The Man in the Hat Shares Truths About TV Writing

Today, writer STEVEN L. SEARS spoke at the Alameda Writers Group in Glendale. He was a coexecutive producer on Xena, Warrior Princess -- the sister show (or spin-off, technically) to Hercules, the Legendary Journeys, which was the show I worked on. It was fun to see him again and to listen to him share his writing thoughts with us.

I have titled this 'the man in the hat' because I've never seen Steve without his trademark hat. Indoors. Outdoors. It doesn't matter. He seems to always have it on. And it always reminds me of a big game hunter on his way to a safari. Sometimes I even wonder if I'd recognize him without it.

I picked this picture up from IMDBpro.com just to show you what I mean about the hat. This is the Steven I grew to know in the Hercules/Xena days, and how I always think of him. And amazingly, it is also the guy I always see when our paths do sporadically cross.

His topic for the day was "Creating Your Own Shortcuts" and I'm not sure that he really covered that, but he imparted useful information. One of the major things he credits for his successful career is his background in improvisation. He heartily recommends it for writers, as it teaches you how to form character and story quickly -- which is something you have to be able to do in the writers' room.

Since he also started out as an actor, his first writings were three-minute scenes for his own auditions. These later turned into three-minute scenes written for other actors as well. It was one of his acting teachers who encouraged him to write a script. He tried it out, because he saw a script as a bunch of three-minute scenes put together. Which is a great way to view a script, if you think about it. Makes the process seem less daunting, doesn't it?

Inspired by that first endeavor, he and BURT PEARL started reading scripts and breaking them down. He sent a spec Magnum, PI script to Stephen Cannell and was brought in for a chat about Simon and Simon. As green as he was about the process, he thought he was just chatting about it and didn't realize when he left, he had the assignment. He even hoped that he'd get paid what he made as a dayplayer actor, not realizing that scripts at that time yielded a writer $24,000 to $26,000.

From the time he sat down for that first script to getting his own office was 13 months, which seems to me to be an awesome short period of time. Don't know many people who can say the same thing.

One of the most important pieces of information he shared was "to play a good room." He said he is more inclined to hire the mediocre writer that he can work with, than the brilliant writer who's an asshole. Writer/producers end up living and breathing their show, so they look for people who write similar to them in tone, genre, and structure.

Another thing Steven says is very important is self-worth. "No won't break your career, only you can." If something makes you uncomfortable, it's okay to say no. In the long run, it won't have an effect on your career. After all, the way the industry is geared is : 'what can you do for me today to make me money?' and afterwards, it's: 'goodbye, you're not worth the investment.' So it's important to "accept who you are, because any self doubt you will have, Hollywood will sniff out."

He's 48 at the moment which is the time that writers start feeling the ageism that is so prevalent in this town. His answer to ageism is: "I can remember what it was like to be 20. Show me a 20-year old who can remember what it was like to be 40." And this is so true, because even though times change, people don't; teenagers and youth still have the same problems and concerns, the trappings and language just need to be learned.

His friend and executive producer on Riptide, BABS GREYHOSKY, had summed it up for him this way: when all of them got into the business, they had previously all wanted to make movies as kids. Those who get into the business nowadays, had, as kids, just wanted to make money.

As an aside, I loved watching Riptide when it was on. It was a buddy show between two athletic handsome jocks who were PIs with their office on a boat. And they had a third friend, a guy who was your typical computer nerd of the day, who helped them with all the technical stuff. What I loved about the show was that it didn't make fun of the nerd and he was accepted by the jocks as an important part of their team. The nerd always hungered to be more like the jocks, but the jocks seemed to like him just as he was -- they seemed to just accept him as he was and as an important part of their business and circle. In an era that mostly made fun of bookish people, this attitude was very appealing and I really enjoyed watching the show.

But to continue...

TV, Steve said, has to balance the political with business. For an ensemble, you often have to balance the characters to actors' egos. But truly professional actors don't require this -- they don't have problems like this. He looks for certain things that will play for the actors -- sometimes it's merely a turn of phrase.

Then he shared something I know he learned at the foot of Steven Cannell because Cannell said the very same thing last month: Nine times out of ten, if an actor has a problem, he is right, it's a problem. However, Sears added, the actor's solution is usually wrong. So, like Cannell, Sears tells the actor, "Just let me fix it. It's not your job."

Actors, Sears said, realize a good writer writes layers. A smart actor looks for layers rather than assumes they are just not there. Hence, it's the writer's job to give the actor those layers.

The final thing he shared with us was about those in the business who read our scripts. He reminds us that everyone who reads scripts is also an audience member. You have to take their input seriously and understand where they are coming from.

And on the personal side, the best part of the seminar was the big smile and hug I got afterwards for old times sake and too many days in between. Steven L. Sears is a good writer and a good person to know.