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Random Advice

The Odd Joy of the Wizard/Paladin

May 5, 2022 Film Industry, First Person, Random Advice, Television

On Scriptnotes 541, Craig and I discussed which of the classic D&D attributes (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity and Charisma) were most important for an aspiring film and TV writer. We ranked intelligence first, while acknowledging that charisma was important for the social aspects of the job. We felt wisdom was gained through experience — […]

The Parable of the Potato Farmer

February 22, 2021 Random Advice

I can’t in good conscience recommend you watch all of this video, the third and final part of a series by Technoblade. But there’s wisdom to be found here. To the outside world, I’m an ordinary Minecraft YouTuber, but secretly I’ve spent the last year fighting to maintain my spot as the number one potato […]

Professionalism in the Age of the Influencer

November 20, 2019 Film Industry, Follow Up, General, International, Random Advice

On October 24, 2019, I presented the Hawley Foundation Lecture at Drake University. It was an update and reexamination of a 2006 speech on professionalism I originally gave at Trinity University, and later that year at Drake. What follows is a pretty close approximation of my speech, but hardly a transcript. It’s long, around 14,000 […]

But does it spark joy?

January 16, 2019 Genres, Psych 101, Random Advice

When deciding whether to write a project, it can be helpful to ask whether you really love the idea.

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