God I'm getting so confused with capitalisations! In German, all nouns are capitalised, even in the middle of the sentence. Now it's starting to trickle into my English! But that's a short aside, from a sunning Starnbergersee, this is a totally confused German South African saying hello, and I cannot tell you how relieved I am to finally be able to speak English for a change!
I was born in South Africa, biologically from German parents (ich bin Preußisch auf beiden Seiten - Vater und Mutter) but adopted by a wonderful South African couple whose parents were from Lancashire (my father) and the Isle of Man (my mother). So I'm a wonderful mix of German ancestry with a very English upbringing, growing up in South Africa! As I writer I'm therefore drawn to stories about finding out about one's origins, constantly filled with self-doubt, creative in that typically academic English manner, but simultaneously very Teutonic when it comes to organising and scheduling. (Yes, I do story structure first, and only THEN do I let the characters into the driver's seat).
That's a helluva long introduction to say that I'm writing a fantasy TV miniseries based in London and Cape Town with a strong environmental theme, and I'm really struggling to get the submission-draft down to less than 60 pages.
Fantasy-genre involves a lot of world-building, plus its an ensemble cast with lots of sub-plots and intersecting story-arcs. And you have to shoe-horn all of that into a 60-page TV pilot script! Mein Gott, es macht mich total verrückt!
I'd love to hear from other TV scriptwriters! Be happy to share the work and discuss.
Best,
Gordon Greaves
Hello Gorden,
I've never engaged in writing a TV pilot, but I might do it in the future too.
I also grew up with two different cultures, so I can totally relate to not always knowing where I get certain origins.
There is a class at Gotham Writer' on how to sell a script that might help you: https://www.writingclasses.com/classes/description/how-to-sell-your-script
I've taken a couple of classes on the craft of writing with them and they were all very helpful, and the discussions with fellow classmates were also great.
Good luck with your project!
Ingrid