When I moved back to Pennsylvania a year and a half ago from warmer/drier/higher climes, there was an online acquaintance in the area who expressed an interest in meeting me face-to-face sometime. Great! It was nice feeling a bit welcomed here. But a year and a half later we've still yet to meet. I will blame it on the fact that he's the writer for the Pokemon TV show (and does some of the voices), and that, combined with being a single full-time dad of two, means He Has No Personal Life.
Which is completely consistent with last week's American Public Media Marketplace report on the hard hard life of children's TV writers. Seriously! And this is why it's hard (one, two, three: awww!):
1. Writers must avoid writing conflict. Uh, any writer knows that it's pretty much conflict (or, if you blog for Strollerderby, it's witticisms and snark, hopefully combined) that drives good writing. But kid's shows can't have conflict! Or, the idea of "conflict" is something like "Clifford's dog-friend was shy about being seen in an unflattering pose/making a mistake/having white-lied about something," but it's all handily resolved within the 8-minute time window for each low-attention-span-friendly story.
2. Deadlines. Ugh, the pressure! My Pokemon-friend said he wrote an entire movie over 6 days on the Christmas break (how does he do it with the kids???), and that sounds "normal."
3. Kid's Shows are Serious Busines. Really! Writer Doug Cordell talks about puppeteers who stayed in character during lunch (they're PUPPETS, not method actors!!) and disputes over thngs like the improbabilities of a rabbit puppet wearing running shoes (though he habitually wore a vest).
All of which makes blogging sooo much more appealing, doesn't it?
Image: www.sfondideldesktop.com
