Stephen J Cannell died a couple of years ago. I probably would not know who he was if he was still alive. However, when obituaries are posted around the web and condolences flood it, I get suspicious. It was then I discovered one of the writers for the A-Team, one of my favorite shows from the 1980s.
Mr Cannell wrote every day for 5 hours! He co-wrote or co-created over 40 TV shows and wrote several novels. Below is a fantastic interview for writers who are in the grand struggle of producing a work.
Here’s a couple of clips:
Find some time to write this weekend.
Cheers,
Bob
PART-TIME NOVEL 
Oh, man. I knew there was a reason why I followed your blog. I too posted an ode to Stephen J. Cannell on my Tumblr page a while ago, with that iconic photo of him flicking a sheet of paper in the air. I never met him, but he was a prolific writer and he gave some great advice on writing. According to everyone who knew him, he was the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. Thanks for this.
Do you know if he wrote any books on writing?
It’s wonderful when you discover writers you enjoy, or root for, are simple, down-to-earth, enthusiastic writers, just like you.
I’ve only been active online for about 6 months, but during this time I’ve been part of a writing community, which is a first for me. Being part of of a community like this has been so revitalising and still is. It gave legitimacy to my efforts. Legitimacy in the sense that it showed me the struggles of other writers. It showed me how much hard work they invest in their talent, the trials they go through, the rejections, the successes, all of that equates to a sense of community, a sense of camaraderie I’ve never experienced before. Your blog is a perfect example of that.
I’m not aware of any books Cannell may have written about writing, but he did give seminars on screenwriting and writing for TV, and I’ve been told that the skills you get from learning screenwriting can also apply to writing novels. You can get the complete transcript from one of Cannell’s seminars here: http://www.writerswrite.com/screenwriting/lecture.htm
I hope it helps. Cannell made many, many Youtube movies in which he gave advice on the art of writing. You can find them here: http://www.cannell.com/videos.html
Let me know if the links work. Enjoy!
The links work splendidly. I like the line about the hardest part of writing is just getting to the machine to do it! Ha!
I agree. It’s so true.