative executive Kelly Edwards worked with every major studio in Hollywood and is now pursuing her dream of being a television writer on the Fox Drama Our Kind of People. Here she talks openly about her career pivot and also offers nuggets from her new book The Executive Chair: A Writer's Guide To TV Series Development.

Writer Jo Rochelle was just about to call it quits when her writing career caught fire. Hear how she got the attention of a manager, became staffed on her favorite show Good Trouble, and filmed her own independent movie - all while continuing to "ride the rollercoaster."

Actor/writer Danielle Pinnock had a crazy year full of ups and downs but she kept writing, found inspiration in her underwear drawer and set up her animated series Unmentionables with Taraji P. Henson!

Michael-Leon Wooley's search for depth in his singing and performing has informed his writing as well, leading to major attention on his very first feature-film script! Hear how he did it and why "fine is not enough."

Pilar Alessandra's teaching and consulting business On the Page celebrates a 20 year anniversary! Alex Troxler interviews Pilar about her program, its humble beginnings and the way her teachings and the industry have changed.

Richie Siegel and Marissa Torelli-Pedevska, co-founders of the Inevitable Foundation, talk about the need to hire and produce the work of disabled screenwriters.

Writer Matt Foss talks about how he went from being "terrible and earnest" to "consciously competent" as an award winning playwright and how he uses "given circumstances" to ground his stories and adaptations.

Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon, co-founders of The Writers Lab, talk about their efforts to highlight the voices of women over 40 on the screen and on the page.

Writer/producer Emily Fox (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Daybreak, Girlfriends Guide to Divorce) shines a light for writers as she describes how she comes up with story and runs a writers room.

Writer and director Dan Mazer talks about his long collaboration with Sacha Baron Cohen and the complex storytelling that goes into writing movies with a number of possibilities and outcomes.

Eric Pearson, the writer of Black Widow and Thor: Ragnarok talks about his and Marvel's approach to storytelling, including "every scene needs to do two things" and "that's a long way to go for salami."

Tim Long's nerdy beginnings inspired his new movie The Exchange, and his story sense and comedy chops earned him head writer status at Letterman and a 20 year run on The Simpsons.

Ted Campbell talks about how his experience as a second unit director and assistant director helped him develop the writing and directing skills he needed to be hired as a writer and director for three projects for MarVista Entertainment.

Glenn Sanders, Senior Creative Director at Amazon Prime Video, talks about entertainment marketing and how it can impact choices a writer makes early on in terms of concept, story and character.

Writer Kris Crenwelge turned a lockdown low to an end of the year high when she set her mind to treating her writing passion as a TV business. Hear her take on applying to labs, interviewing for "entertainment adjacent" jobs and doing the hard work that eventually landed her her first paid writing gig.

Writer Antwone Fisher talks about what went into writing and selling the classic movie about his real life and the importance of letting yourself be embarrassed by the truth.

Comedian Wayne Federman, author of "The History of Stand-Up," talks about the way that technology and the times have changed stand-up from Mark Twain to Dave Chapelle.

Writer/director Sonya Ballantyne talks about her experiences as a "creative native" and about her scripted work focusing on Indigenous women and girls in non-traditional film genres.

Writer Savannah Ward loves to be "devastated" by a good story. They discuss the multiple timelines highlighted on Cruel Summer and, as a non-binary writer, give their personal take about trans characters on screen.

Alicia Carroll, staff writer for Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, talks about the show's unique structure and approach to story and music.

Award-winning playwright Dezi Gallegos is now a creative executive at Proximity Media (Judas and the Black Messiah). Here he talks about the company's desire to develop original movies with a unique perspective.

Jennifer Paz talks about her take on script and story as an actor and writer and about the need for more Asian-American content and characters on screen.

Rob Buchta, producer of Running Wild and creator of You vs. Wild on Netflix, talks about the challenges of a choose-your-own-adventure experience and the marriage of action and emotion needed for a factual adventure show.

Deborah Patz's book, Write! Shoot! Edit! was intended for teenagers but it's the perfect primer for anyone who's ever wanted to film something but was too afraid to start.

Pilar and her friends Brian Pope, Mike Musa and Alex Troxler get together for their annual discussion about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.

Writer Michelle Denise Jackson talks about what she's learned as she advanced from Writer's PA on Grey's Anatomy, to Writers Assistant on Mrs. America, to Staff Writer on two Netflix series and now as Co-Producer on Queen Sugar!

Writer/Producer Evette Vargas discusses the content and applications needed to create successful pitch decks and sizzle reels.

Pilar Alessandra talks about ways to give and get script notes at the submission stage, the development stage and the production stage.

Rebecca Phelps talks about her approach to writing the Watty Award-winning novel Down World and its similarities, in process, to writing a screenplay.

Screenwriter and executive producer Jessica Goldberg talks about Cherry, the feature film she co-wrote starring Tom Holland, as well as her experiences creating the Hulu series The Path and acting as showrunner for the Netflix series Away.

Tom McCafferty, Vice Chairman of Veterans in Media and Entertainment, talks about the creative possibilities and unique challenges of writing movie and TV shows that focus on military events and characters.

When should you incorporate? How can you take a home office deduction? How can you get financially organized? Entertainment accountant Trina Rozen explains it all to you.

Actor/Writer Finnerty Steeves discusses the courage and "1001 favors" it took to write, produce and star in her independent film, Before/During/After being released by Gravitas Pictures.

Andrew Robinson, senior writer for Blizzard Entertainment talks about how he helps craft narrative and world-building for World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone and Overwatch with animated cinematics, short stories, comics and songs.

Johanna Stein, show-runner of Madagascar A Little Wild, breaks down the animation process from story board to "lip flap."

After years of hard work and hustle, writer Crosby Selander defied the odds and sold his script in a major bidding war to Legendary Pictures. Hear how he did it and cleared that "final hurdle!"

Award-winning Brazilian writer Rosane Svartman talks about the story work that goes into writing 155 episodes of one season of a prime-time telenovela.

Hunter Doohan discusses what he's learned as an actor and as a writer from portraying the role of Adam opposite Bryan Cranston on the Showtime series Your Honor.

Mitch Lusas, Head of Product for Coverfly, talks about his company's approach to finding talent and helping writers.

JaNeika and JaSheika James, co-executive producers of Gossip Girl, talk about the life and career experiences that went into their inspiring memoir, Living Double.

Pilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn't make the consider or recommend list for the 2020 Logline Contest.

Pilar and Aadip evaluate loglines sent in by listeners. Who will get a consider, recommend or pass?

Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the writing trends popular in 2020 and shares what's ahead for the new year.

With a little help from Michael Bay, Adam Mason and Simon Boyes wrote and produced a movie about the pandemic during the pandemic. Hear how both the story and the production of their movie, Songbird, adapted to the real-life events happening around them.

Alexander Troxler reached out to other writers during the lockdown and ended up with a collaborative tv pilot and a whole new kind of writers' room.

Stress relief expert Suzanne Gundersen talks about how writers can overcome writer's block by dealing with their fear, grief and anxiety.

Announcement of the deadline and rules for the 2020 Logline Competition. Plus a replay of last year's bonus episode to remind you of 10 patterns to help build your logline.

Whether she's writing on the prequel to Game of Thrones, helping adapt Daisy Jones and The Six for Reese Witherspoon's company or developing a feature film for Margot Robbie, it all comes down to one thing for writer Charmaine DeGrate: theme.

David Newhoff, author of Who Invented Oscar Wilde, dives deep into the history of copyright and the protection issues writers and creatives still deal with today.