Ethlie Ann Vare knows she is called "difficult" on a couple of television stations. There's people she won't work for and shows she won't write. During her years as a television staff writer, Vare dealt with many changes to her work. She dealt with disappearing scenes, aggravating actors and powerful editors. Yet she has learned, working on shows such as "Andromeda" and "CSI," that TV is a collaborative medium.
"I've seen people take [criticism] notes in everything from tears to fist fights to screaming rages," Vare said. "If you can't just nod and say, 'That's a good idea, I'll think about it,' you won't survive very long."
Vare talked about her work in TV writing yesterday during a presentation in the Teacher's College. Approximately 40 students sat scattered in the lecture hall to learn what it takes to succeed in the competitive world of Hollywood writing.
"I learned the writing process that a writer has to go through," said hopeful writer Sean May, "how much changes between the original and final concept."
Vare explained the step-by-step changes that occurred during a single show of "Andromeda." According to her, an hour-long drama generally is built from beat sheet to screen. The beat sheet is basically a general rush of ideas, "not very complicated, not even really sentences." Vare showed students a clip of the show, then read from the original beat sheet and scripts.
She exhibited the script going through many changes. In one section, a speech Vare liked was lost between the script writing and the final product.
"I get depressed when I see all the 'Andromeda' stuff because it had such promise and depth, and it's so changed," Vare said.
Vare also had some problems with actors/actresses changing the characters in her mind. She said she would prefer never to meet the actors/actresses because it subconsciously undermines their character in the script.
"Things you should notice is that actors are a pain in the ass," Vare said. "The other thing you should notice is that you can't do anything without them."
Vare's script-writing process generally takes between three and four weeks, except when she writes for CSI. The one episode Vare did for CSI took her three or four months, she said.
"CSI is one of the most difficult shows to write because it's so heavily researched," Vare said. "It's incredibly complex. The characters are almost interchangeable, pretty thin."
Thin characters were a problem for Vare, who is self-proclaimed as an excellent personality writer. When she's writing a script, her characters often talk to her. This keeps her awake at night.
"The most fun parts for me are characters' dialogue. When I'm working off an existing story, I feel like I'm working in a coloring book, just filling in the good stuff," Vare said.
Vare also spoke to the students about her career and how she broke into the business through journalism. Jonathon Kratzner, an acting alumnus interested in creative writing, came to the presentation to hear that specific instruction.
"I hope to learn about more the aspects of the business side, selling and promoting yourself to Hollywood," Kratzner said.
Vare admitted that a big part of Hollywood is networking and connections. She said there's no cut-and-dry way to hunt down the first job. She'd like to write for "Nip Tuck" or "Six Feet Under" but has no way of getting in the door.
"People are expensive. They want you to be as productive as possible," Vare said. "It's politics, human engineering."
Students in the audience finished up by asking many questions. Vare claimed she would kill directors if they took out speeches she liked and commented on a possible women's penitentiary show.
"Martha has made penitentiary life so much more acceptable."
Overall, May took away one thing to use during his future career as a writer.
She said "not to fight change because it's going to happen."
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