James Cary
- 49 years old
- English
- Writer and script editor
Press clippings Page 18
Storylining & plotting part 4 - Choosing your ideas
Getting that big long list of ideas for your sitcom together is really important because it will throw up some ideas that seem so fresh, ripe and juicy, you'll want to start plotting them out - and it'll be easier to do because you'll be excited about it, rather than flogging an idea about a surprise birthday party because frankly, that's been done and who cares?
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 5th February 2013Storylining & plotting part 3 - A day in the life
Think about one of your main characters and keep asking questions about who they are, what they're doing and, crucially, why they do them.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 29th January 2013Storylining & plotting part 2 - low hanging fruit
For most people, the blank page is terrifying. It's why giving speeches is one of the great fears in society. It's not just standing up there - it's reading out what you've written.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 28th January 2013Storylining & plotting part 1
The Americans don't really have comedy panel games like we do. Why? Maybe they don't have a culture of them as we've had, despite the fact they come up with What's My Line? in the 1950s, which established the panel game as a thing. But maybe American TV went off panel games because American TV is all about making money. (For the record, I have no problem with this).
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 22nd January 2013Comedy Writing: Guest Characters
One thing I've learnt (and had to relearn the hard way several times over in the last decade) is that in sitcoms, it is very hard to make guests characters as funny as the regular characters.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 10th January 2013Pull back! Mending sitcom ideas that go wrong
A question that's come up from Twitter from a man called Simon goes thus: "At what point do you stop trying to mend a story that isn't working and go back to square one? Is there a deciding factor?"
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 1st January 2013Single cam vs multi cam
Via Twitter, Jake asked "Single cam vs multi cam, what works best for each format?" There's a short trite answer to this: Multi-cam works best for your career and your bank balance. This is very much a personal view, but allow me to explain.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 29th December 2012Sitcom writing: What to do when you're stuck
Plotting a half-hour sitcom episode is hard work. Really hard work. Writing a first episode of a new show is doubly hard work. And it's easy to get stuck.
James Cary, 22nd November 2012Throwing out really funny stuff
Character is king, but story is god.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 20th November 2012Tell tale signs
A lovely story has just broken on Chortle about a man who claims he has a sitcom on BBC but, on balance, probably doesn't.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 5th November 2012