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Found this, and thought it would nice to post this again. Being Mr. Marland died in 1993, things have changed a great deal in the past 20 plus years...., budgets have been slashed, only 4 soaps remain, but the rules seem to still apply..............
How to NOT Wreck a Soap Opera
"10 Rules on How Not to Wreck a Soap Opera" by Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland was a soap opera writer for several American daytime soaps, who passed away in 1993. He left behind this instruction guide for producers on how not to wreck a show.
Quote:
How Not To Wreck A Show
* Watch the show.
* Learn the history of the show. You would be surprised at the ideas that you can get from the back story of your characters.
* Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites.
* Be objective. When I wrote As the World Turns the first thing I said was, what is pleasing the audience? You have to put your own personal likes and dislikes aside and develop the characters that the audience wants to see.
* Talk to everyone; writers and actors especially. There may be something in a character's history that will work beautifully for you, and who would know better than the actor who has been playing the role?
* Don't change a core character. You can certainly give them edges they didn't have before, or give them a logical reason to change their behavior. But when the audience says, "He would never do that," then you have failed.
* Build new characters slowly. Everyone knows that it takes six months to a year for an audience to care about a new character. Tie them in to existing characters. Don't shove them down the viewers' throats.
* If you feel staff changes are in order, look within the organization first. P&G [Procter & Gamble] does a lot of promoting from within. Almost all of our producers worked their way up from staff positions, and that means they know the show.
* Don't fire anyone for six months. I feel very deeply that you should look at the show's canvas before you do anything.
* Good soap opera is good storytelling. It's very simple.
How to NOT Wreck a Soap Opera
"10 Rules on How Not to Wreck a Soap Opera" by Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland was a soap opera writer for several American daytime soaps, who passed away in 1993. He left behind this instruction guide for producers on how not to wreck a show.
Quote:
How Not To Wreck A Show
* Watch the show.
* Learn the history of the show. You would be surprised at the ideas that you can get from the back story of your characters.
* Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites.
* Be objective. When I wrote As the World Turns the first thing I said was, what is pleasing the audience? You have to put your own personal likes and dislikes aside and develop the characters that the audience wants to see.
* Talk to everyone; writers and actors especially. There may be something in a character's history that will work beautifully for you, and who would know better than the actor who has been playing the role?
* Don't change a core character. You can certainly give them edges they didn't have before, or give them a logical reason to change their behavior. But when the audience says, "He would never do that," then you have failed.
* Build new characters slowly. Everyone knows that it takes six months to a year for an audience to care about a new character. Tie them in to existing characters. Don't shove them down the viewers' throats.
* If you feel staff changes are in order, look within the organization first. P&G [Procter & Gamble] does a lot of promoting from within. Almost all of our producers worked their way up from staff positions, and that means they know the show.
* Don't fire anyone for six months. I feel very deeply that you should look at the show's canvas before you do anything.
* Good soap opera is good storytelling. It's very simple.
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