“Uncover the Dark Secret That Transforms an Ordinary Day into an Extraordinary Adventure: Day 5’s Unforgettable Story Idea!”
April brings a special ritual for me—15 years and counting of sharing daily story ideas to spark our collective creativity. Why, you ask? Well, it’s not just about throwing ideas into the ether; it’s about realizing that as writers, we can evolve into something even greater: a writer-producer! Yes, the chair on the other side of the meeting room beckons with open arms, and I’m here to nudge you toward that role. After all, you’ve endured enough story meetings to have a solid grasp of what fuels the producer’s fire. Why not put that insight to work and craft compelling narratives? Today’s offering? A delightful pitch to tickle your funny bone: “A Priest Walks into a Pitch Meeting…”—and, believe me, it gets interesting from there! So, let’s dive into this adventure together, shall we? If you’re eager to deepen your understanding and learn how to make your mark in the industry, just click the link! LEARN MORE
This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one:
You can evolve into being a writer-producer.
Let’s face it, you can only write so much. But sitting on your side of the table, all those story meetings you’ve had to endure, you’ve probably developed a pretty good sense of what it takes to be a producer at least on a creative level.
Why not don that hat, too?
A quick way to jump start you producing career: Come up with story ideas.
Today’s story idea: A Priest Walks into a Pitch Meeting…
Two writers I know went out with a great pitch recently. And I know it was great because I heard the pitch. Writers do that for each other now and then, so when they asked I was happy to get on Zoom and hear their great idea for a comedy series, and of course I had a couple of suggestions, not because they needed them but because if the series goes I want them to feel like they owe me. That’s what’s friends are for.
The first place they went to pitch the idea responded by saying some classic “we’re passing” language — loved the material and the auspices, not engaging in this area right now — but added something that I kind of anticipated, but didn’t share with my friends because it wasn’t something they could really fix anyway.
“The story and the arena,” said one of the non-buyers, “didn’t feel personal to the writers.” That’s an important thing, these days — well, it was always important, to be honest. Whenever I pitch something, I usually come up with a compelling-sounding lie about how the thing I’m about to pitch — the story, the characters, the whatever — is something that’s personal and deeply connected to my own experience, blah blah blah, because I know that when people hear something that they think is true and rooted, they are more likely to pay for it.
The story and the arena wasn’t personal to them, but it’s still a great idea and would be a terrific show, so in retrospect they should have come up with a convincing and totally false backstory just to help the idea go from the pitch meeting to the crucial business affairs calls your agent phase.
But I told you that to tell you this, which I’ve sort of alluded to for a while but it’s something that’s going…
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