daydreamer.

tumblr.com:

my assigned tumblr staff incel:

I’ve basically never spoken on my specific field of expertise on here, but honestly I’ve been seeing way too much tomfoolery lately to stay silent. so here goes.

I am a screenwriter, and here’s the thing

you cannot just hurl the insult “bad writing” at a show when you know basically nothing about writing and even less about the creative process of tv. idk what made so many people think they knew anything about writing television, but to be clear, watching a ton of tv doesn’t make you an expert, it makes you a fan, and there is a big difference.

what people call “bad writing” in tv, a lot of the time, isn’t bad writing. bad writing on tv is when you, as an audience member, don’t know what the conflict is, or who a character is and what their goals are, or where they are, or there’s no resolution to an established conflict, or there’s no established reason for why the characters are acting that way, or the dialogue and actions don’t distinguish one character from another, or scenes do not progress the plot, or in more subtle cases, scenes lack significant subtext and don’t build character in meaningful ways.

bad writing is not a character you don’t like, or a relationship you don’t enjoy, or a goal you don’t agree with, or a character’s development that goes in a direction you didn’t expect or enjoy. those are you problems, not writing problems. if you have problems with these, you can always find another show.

I am not saying do not offer constructive criticism. I’m saying know what your talking about first. you can say ‘I didn’t like x’ without crying Bad Writing! and yes, sometimes these will overlap, but do not assume you are correct because you are bitter, and do not assume because you aren’t enjoying it that it’s bad writing. everything isn’t for everyone. do not assume something is good because you enjoy it, and don’t assume something is bad because you don’t.

the newest season of Doctor Who is good fucking television. the new She-Ra is incredible children’s tv. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 and 4 have been great low budget science fiction action comedy. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has set a new standard for comedy writing, especially in regards to character, as Parks and Rec did before it. Steven Universe had arguably the best long game reveal I have ever seen, up there with Westworld and The Good Place, and in a show most people wrote off as a “kid’s cartoon”.

writing, especially for tv, is incredibly hard. I don’t think I can communicate how insane the production process is. it is easy to make mistakes. it is hard to get it right. give people praise for the things they do well before you go hunting for where they fucked up.

it’s easy to forget, in the passionate boiling pot of fandom, that we are allowed to enjoy good things. please remember, next time you see someone hurl the insult “bad writing” at a show, there’s a solid chance they have no clue what they’re on about, and more than likely have some weird agenda, or a long time grudge against the show in question.

Dear Hollywood,

Movies with diverse casts can dominate the box office.

Please take note and make more of them.

Sincerely,