Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1434261
WINTER 2021 27 O N T H E J O B PAUL CHANG THE GHOST AND MOLLY MCGEE After graduating from college with "a liberal arts degree and a whole lot of panic," Chang chose a safe career path as a corporate consultant. But his passion was comedy and writing, so he spent nights scribbling stories in hotel rooms while on the road for work. The turning point was a CAPE New Writers Fellowship that he calls "a crash course on the industry," helping hi refine his ritin saple and ettin him a meeting that led to his being staffed on The Ghost and Molly McGee. WHAT DOES YOUR WORK DAY LOOK LIKE? Most of my time is spent writing episodes at various stages—a one-page premise, an outline, or a ull drat o a script n any given day I might also have: a story rea eetin here the riters fiure out the beats of a story as a group), a notes meeting (where the writers get notes from studio executives), or a punch-up meeting (where the writers do a table read of a script and pitch jokes to make it as funny as possible). WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING A STAFF WRITER? I love breaking stories in the writers' room. I feel so lucky that I get to hang out with a bunch of funny people and create stories that will hopefully bring a little joy into people's lives. Also, pitching a joke that makes the room crack up always makes my day. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES? Early on, the biggest challenge for me was learning the voice of the show and how best to bring the showrunners' vision to life. Another challenge, having been on the show for a while now, is coin up ith resh story ideas that fit the show, but don't feel too similar to episodes we've already done. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING STAFF WRITERS? Join or start a writing group. It's a fantastic way to get notes on your scripts, build a writing community, and stay motivated with deadlines. MEREDITH KECSKEMETY THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA The head of Titmouse knew that his Executive Assistant, Kecskemety, wanted to write—and when a job for a writers' assistant opened on a new show, The Midnight Gospel, she was given the chance to freelance on an episode. During this time, a group she knew at Critical Role was trying to launch The Legend of Vox Machina. She reached out, "shamelessly asking if I could be a writers' assistant." By season two, she had been promoted to Staff Writer. WHAT DOES YOUR WORK DAY LOOK LIKE? Generally, when we are in the writers' room, we all gather (on Zoom at the moment) for a few hours in the morning and try to break an episode, listing out broad story beats. Then we usually take lunch and revisit the episode in the afternoon with fresh eyes. As we start to turn in episodes and get notes back from the network, we will have additional meetings to address those notes throughout the week. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING A STAFF WRITER? I like that I get to pitch the craziest idea of any scenario and blue sky solutions to story proles ince ritin is the first part of creating any show, it is literally the time when anything goes. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES? I think the hardest part for me, having come from production, is being so far removed from the rest of the animation process now that I'm a staff writer. I encourage anyone who is in a writers' room to go out of their way to form a rapport with their production team because it can only make your writing better. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING STAFF WRITERS? Always have a solid writing sample ready because you never know when someone is going to ask to read you. Make sure it is a strong representation of your voice and really showcases what you can bring to the table.