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 Conversation with television series writer-producerJames Schmerer Author of Twisted Shadows Interview arranged by Bev Walton-Porter This interview is reprinted with permission from the author - Editor - James Schmerer, author of the new book Twisted Shadows, is a writer-producer-story consultant who has produced three prime-time television series and has been the executive story consultant on six others. He has written over 200 prime-time episodes (from The High Chaparral to MacGyver), soaps, animation and features. He teaches screenwriting at UCLA and gives screenwriting seminars around the country. Read our review of Twisted Shadows. What a brilliant life you lead. From your days of writing and producing prime-time television shows to teaching screenwriting at UCLA and being a story consultant somewhere in between. How did you get your literary career going? When did you start writing, and why? JAMES SCHMERER - I started writing because I found I enjoyed writing. Once I discovered how much I enjoyed it and could get paid for doing it too, I went on to write television dramas and then features for the next three decades. Is this your first novel? How do your experiences of script writing and teaching relate to your prose? Yes, this is my first novel. It was initially written for two reasons: one was that I wanted to try another discipline since I'd been writing teleplays, soaps, animation and live action; and two, I was curious to see if I could do it. So I did. Do your fictional characters write the story for you as you go along? Or do you outline the plot first? Eons ago, when dinosaurs walked the face of the Earth and I first started writing, I would outline everything before I started actually writing the material. As the years went by, the outline came to be less and less important to me. I've found I need to know the characters and the arena I'm putting them into along with the resolution of their problem. From that point on, I usually allow my characters to dictate where they want to go. I've discovered that no matter where they go, they will always come back to the basic story primarily because they've got nowhere else to go - so I give them their head and just follow along recording what they say and do. You were raised in Queens, New York – the setting for Twisted Shadows. The background of your story is very authentic. What part did you research and what part is memory? And what part, if any, is a figment of your imagination? I do very little research for a particular story, especially in the crime arena. Perhaps that's because through the years I've spent so much time with cops that it's become part of my memory. On the other hand, everything that one writes comes from somewhere, and I believe it comes from the writer's experiences which is then adjusted within the particular story or character one is writing. If there has to be any research for accuracy, I've found that I'm better served by waiting until I've completed the project. Then I look at what I need and research just that element or those elements. Saves gobs of time and effort. This is also a story about cops. What was the process you took to research this world? How did you get inside a cop's head? Police Officers are a singular breed who deal with the dregs of society, day in and day out. I learned that through the years of being with them. To tell you the truth, I really don't get inside a cop's head, but rather I get inside the head of the character. Giving a character a psychology, flaws and a personality means revealing and creating a new person. This is what I do, keeping in mind that the work they do isn't who they are, just what they do. Portions of readers are writers interested in pursuing the crime fiction genre. Could you give them any advice about what it takes to make a story jump out and grab the reader? What, if any details, should they attend to? Any tips for aspiring writers? If I knew what was going to jump out and grab a reader, I'd have nothing but best sellers. The best I could suggest is to write a story that interests you and tell it in the way that interests you. The best tip I could pass on to any writer is for them to write. Every day. Writers write. It's as simple as that. What crime fiction authors do you enjoy reading? John Sandford, Christopher Newman, Lawrence Block, Robert Daley and Sue Grafton in the area of detective/crime genre. What future plans do you have for Twisted Shadows? Is there a sequel in the works? Yes and no. I have two sequels in mind – the second and third installments of Lou's life as a detective. However, I also want to see how successful this first book will be, then I will decide if I want to devote my time to Lou or to some other character or genre. - This interview is reprinted with permission from the author - Editor |
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