FIRST MANIFEST-FOR WRITERS

The dictionaries definition of ‘manifest’ is something that is obvious or evident. I have decided to call these contributions to the literary world my manifests.

  As a literary agent I read manuscripts until my eyes won’t stay open, I sleep a little and then I wake up and read some more. Occasionally – no that’s the wrong word. Rarely do I find a manuscript that keeps my eyes open no matter how tired I am. When you read as much as I do it has to be a damn good manuscript for me to ignore my cat curled up in my lap, the afternoon sun on my face and my dog snoring next to me.

  There are so many things that can make a good manuscript but for this installment I want to focus on one simple maxim that I try to impart to the authors that send me their scribbling.

Every action must have an equal and opposite reaction.

Let me give you an example of what I am trying to convey. A TV producer recently sent me a script to read for a new comedy that is being put together. It’s not a sit – com, but it is supposed to be funny. It wasn’t. I relayed this to the producer and of course was met with a tirade as to how I was off the mark, not up with the times, etc. because this was funny stuff.

 After he calmed down he asked why I didn’t think it was funny. I explained that the concept was indeed humorous but the writer was assuming that the reader/viewer thought it was funny.

 I went on to say that if it was going to be one of those shows that was laced from front to back with canned laughter, what the hey - it’s as good as any of the crap out there. But it was not a stand-alone genuine piece of comedic writing that doesn’t need sweetening in the editing room with digital laughter. Why? Because unless it was a monologue for a stand up comedy and even if the writer had the wit of Oscar Wilde (which they didn’t), you need a reaction to the action.

 I find that this simple axiom holds true in many formats, not just comedic screenplays. The reader at some point must be given a ‘floor’ to bounce the action on. Something in the description of the character or the setting that provides a boundary so that the reader knows and can feel when that boundary has been breeched. That’s what makes it funny.

Remember, writing is not magic – it’s work.